3 ms·
I biked through Amsterdam as a commuter along with everyone else for a week, and it just blew me away. Everyone was absolutely predictable and part of the “scho
by ideamotor 2y ago
I biked through Amsterdam as a commuter along with everyone else for a week, and it just blew me away. Everyone was absolutely predictable and part of the “school of fish”. No hesitation or ill-conceived politeness.
It was only a week but it was so refreshing. I think about this experience daily when driving because I think of how much time would be saved if people just knew absolutely when to take their turn and took it; instead of processing each decision and deciding based on their current mood. People knew the damn rules and norms.
So, I think it’s a function of having a critical mass, being necessary, and being embedded already as a norm. I don’t believe a city could make riding without a helmet legal and expect any sort of increase in safety …
- bluejekyll 2y agoThis doesn’t work when driving primarily because cars are generally moving a lot fast and are less maneuverable that bikes in avoiding conflict.
- jeffbee 2y agoAnd because drivers can't see or hear anything.
- bigfudge 2y agoAnd because they are physically more removed from the consequences of being a dick.
- stevesimmons 2y agoThree things are different in the Netherlands: 1. Almost everyone cycles. So all drivers are themselves cyclists. So they treat other cyclists with consideration. 2. The road/cycle infrastructure is set up to separate cars and bikes wherever possible. And where they share routes, cars are often explicitly second class users ("auto te gast" - cars, you're guests). 3. In any collision between a car and a bike, the driver will almost always be the one found at fault.
- late2part 2y ago[flagged]
- bazeblackwood 2y agoOh brother, talk about histrionics…