4 ms·

The nice thing about cars is that drivers of automobiles don't usually drive on the sidewalk at speeds up to 25mph in crowded areas while talking on the cellph

by vlad 18y ago

The nice thing about cars is that drivers of automobiles don't usually drive on the sidewalk at speeds up to 25mph in crowded areas while talking on the cellphone at the same time. Or if they did, they would at least get fined.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
silentbicycle 18y ago
Yeah, some people on bikes are incredibly inconsiderate, but the bike isn't the problem. If more people rode bikes, the social norms about where to ride / not to ride would be better understood, and the social pressures would be clearer. This sort of thing also happened when cars where new, though then people actually got killed instead of just annoyed. See Clay McShane's _Down the Asphalt Path_ (http://books.google.com/books?id=hoFKI-yodUQC&pg=RA1-PA176&dq=cars+hitting+pedestrians+%22new+york%22+italian++neighborhoods&ei=cez9SNqgMIHwMpSh2cML http://books.google.com/books?id=hoFKI-yodUQC&pg=RA1-PA1...) Similarly, people who don't know about how to ride bikes safely are far more likely to ride against traffic, weaving in and out of parking lanes and sidewalks, etc. Most people in the US have had no education about how to ride a bike in traffic safely, because riding bikes as transportation has never really been a mainstream thing. (Even two or three one-hour classes and showing people how to fix a flat tire would go a long way, I think.)
- vlad 18y ago
  I agree with you! And I've seen less of the behavior I've mentioned; I'm just wondering if it's because bikers are starting to get ticketed, or if bikers have been in near-accidents and have become more careful. Colleges and large companies should definitely hold sessions on safety.
  - silentbicycle 18y ago
    It's probably both happening in tandem -- it seems to be a gradual social change, in part due to rising gas prices. A noticeable percentage of college students have biked around for years, but it seems to have increased significantly over the last few years, and I see significantly more people biking around downtown Grand Rapids, MI in general.
- silentbicycle 18y ago
  (oops: when cares were new)

by vlad 18y ago

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

silentbicycle 18y ago

Yeah, some people on bikes are incredibly inconsiderate, but the bike isn't the problem. If more people rode bikes, the social norms about where to ride / not to ride would be better understood, and the social pressures would be clearer. This sort of thing also happened when cars where new, though then people actually got killed instead of just annoyed. See Clay McShane's _Down the Asphalt Path_ (http://books.google.com/books?id=hoFKI-yodUQC&pg=RA1-PA176&dq=cars+hitting+pedestrians+%22new+york%22+italian++neighborhoods&ei=cez9SNqgMIHwMpSh2cML http://books.google.com/books?id=hoFKI-yodUQC&pg=RA1-PA1...) Similarly, people who don't know about how to ride bikes safely are far more likely to ride against traffic, weaving in and out of parking lanes and sidewalks, etc. Most people in the US have had no education about how to ride a bike in traffic safely, because riding bikes as transportation has never really been a mainstream thing. (Even two or three one-hour classes and showing people how to fix a flat tire would go a long way, I think.)

vlad 18y ago
I agree with you! And I've seen less of the behavior I've mentioned; I'm just wondering if it's because bikers are starting to get ticketed, or if bikers have been in near-accidents and have become more careful. Colleges and large companies should definitely hold sessions on safety.
- silentbicycle 18y ago
  It's probably both happening in tandem -- it seems to be a gradual social change, in part due to rising gas prices. A noticeable percentage of college students have biked around for years, but it seems to have increased significantly over the last few years, and I see significantly more people biking around downtown Grand Rapids, MI in general.
silentbicycle 18y ago
(oops: when cares were new)