5 ms·

I believe the person going straight in a lane has right-of-way over someone trying to turn in front of them faster than they can reasonably stop. Bicycles are

I believe the person going straight in a lane has right-of-way over someone trying to turn in front of them faster than they can reasonably stop. Bicycles are treated as cars, but pedestrians always have right of way if on a pedestrian path. My near misses and accidents generally are because either someone tries to quickly get in front of me so they can turn in front of me, or because they didn't notice the bike lane at all when turning. I think the Australian rule would be nearly impossible to follow in a major city, as it's difficult to predict when a car quickly overtaking you may want to "get one over you" and gun it and turn into a driveway in front of you, which is a major cause for my hits / near misses.

climb_stealth 4y ago
Now that you say it I'm not actually sure what the rule is in Australia. But in practice as a pedestrian or cyclist you have to be aware of cars and can't expect to be given way. In Germany being given way feels pretty much ingrained. It is a very different experience. And yes, crossing across sidewalks or bike lanes with poor visibility is a common bad one. Both when being the one driving and on foot or bike.
- akgerber 4y ago
  The difference is that right-of-way laws for pedestrians and cyclists are actually enforced in Germany. The laws are generally similar elsewhere in the world, but as they are unenforced the larger, heavier vehicle de facto has right-of-way because the driver can easily kill a cyclist or pedestrian without meaningful consequence.
  - notch656a 4y ago
    AFAIK in the US a bicycle is considered a car for right-of-way purposes and thus has no privilege over the car. The only upside in the traffic laws is ability to use the bike lane, SOMETIMES (but usually not) legal right to be on the sidewalk, and no need for a driver's license / registration / insurance.
    - dragonwriter 4y ago
      > AFAIK in the US a bicycle is considered a car for right-of-way purposes and thus has no privilege over the car. The US is not a single jurisdiction for traffic laws, and whether bicycles are considered vehicles and whether and how they are treated differently than cars at intersections or for other purposes varies widely by state.
      - notch656a 4y ago
        I suppose that's true. Nevertheless it's generally accurate and simply telling a foreigner to read the code of every single jurisdiction you pass through is not practical. Any jurisdiction where a bicycle has privileged right of way over a car on a regular public road is by far the exception in America, and a one hour bike ride can easily go through several novel jurisdictions. If a frenchman were to tell me the rules for right of way in bicycles in France I would not consider him wrong if there were some town in French Guiana where the rules are different (despite it being part of France).
        dragonwriter 4y ago
        > Any jurisdiction where a bicycle has privileged right of way over a car on a regular public road is by far the exception in America Its actually quite common for them to have special treatment in the rules of the road, either being classed as vehicles with special privileges (beyond just use of bike lanes and sonetimes sidewalks) or not as vehicles at all; in fact, it is so common that I would argue it is by far the norm, the difficulty is that it is not at all consistent what the special treatment is. > a one hour bike ride can easily go through several novel jurisdictions The relevant jurisdictions here are thr 50 states, the District of Columbia, and (pedantically, but good luck including them with others ona bike ride) other territories. Its possible to get several on a one-hour bike ride, but only if it is carefully planned for that purpose. > If a frenchman were to tell me the rules for right of way in bicycles in France I would not consider him wrong if there were some town in French Guiana where the rules are different (despite it being part of France). Sure, but just on Idaho stop rules alone, there are differences from the majority “just like a car” rule in 9 states covering about 10% of the US population. The exceptions aren't equivalent to “some town in French Guiana”.

climb_stealth 4y ago

Now that you say it I'm not actually sure what the rule is in Australia. But in practice as a pedestrian or cyclist you have to be aware of cars and can't expect to be given way. In Germany being given way feels pretty much ingrained. It is a very different experience. And yes, crossing across sidewalks or bike lanes with poor visibility is a common bad one. Both when being the one driving and on foot or bike.

akgerber 4y ago
The difference is that right-of-way laws for pedestrians and cyclists are actually enforced in Germany. The laws are generally similar elsewhere in the world, but as they are unenforced the larger, heavier vehicle de facto has right-of-way because the driver can easily kill a cyclist or pedestrian without meaningful consequence.
- notch656a 4y ago
  AFAIK in the US a bicycle is considered a car for right-of-way purposes and thus has no privilege over the car. The only upside in the traffic laws is ability to use the bike lane, SOMETIMES (but usually not) legal right to be on the sidewalk, and no need for a driver's license / registration / insurance.
  - dragonwriter 4y ago
    > AFAIK in the US a bicycle is considered a car for right-of-way purposes and thus has no privilege over the car. The US is not a single jurisdiction for traffic laws, and whether bicycles are considered vehicles and whether and how they are treated differently than cars at intersections or for other purposes varies widely by state.
    - notch656a 4y ago
      I suppose that's true. Nevertheless it's generally accurate and simply telling a foreigner to read the code of every single jurisdiction you pass through is not practical. Any jurisdiction where a bicycle has privileged right of way over a car on a regular public road is by far the exception in America, and a one hour bike ride can easily go through several novel jurisdictions. If a frenchman were to tell me the rules for right of way in bicycles in France I would not consider him wrong if there were some town in French Guiana where the rules are different (despite it being part of France).
      - dragonwriter 4y ago
        > Any jurisdiction where a bicycle has privileged right of way over a car on a regular public road is by far the exception in America Its actually quite common for them to have special treatment in the rules of the road, either being classed as vehicles with special privileges (beyond just use of bike lanes and sonetimes sidewalks) or not as vehicles at all; in fact, it is so common that I would argue it is by far the norm, the difficulty is that it is not at all consistent what the special treatment is. > a one hour bike ride can easily go through several novel jurisdictions The relevant jurisdictions here are thr 50 states, the District of Columbia, and (pedantically, but good luck including them with others ona bike ride) other territories. Its possible to get several on a one-hour bike ride, but only if it is carefully planned for that purpose. > If a frenchman were to tell me the rules for right of way in bicycles in France I would not consider him wrong if there were some town in French Guiana where the rules are different (despite it being part of France). Sure, but just on Idaho stop rules alone, there are differences from the majority “just like a car” rule in 9 states covering about 10% of the US population. The exceptions aren't equivalent to “some town in French Guiana”.