4 ms·

I think you are fortunate to live in a place where bicycling is already a mainstream means of transportation. However, in many places in the U.S. (Massachusetts

by lutorm 15y ago

I think you are fortunate to live in a place where bicycling is already a mainstream means of transportation. However, in many places in the U.S. (Massachusetts and New Jersey come to mind for me) it's not that drivers are distracted, but rather that many do not believe that bicycles are a valid means of transportation. If you are in the lane you will encounter real hostility and agression. In these cases, I think something needs to be done to reinforce to people that bicycles have just as much right to the roadway as cars. I'm not sure bike lanes are the solution, but something needs to be done to get the number of bicyclists up to a critical mass.

timmaah 15y ago
Up in Vermont it has really taken off in the past 10 years. And it is people doing it for recreation, not for transportation. The problem it seems to me is the size of the roads. Most of the time you can not cleanly get around a biker without going into the oncoming lane. On a 50mph road with bikers going 20mph you constantly have to judge the speed of oncoming traffic to see if you can safely pass or get hard on the brakes to wait. This happens a lot and is annoying.
- lutorm 15y ago
  It's annoying for the driver. It's worse for the bicyclist who has to worry about whether the driver have actually seen him as he comes barreling up from behind. But yeah, it's true that whoever designed shoulder-less roads was completely clueless to non-automobile transportation like biking, walking, or really even scooters that can't keep up with traffic. (Incidentally, the "coming up from behind" situation reminds me of one of my biggest annoyances as a motorcycle rider: people who come barreling up behind you when you are stopped at a light and then go hard on the brakes. They are apparently clueless to the fact that many motorbikes are rear-ended at stoplights because drivers fail to note the biker. The net effect is that you need to keep staring at your rear view mirrors ready to take off to avoid getting rear ended in case they actually haven't seen you. Really, the light is red. It won't hurt you to slow down gradually. So please everyone, don't do this.)

by lutorm 15y ago

timmaah 15y ago

Up in Vermont it has really taken off in the past 10 years. And it is people doing it for recreation, not for transportation. The problem it seems to me is the size of the roads. Most of the time you can not cleanly get around a biker without going into the oncoming lane. On a 50mph road with bikers going 20mph you constantly have to judge the speed of oncoming traffic to see if you can safely pass or get hard on the brakes to wait. This happens a lot and is annoying.

lutorm 15y ago
It's annoying for the driver. It's worse for the bicyclist who has to worry about whether the driver have actually seen him as he comes barreling up from behind. But yeah, it's true that whoever designed shoulder-less roads was completely clueless to non-automobile transportation like biking, walking, or really even scooters that can't keep up with traffic. (Incidentally, the "coming up from behind" situation reminds me of one of my biggest annoyances as a motorcycle rider: people who come barreling up behind you when you are stopped at a light and then go hard on the brakes. They are apparently clueless to the fact that many motorbikes are rear-ended at stoplights because drivers fail to note the biker. The net effect is that you need to keep staring at your rear view mirrors ready to take off to avoid getting rear ended in case they actually haven't seen you. Really, the light is red. It won't hurt you to slow down gradually. So please everyone, don't do this.)