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As someone who lives in Copenhagen: that's because the cycling lanes system in Berlin is pretty terrible and is set up opposite to how it's set up here, in rega

by lagadu 9y ago

As someone who lives in Copenhagen: that's because the cycling lanes system in Berlin is pretty terrible and is set up opposite to how it's set up here, in regards to where the cycling lanes are. Having seen it I'd never try to use it myself whenever I go to Berlin. No offense, but the way people cycle there is also scary: here I can count 100% on the cyclists (myself included when cycling) to follow the rules and behave predictably like cars do, in Berlin it's chaos; stuff like respecting right of way like cars do, obeying traffic lights, not cycling in the wrong direction and dear god stay away from the sidewalks. I've no problem with cyclists when driving here but holy hell whenever I drive anywhere else in Europe (haven't been in the Netherlands by car so I can't judge there, though it looked fine) the incredibly bad behaviours I constantly see legit make me angry at them.

akvadrako 9y ago
Cyclists in Netherlands are skilled, but they don't follow any of the rules. Red lights just indicate the one moment when cars going cross-ways have priority. However, it's still predictable - the biker will always go first and take any space left on the sides and will often go the wrong way or on the sidewalk.
- mamon 9y ago
  >> the biker will always go first and take any space left on the sides and will often go the wrong way or on the sidewalk. Shouldn't they get fined for such behaviour? Why is this tolerated?
  - rozenmd 9y ago
    There are more bikes than people in The Netherlands, it's part politics, part ego (when I was on exchange in the south of NL I was told cyclists had assumed right of way no matter what)
  - bkor 9y ago
    The behaviour differs per city. Cyclists on sidewalks isn't tolerated in my city. Eventually they'll start checking and handing out fines. What's super common is ignoring traffic lights. I also do that regularly. That's mostly due to pretty terrible traffic lights. IMO it just smooths things out. What they hardly enforce is ensuring that cyclists have proper lights on their bike. Often nothing, sometimes something as bright as the a power indicator led (meaning: not at all). I often have trouble seeing such cyclists while cycling myself! They often also wear dark clothing and have a bike which doesn't have any reflectors.
    - stevesimmons 9y ago
      When I lived in Amsterdam, the police always had campaigns at the start of winter to enforce bike lights. For a few days, police at major intersections would first remind and then fine cyclists who didn't have lights or whose batteries had gone flat over the summer. Very visible and hard to avoid. By the end of that week, nearly everyone was properly illuminated for the winter.
xxs 9y ago
Copenhagen is in a class on its own when it comes to cycling both culture and traffic organization. Pretty much I can't think of any other European capital that comes close (missing Amsterdam out of the bunch, though).

by lagadu 9y ago

akvadrako 9y ago

Cyclists in Netherlands are skilled, but they don't follow any of the rules. Red lights just indicate the one moment when cars going cross-ways have priority. However, it's still predictable - the biker will always go first and take any space left on the sides and will often go the wrong way or on the sidewalk.

mamon 9y ago
>> the biker will always go first and take any space left on the sides and will often go the wrong way or on the sidewalk. Shouldn't they get fined for such behaviour? Why is this tolerated?
- rozenmd 9y ago
  There are more bikes than people in The Netherlands, it's part politics, part ego (when I was on exchange in the south of NL I was told cyclists had assumed right of way no matter what)
- bkor 9y ago
  The behaviour differs per city. Cyclists on sidewalks isn't tolerated in my city. Eventually they'll start checking and handing out fines. What's super common is ignoring traffic lights. I also do that regularly. That's mostly due to pretty terrible traffic lights. IMO it just smooths things out. What they hardly enforce is ensuring that cyclists have proper lights on their bike. Often nothing, sometimes something as bright as the a power indicator led (meaning: not at all). I often have trouble seeing such cyclists while cycling myself! They often also wear dark clothing and have a bike which doesn't have any reflectors.
  - stevesimmons 9y ago
    When I lived in Amsterdam, the police always had campaigns at the start of winter to enforce bike lights. For a few days, police at major intersections would first remind and then fine cyclists who didn't have lights or whose batteries had gone flat over the summer. Very visible and hard to avoid. By the end of that week, nearly everyone was properly illuminated for the winter.

xxs 9y ago

Copenhagen is in a class on its own when it comes to cycling both culture and traffic organization. Pretty much I can't think of any other European capital that comes close (missing Amsterdam out of the bunch, though).