4 ms·

Drivers expect people to enter intersections from both directions on the crosswalks, which is where normal non-athlete bicycle users need to be for safety. This

by tropo 7y ago

Drivers expect people to enter intersections from both directions on the crosswalks, which is where normal non-athlete bicycle users need to be for safety. This is a solved problem if we keep all the small unarmored travelers (walking, bicycling, crawling, etc.) together on the sidewalk and crosswalk.

saltcured 7y ago
As someone who has witnessed this accident or near-accident unfold several times, the difference is speed how quickly the opposing cyclist or pedestrian moves from invisible or out-of-range to collision range. Bicycles and other wheeled vehicles like scooters and skateboards move much faster than pedestrians. Even a conscientious driver who watches for pedestrians may miss a cyclist who is riding "the wrong way" in the time it takes the driver to swivel their attention among the various hazard zones that need to be checked when making turns. A driver needs to check both ways in a sequence, with the final visual check being for traffic in the incoming lanes they are about to enter or cross. They check for pedestrians coming the opposite way first, but the slow rate of pedestrian movement means that the conditions do not change dramatically while the driver attention switches to the opposite direction. However, a cyclist/skater/scooter flying into the picture from the blind side is at great risk of collision with the driver who is now checking the opposite direction and initiating their maneuver.
- tropo 7y ago
  There is no "flying into the picture from the blind side" with normal bicyclists. They are timid and non-athletic. They often cross roads with their feet on the ground, walking the bicycle across. If they ride across the street, it is after stopping to wait for traffic. There would be many more of these normal bicyclists if they didn't have to choose between legal danger (on sidewalk) and extreme physical danger (on road).
  - saltcured 7y ago
    The accidents and near accidents I have witnessed in Los Angeles are people on wheels moving at ~10 MPH or higher against the flow of traffic on the shoulder or in a crosswalk. Dramatically faster than a walking pedestrian. People moving at these speeds on wheels also make unwise maneuvers to conserve momentum, unlike most joggers. As a third party observing several of these events, I noticed that the cyclist/scooter rider/skateboarder more often accelerates to attempt to make a stale light as well, quite the opposite of normal pedestrian patterns. This has only gotten worse in recent years, with many more people having motor-assisted wheeled contraptions and not a lot of common sense about their newfound speed.
javagram 7y ago
Bicycling on sidewalks is not safe for walkers, in dense areas it’s not safe for the biker either due to cars coming out of driveways with blind spots, and in non dense areas there typically are no sidewalks. Cyclists should use their best judgment as to whether the sidewalk or street would be safer in a given area but there are even areas in cities where it’s illegal to ride the bike on the sidewalk.

by tropo 7y ago

saltcured 7y ago

As someone who has witnessed this accident or near-accident unfold several times, the difference is speed how quickly the opposing cyclist or pedestrian moves from invisible or out-of-range to collision range. Bicycles and other wheeled vehicles like scooters and skateboards move much faster than pedestrians. Even a conscientious driver who watches for pedestrians may miss a cyclist who is riding "the wrong way" in the time it takes the driver to swivel their attention among the various hazard zones that need to be checked when making turns. A driver needs to check both ways in a sequence, with the final visual check being for traffic in the incoming lanes they are about to enter or cross. They check for pedestrians coming the opposite way first, but the slow rate of pedestrian movement means that the conditions do not change dramatically while the driver attention switches to the opposite direction. However, a cyclist/skater/scooter flying into the picture from the blind side is at great risk of collision with the driver who is now checking the opposite direction and initiating their maneuver.

tropo 7y ago
There is no "flying into the picture from the blind side" with normal bicyclists. They are timid and non-athletic. They often cross roads with their feet on the ground, walking the bicycle across. If they ride across the street, it is after stopping to wait for traffic. There would be many more of these normal bicyclists if they didn't have to choose between legal danger (on sidewalk) and extreme physical danger (on road).
- saltcured 7y ago
  The accidents and near accidents I have witnessed in Los Angeles are people on wheels moving at ~10 MPH or higher against the flow of traffic on the shoulder or in a crosswalk. Dramatically faster than a walking pedestrian. People moving at these speeds on wheels also make unwise maneuvers to conserve momentum, unlike most joggers. As a third party observing several of these events, I noticed that the cyclist/scooter rider/skateboarder more often accelerates to attempt to make a stale light as well, quite the opposite of normal pedestrian patterns. This has only gotten worse in recent years, with many more people having motor-assisted wheeled contraptions and not a lot of common sense about their newfound speed.

javagram 7y ago

Bicycling on sidewalks is not safe for walkers, in dense areas it’s not safe for the biker either due to cars coming out of driveways with blind spots, and in non dense areas there typically are no sidewalks. Cyclists should use their best judgment as to whether the sidewalk or street would be safer in a given area but there are even areas in cities where it’s illegal to ride the bike on the sidewalk.