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I've commuted by bike in both San Francisco and Amsterdam. In Amsterdam it's a lovely (and safe) experience, whereas in San Fransisco it was positively hazardou
by kbouck 7y ago
I've commuted by bike in both San Francisco and Amsterdam. In Amsterdam it's a lovely (and safe) experience, whereas in San Fransisco it was positively hazardous. The key difference being the thoughtful lane designs in The Netherlands where you have dedicated bike lanes physically separated from the car traffic. In San Francisco you are often mixed with or adjacent to car traffic or parked cars - leaving you susceptible to parked car doors suddenly opening, or being caught in a moving car's blind spot.
- thanatos519 7y agoCycling is safe in The Netherlands because practically everyone is a cyclist so it isn't a stretch of anyone's empathy to look out for them. Also ... cyclists are everywhere so you had better be watching for them. There is also a behavioural solution which should be exported everywhere: https://www.dutchreach.org/ https://www.dutchreach.org/
- skrebbel 7y agoFWIW, I'm Dutch and nobody I know does the Dutch reach.
- ojilles 7y agoI’m also Dutch, and the only place I see the Dutch Reach being mentioned is on Hacker News every few years in articles like this one. Never ever has come up in my daily life here in NL.
- DonHopkins 7y agoThe Dutch Rudder is much more commonplace.
- speleding 7y agoI'm Dutch as well, and it was taught to me as part of driver's education. I still open my car door that way, also because it has the added advantage that you're better positioned to hold the door if there's a gust of wind.
- nightcracker 7y agoThe "Dutch reach" is some weird myth that you need some trick in order to not be a clueless asshole. No one I know in the Netherlands does this - they just look. Please stop propagating this excuse and just start paying attention when in traffic.
- pul 7y ago> leaving you susceptible to parked car doors suddenly opening Dutch driving instructors teach 'the Dutch reach'. You get into the habit of opening the car door with your left hand, so you'll automatically look for cyclists that may be passing by.
- scarejunba 7y agoI got a Lyft notification telling me about that the other day.
- adwi 7y agoLeft hand if you’re on the right (passenger seat) side of the vehicle. If you’re on the driver side you use your right. The intent is that it forces you to twist your body to see what’s coming behind you before you open.
- consp 7y agoUnfortunately it works less well with the American style magnifying outside mirrors. The non magnifying give you a bit better overview in that case as cyclists (and pedestrians) come from everywhere where you don't expect them.
- thanatos519 7y agoI thought the point of the Dutch Reach is that you look in the mirror and keep twisting so you're looking backwards as you open the door. Mind you, I can't remember the last time I was in a car, so I could be getting it wrong. «I can't remember the last time I was in a car» ← the real benefit of living in a city made for humans!
- consp 7y agoI was taught to first look in the mirror to see oncoming traffic from behind and then look over your shoulder and afterwards open the door. Yes you can force that by using your opposite hand but that is just a trick to force you to look which you should do anyways no matter what hand you use.
- mmcnl 7y agoI would say Amsterdam is one the least bike-friendly cities of The Netherlands. The streets are small, bike lanes are narrow and bike lanes are very crowded. That's not to say your opinion isn't valid, it's just that your experience would very likely be even better in any other city than Amsterdam in The Netherlands.