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The problem is with way the laws are written, it's almost impossible to prosecute bad drivers. I was clipped by a driver while cycling, who then flipped me off

The problem is with way the laws are written, it's almost impossible to prosecute bad drivers. I was clipped by a driver while cycling, who then flipped me off because I was in his way (I had the right of way). I reported to police and they didn't even pursue a ticket because "he will just deny it and we won't get a conviction". Pedestrians and cyclists are dying at alarming rates. The vast majority are not "unavoidable accidents" but drivers making dangerous decisions. Most drivers are courteous, but a small number are repeat offenders who consider the road a battle and cyclists an opponent. Any contact between a car and pedestrian/cyclist should be a serious offence. It won't stop every death, but if the first time you clipped someone, police actually acted on it and you had your licence suspended for 30 days, it would stop a good number of them. Proof in the issue from the article: less than 1% of collisions injuring a pedestrians were cited for careless driving.

tatersolid 9y ago
This is completely the opposite of my experience. Here in Chicago, bicyclists are the cause of nearly all accidents. The overwhelming majority weave through traffic, run red lights and stop signs, and even ride the wrong way down one-way streets. Bicyclists in Chicago also regularly hit and injure pedestrians, sometimes causing deaths. When bicyclists start actually following traffic laws, then we can start talking about blaming the car drivers automatically in accidents.
- drewbug01 9y ago
  [citation needed]
- scosman 9y ago
  This is verifiably false. The car is at fault in the majority of crashes. Search if you want sources, there are dozens of studies on the issue. You're complaining about cyclists killing pedestrians when the ratio is at minimum 5,000:1 when compared to cars? Really? Your "overwhelming majority" claim is also absurd. You as a non-cyclist, see a few bad actors and come up with a generalization that is verifiably false. Meanwhile, when you see a bad driver, you don't blame all drivers. It's the same us vs them principal that allows racism.
  - tatersolid 9y ago
    First, notice I specifically called out my assertions as anecdotal, but I imagine many large cities are the same. I am a cyclist, but I am not dumb enough to ride a bicycle in downtown automobile and pedestrian traffic. I walk over a mile each way from the train station to my office, and have been hit twice by a bicyclist during that walk. I stand by my observation that the majority of bicyclists in Chicago are extremely dangerous and do not follow traffic laws at all. They also wear headphones and even look at their smartphones while blowing red lights and riding down sidewalks packed with pedestrians. The delivery messengers are of course the worst in this regard. The city put in special bike lanes on many streets and still bicyclists don’t use them and ride the sidewalks instead.
    - dagurp 9y ago
      > The city put in special bike lanes on many streets and still bicyclists don’t use them and ride the sidewalks instead. The bike lanes can't be very good then
      - tatersolid 9y ago
        They bicycle lanes are fine, on some of the most-used streets. It’s the bicyclists that aren’t very good. Just today I saw an idiot without helmet riding no-handed down the middle of Madison street, wearing headphones and looking at his phone. If he gets tagged by a car, it will not automatically be the car drivers fault.

tatersolid 9y ago

This is completely the opposite of my experience. Here in Chicago, bicyclists are the cause of nearly all accidents. The overwhelming majority weave through traffic, run red lights and stop signs, and even ride the wrong way down one-way streets. Bicyclists in Chicago also regularly hit and injure pedestrians, sometimes causing deaths. When bicyclists start actually following traffic laws, then we can start talking about blaming the car drivers automatically in accidents.

drewbug01 9y ago
[citation needed]
scosman 9y ago
This is verifiably false. The car is at fault in the majority of crashes. Search if you want sources, there are dozens of studies on the issue. You're complaining about cyclists killing pedestrians when the ratio is at minimum 5,000:1 when compared to cars? Really? Your "overwhelming majority" claim is also absurd. You as a non-cyclist, see a few bad actors and come up with a generalization that is verifiably false. Meanwhile, when you see a bad driver, you don't blame all drivers. It's the same us vs them principal that allows racism.
- tatersolid 9y ago
  First, notice I specifically called out my assertions as anecdotal, but I imagine many large cities are the same. I am a cyclist, but I am not dumb enough to ride a bicycle in downtown automobile and pedestrian traffic. I walk over a mile each way from the train station to my office, and have been hit twice by a bicyclist during that walk. I stand by my observation that the majority of bicyclists in Chicago are extremely dangerous and do not follow traffic laws at all. They also wear headphones and even look at their smartphones while blowing red lights and riding down sidewalks packed with pedestrians. The delivery messengers are of course the worst in this regard. The city put in special bike lanes on many streets and still bicyclists don’t use them and ride the sidewalks instead.
  - dagurp 9y ago
    > The city put in special bike lanes on many streets and still bicyclists don’t use them and ride the sidewalks instead. The bike lanes can't be very good then
    - tatersolid 9y ago
      They bicycle lanes are fine, on some of the most-used streets. It’s the bicyclists that aren’t very good. Just today I saw an idiot without helmet riding no-handed down the middle of Madison street, wearing headphones and looking at his phone. If he gets tagged by a car, it will not automatically be the car drivers fault.