3 ms·

You're being down-voted for the tone of your post I think. But I think it's an interesting point. If there is evidence that US bikers have a culture that does n

You're being down-voted for the tone of your post I think. But I think it's an interesting point. If there is evidence that US bikers have a culture that does not following traffic laws that can and should seriously impact policy decisions. It's possible some of the great suggestions here that work well in other cities wouldn't work in the US for this or any dozen of other reasons. Not saying that there for is such a culture, only that it is certainly a popular complaint, and if there is truth for it we should factor that into our decisions.

james-mcelwain 7y ago
It's not an interesting point because this topic has already been studied. Cyclists break traffic laws at roughly the same rates as motorists.
- sgillen 7y ago
  Thanks, I wasn't aware of studies in this area. Do you know of studies that compare breaking traffic laws of cyclists in different countries?
  - james-mcelwain 7y ago
    I'm only familiar with the US. If I had to speculate, it's probably better in countries with better bike infrastructure. I know personally I only break traffic laws when I feel it's subjectively safer for me as a cyclist to do so. There is a legal push in some places for the [Idaho stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop), which seeks to make this behavior legal in the name of safety.
  - pedantsamaritan 7y ago
    Here's an article with some comments on Denmark: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/10/cyclists-break-far-fewer-road-rules-than-motorists-finds-new-video-study/#5562fe24bfaa https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/10/cyclists... For my own reference as much as others: Florida study on rates for people driving vs cycling: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/03/study-cyclists-dont-break-traffic-laws-any-more-than-drivers-do/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/03/study-cyclists-dont-b... Wesley Marshall (Univ of Co) surverying 18k people: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclists-and-motorists-ignore-traffic-laws-similar-rates https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclis... (I haven't found the actual paper on this one)

james-mcelwain 7y ago

It's not an interesting point because this topic has already been studied. Cyclists break traffic laws at roughly the same rates as motorists.

sgillen 7y ago
Thanks, I wasn't aware of studies in this area. Do you know of studies that compare breaking traffic laws of cyclists in different countries?
- james-mcelwain 7y ago
  I'm only familiar with the US. If I had to speculate, it's probably better in countries with better bike infrastructure. I know personally I only break traffic laws when I feel it's subjectively safer for me as a cyclist to do so. There is a legal push in some places for the [Idaho stop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop), which seeks to make this behavior legal in the name of safety.
- pedantsamaritan 7y ago
  Here's an article with some comments on Denmark: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/10/cyclists-break-far-fewer-road-rules-than-motorists-finds-new-video-study/#5562fe24bfaa https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/05/10/cyclists... For my own reference as much as others: Florida study on rates for people driving vs cycling: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/03/study-cyclists-dont-break-traffic-laws-any-more-than-drivers-do/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/03/study-cyclists-dont-b... Wesley Marshall (Univ of Co) surverying 18k people: https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclists-and-motorists-ignore-traffic-laws-similar-rates https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-18/survey-finds-bicyclis... (I haven't found the actual paper on this one)