3 ms·

Drivers tend to see cyclists as intruders, and fail to give them the space and respect that they give other “legitimate” vehicles. The bike lobby exists to comb

Drivers tend to see cyclists as intruders, and fail to give them the space and respect that they give other “legitimate” vehicles. The bike lobby exists to combat this. Things like Critical Mass rides, signage, and road paint are all about changing driver psychology and raising awareness about a cyclist’s right to occupy the travel lane. If you’re going around saying car and cycle traffic should not mix, you are its avowed enemy, same as the SUV drivers shouting at bikes to get out of the way. Even very serious and activist cyclists around here are still most likely seasonal/recreational riders, and still want to use their cars, at least in the winter. (See “share the road” bumper stickers). They are not necessarily wild about reducing vehicle access.

Tomte 8y ago
I'm walking, cycling and driving, with more of the first and the latter, and I fully agree that we need more bikeable cities. But I strongly dislike Critical Mass and bike activists in general. They are hateful (especially towards pedestrians) and don't know any other topic of conversation. And they have this attitude where incremental improvements don't count, we need to have a day X where all streets are torn up and bike utopia is built overnight.
crote 8y ago
The problem is not mixing, the problem is mixing at different speeds. Bikes and cars mix perfectly fine at 20-mph speeds. But if there are 6 lanes and cars are driving 55mph, adding a bike lake with a dash of paint just isn't enough due to the dangerous speed differences. It's like adding a sidewalk and crosswalk to an interstate: safer than nothing, but don't expect it to work well. Bikes really should not be on roads like this.
theclaw 8y ago
As a driver and infrequent cyclist I’d say the reason cyclists are irritating is because they’re not as predictable as cars or motorcycles, and they’re also way more fragile. When one is around I have to keep one eye on them the whole time to make sure they have space. One thing I would change is to mandate proper turn signals on bicycles. Some people aren’t good at hand signals, and you have to take your hand off the brake to make them, which just seems ludicrously unsafe to me.

Tomte 8y ago

I'm walking, cycling and driving, with more of the first and the latter, and I fully agree that we need more bikeable cities. But I strongly dislike Critical Mass and bike activists in general. They are hateful (especially towards pedestrians) and don't know any other topic of conversation. And they have this attitude where incremental improvements don't count, we need to have a day X where all streets are torn up and bike utopia is built overnight.

crote 8y ago

The problem is not mixing, the problem is mixing at different speeds. Bikes and cars mix perfectly fine at 20-mph speeds. But if there are 6 lanes and cars are driving 55mph, adding a bike lake with a dash of paint just isn't enough due to the dangerous speed differences. It's like adding a sidewalk and crosswalk to an interstate: safer than nothing, but don't expect it to work well. Bikes really should not be on roads like this.

theclaw 8y ago

As a driver and infrequent cyclist I’d say the reason cyclists are irritating is because they’re not as predictable as cars or motorcycles, and they’re also way more fragile. When one is around I have to keep one eye on them the whole time to make sure they have space. One thing I would change is to mandate proper turn signals on bicycles. Some people aren’t good at hand signals, and you have to take your hand off the brake to make them, which just seems ludicrously unsafe to me.