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You are not supposed to take a left turn at an intersection on a bicycle! That’s insane. Do you expect pedestrians to do the same? You go straight and stop at

You are not supposed to take a left turn at an intersection on a bicycle! That’s insane. Do you expect pedestrians to do the same? You go straight and stop at the end of the intersection. Wait for lights to change and cross again. I would honk if someone took a left turn in front of my car on their bicycle in Copenhagen.

avdlinde 4y ago
I hope this is a joke and not serious. Bicycles are supposed to be on the road, pedestrians are not.
- mrweasel 4y ago
  > Bicycles are supposed to be on the road The point is, that they aren't suppose to be in the middle of road.
  - eptcyka 4y ago
    Why?
    - mrweasel 4y ago
      Because that's where the cars go? You see, there is a system. Starting from the right: pedestrians, bikes and lastly cars. We never deviate from that system, that way everyone always know where everything is. Sometimes there's a bike lane, but that still goes between the pedestrians and the cars. Also, if everything else fail, and this is what kids in Denmark is taught. If you're ever in doubt if the drivers have seen you, assume they haven't and stay away from the cars. You're on a bike, it's a great means of transportation and it's really safe (at least here), but if you're hit by a car, it's going to hurt you more than the car, so stay away from them. I think it's weird that people in countries that have the most cyclist are also the people who least of all believe that bikes have some weird right of way or than bikes should just be in the middle of heavy traffic.
      - vanilla_nut 4y ago
        Conversely, it makes sense that a country with chronic bike infrastructure baked into the legal system would assume bikes use that infrastructure. If there is a safe, protected bike lane, I’m happy to use it. In other countries, bike infrastructure is sparse, poorly designed, and frequently dangerous. Bicyclists must drive defensively to stay alive. Sometimes this means taking the full lane because staying to the side puts you in danger of dooring or makes you vulnerable to aggressive drivers who will squeeze by without adequate space.
eptcyka 4y ago
Honk away, then. Whenever I make left turns on intersections, I pre-emptively check behind me if there's any traffic coming behind me, use hand signals to signal my intent to move left and then confidently take the lane I need, so long as there isn't any fast moving traffic coming my way. I would stop if it's impossible to cross lanes without impeding traffic.
- vvillena 4y ago
  IIRC the "don't turn left on a bicycle" was popularized in Copenhaguen. The city has enough bike traffic that the standard approach stops working.
Symbiote 4y ago
Though a left turn on small roads (e.g. in the city centre) is fine. In many other countries, bicycles turning left are expected to move to the middle of the leftmost lane and make the turn exactly as a car would. It's hardly surprising that those countries don't have so many people cycling as Denmark or the Netherlands.

avdlinde 4y ago

I hope this is a joke and not serious. Bicycles are supposed to be on the road, pedestrians are not.

mrweasel 4y ago
> Bicycles are supposed to be on the road The point is, that they aren't suppose to be in the middle of road.
- eptcyka 4y ago
  Why?
  - mrweasel 4y ago
    Because that's where the cars go? You see, there is a system. Starting from the right: pedestrians, bikes and lastly cars. We never deviate from that system, that way everyone always know where everything is. Sometimes there's a bike lane, but that still goes between the pedestrians and the cars. Also, if everything else fail, and this is what kids in Denmark is taught. If you're ever in doubt if the drivers have seen you, assume they haven't and stay away from the cars. You're on a bike, it's a great means of transportation and it's really safe (at least here), but if you're hit by a car, it's going to hurt you more than the car, so stay away from them. I think it's weird that people in countries that have the most cyclist are also the people who least of all believe that bikes have some weird right of way or than bikes should just be in the middle of heavy traffic.
    - vanilla_nut 4y ago
      Conversely, it makes sense that a country with chronic bike infrastructure baked into the legal system would assume bikes use that infrastructure. If there is a safe, protected bike lane, I’m happy to use it. In other countries, bike infrastructure is sparse, poorly designed, and frequently dangerous. Bicyclists must drive defensively to stay alive. Sometimes this means taking the full lane because staying to the side puts you in danger of dooring or makes you vulnerable to aggressive drivers who will squeeze by without adequate space.

eptcyka 4y ago

Honk away, then. Whenever I make left turns on intersections, I pre-emptively check behind me if there's any traffic coming behind me, use hand signals to signal my intent to move left and then confidently take the lane I need, so long as there isn't any fast moving traffic coming my way. I would stop if it's impossible to cross lanes without impeding traffic.

vvillena 4y ago
IIRC the "don't turn left on a bicycle" was popularized in Copenhaguen. The city has enough bike traffic that the standard approach stops working.

Symbiote 4y ago

Though a left turn on small roads (e.g. in the city centre) is fine. In many other countries, bicycles turning left are expected to move to the middle of the leftmost lane and make the turn exactly as a car would. It's hardly surprising that those countries don't have so many people cycling as Denmark or the Netherlands.