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1. It seems to me that all the photos are of roughly "maximum congestion" of each vehicle type. So the cars are pictured as if they're stopped at a light or in

1. It seems to me that all the photos are of roughly "maximum congestion" of each vehicle type. So the cars are pictured as if they're stopped at a light or in heavy traffic, while if they we traveling at 50mph I'd hope for much, much more following distance. So yes, the bikes would have somewhat more distance between them if they were moving, but that seems fair to me, as the cars would too. 2. I don't want cars to pass me within a few feet. That doesn't mean I feel unsafe when riding within that same distance of other cyclists. The relative speed is much lower, the mass is much lower, etc. Similarly, I will happily ride much closer to an immobile object (e.g. a curb) than I would like someone to pass me at 40mph. So I think the space taken up by a moving bicycle is larger than the bike itself, sure, but absolutely no way is it anywhere close to the size of a car plus following distance plus safety buffer.

Silhouette 7y ago
So yes, the bikes would have somewhat more distance between them if they were moving, but that seems fair to me, as the cars would too. Right. But proportionately, that distance becomes much greater than the size of the vehicles themselves very quickly as speed increases, which makes the comparison based on vehicle size that we see in the photo almost entirely irrelevant in practice.
- enoch_r 7y ago
  Your claim: > a bike plus adequate space around it is only a bit smaller than a car with adequate space around it. Here is an example photo from a recent organized bike ride in my city: https://images.app.goo.gl/S1Nh8d7zqfSEzqmH7 https://images.app.goo.gl/S1Nh8d7zqfSEzqmH7 Here is another: https://images.app.goo.gl/6hh7NAMtEFPZZyKA9 https://images.app.goo.gl/6hh7NAMtEFPZZyKA9 It's quite hard for me to square these images (not to mention my own experiences riding bikes) with your assertion.
  - Silhouette 7y ago
    But everyday cycling around a city doesn't look anything like an organised mass bike ride. Not everyone is an experienced cyclist. There isn't a predetermined route and there are no marshals to direct the riders around it. Different riders will be going in all sorts of different directions. The roads probably won't be cleared of other traffic. Junctions and other traffic controls will be operating normally.

Silhouette 7y ago

So yes, the bikes would have somewhat more distance between them if they were moving, but that seems fair to me, as the cars would too. Right. But proportionately, that distance becomes much greater than the size of the vehicles themselves very quickly as speed increases, which makes the comparison based on vehicle size that we see in the photo almost entirely irrelevant in practice.

enoch_r 7y ago
Your claim: > a bike plus adequate space around it is only a bit smaller than a car with adequate space around it. Here is an example photo from a recent organized bike ride in my city: https://images.app.goo.gl/S1Nh8d7zqfSEzqmH7 https://images.app.goo.gl/S1Nh8d7zqfSEzqmH7 Here is another: https://images.app.goo.gl/6hh7NAMtEFPZZyKA9 https://images.app.goo.gl/6hh7NAMtEFPZZyKA9 It's quite hard for me to square these images (not to mention my own experiences riding bikes) with your assertion.
- Silhouette 7y ago
  But everyday cycling around a city doesn't look anything like an organised mass bike ride. Not everyone is an experienced cyclist. There isn't a predetermined route and there are no marshals to direct the riders around it. Different riders will be going in all sorts of different directions. The roads probably won't be cleared of other traffic. Junctions and other traffic controls will be operating normally.