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> you chose to potentially cause more damage Seriously? I surrounded myself with a metric ton of rigid metal and bazillion safety systems (and pay ridiculous s

> you chose to potentially cause more damage Seriously? I surrounded myself with a metric ton of rigid metal and bazillion safety systems (and pay ridiculous sums for that, mind you) to protect myself and my family in a deadly environment. Cyclist chose to go there practically naked. And before you say it's not a "deadly environment", it's "deadly people" - that's mostly false. Any human has limits to reaction time, can't see everything and so on, fixing that substantially is really hard if not impossible (self-driving cars, maybe). Yes, as a driver I basically chose to sign a blood contract to kill people with low probability cause I'm not a perfect machine. But did I have much choice? Driving my mom to a hospital on a bike is impossible. Are you sure you didn't sign other such contracts in you life for yourself and your family? Are you sure your quality of life you chose does not condemn other people to poverty and death?

adrianN 6y ago
What fraction of your trips are driving your mom to the hospital?
brnt 6y ago
By entering a heavy vehicle capable of generating orders of magnitude more kinetic energy than human beings on foot, yes, you have assumed the consequent responsibility of being more likely to cause severe accidents. Fortunately hospitals here are accessible by both bike and public transport, and there are insurance provided taxi's for people who can't use them but do have to get to a hospital. But, none of this means you can't drive a car. It just means by doing that you accept the appropriate responsibility, which plenty of Dutch people do every day! We are known for bikes, but the truth is that we are also amongst the biggest drivers (in terms of distance) in Europe.
aembleton 6y ago
As you can afford a car, you can buy a dashcam to demonstrate to a court what the cyclist was doing wrong that might have caused you to crash into them.
thraxil 6y ago
> Seriously? I surrounded myself with a metric ton of rigid metal and bazillion safety systems (and pay ridiculous sums for that, mind you) to protect myself and my family in a deadly environment. Cyclist chose to go there practically naked. > > And before you say it's not a "deadly environment", it's "deadly people" - that's mostly false. It's a "deadly environment" only because there are people who choose to surround themselves with "a metric ton of rigid metal."

adrianN 6y ago

What fraction of your trips are driving your mom to the hospital?

brnt 6y ago

By entering a heavy vehicle capable of generating orders of magnitude more kinetic energy than human beings on foot, yes, you have assumed the consequent responsibility of being more likely to cause severe accidents. Fortunately hospitals here are accessible by both bike and public transport, and there are insurance provided taxi's for people who can't use them but do have to get to a hospital. But, none of this means you can't drive a car. It just means by doing that you accept the appropriate responsibility, which plenty of Dutch people do every day! We are known for bikes, but the truth is that we are also amongst the biggest drivers (in terms of distance) in Europe.

aembleton 6y ago

As you can afford a car, you can buy a dashcam to demonstrate to a court what the cyclist was doing wrong that might have caused you to crash into them.

thraxil 6y ago

> Seriously? I surrounded myself with a metric ton of rigid metal and bazillion safety systems (and pay ridiculous sums for that, mind you) to protect myself and my family in a deadly environment. Cyclist chose to go there practically naked. > > And before you say it's not a "deadly environment", it's "deadly people" - that's mostly false. It's a "deadly environment" only because there are people who choose to surround themselves with "a metric ton of rigid metal."