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If you want an experience that will make you want to smash your head against a wall repeatedly, follow the bike lane discussions on Next Door. Many thousands of people dead from cars every year, but on ND the "almost" or "nearly" hit bicycle collisions are clearly the most destructive force.

They're still alive because they've not actually been hit by anything. They perhaps believe that their entirely made-up narrative is credible. Such is their hatred of cyclists and their need to shit-post.

Funny how I had that exact conversation with the owner of a gigantic SUV. Your 4000kg brick is a *lot* more dangerous than my 7kg bike in the rare event that I do break the rules... smh

We’re all just rolling the dice every day, I fear.

"Riding a BIKE isn't feasible for EVERYONE, you know, so how DARE you suggest that we make it SAFER to DO"

Hmm this is true, sometimes cyclists break rules...but so do cars. Are we going to a full train infrastructure? I would support it! Ban car and bike lanes!

Yeah I mean all the perceived annoying shit cyclists do is only because they're on the main road and don't have a lane of their own so they have no choice. Everyone wins with more infrastructure to support separating bikes and cars.

Same energy

I actually really like driving! And I mean normal driving - not off road or racing or anything. It requires being very present in a way most of our life tries to pull us out of.

In all seriousness: ask ppl who know how to drive “who has right of way at a 4 way stop sign?” You won’t be thrilled at how many “I’m not sure” or just wrong answers there are.

Moving to Germany and driving regularly with cyclists has made me a better driver. I'm much more aware & cautious, and this safer

I genuinely think this is true of most drivers. They would rather devote as little attention as possible to driving, because it’s not something they choose to do or enjoy. If we ever figure out autonomous vehicles, the big improvement to road safety will come from stopping these people from driving.

Other countries not having physical seperations of bike VS car lanes is utterly insane to me. It's enough to have some bricks or plastic bumps!

I agree we should do things holistically but I don't think there's ever been a city council in America that has built bike lanes as a status symbol.

the ones in nyc are at street level, that should be a good indicator not to stand there

I have, and as a first time visitor to the city, and based on my direct and recent experience can only surmise: you are an extremely stupid person

if she's standing on NYC bike lanes, she *IS* stepping into the street. the bike lanes are saving her from getting run over by cars and she's complaining

I have very recently seen the bike lanes in NYC and I didn’t have any trouble spotting them at all

Toronto gonna rip up them bike lanes only to have no change in traffic congestion and more cyclist accidents. So excited.

Not unlike when the discussion of gun laws comes up, "KNIVES KILL".

Car smoke causes much asthma Kids with asthma were much more likely to die from Ban private cars And our kids will live longe

I always pull those conversations back to "let's build better infrastructure for all road users, not just cars" to try and stop the inevitable cars v bikes, who's the most dangerous shtick... When pedestrians, which everyone is like 99% of the time, are ignored entirely and die frequently

It's also funny. You'll get in the car with those same people and they'll spend the entire car ride nitpicking other people's driving while also breaking the law themselves half the time

Classic

There was an initial piece of research about fifteen years ago which suggested that female cyclists had higher rates of collision and injury because they were more likely to follow rules. It was small scale, unreliable, and not repeated, because why would anyone be interested in that?

It's really not uncommon for what is legal, what is implied by the infrastructure, and what is actually safe to ride being completely different and contradictory things

One story of many: I ride as far to the right as I can to give cars maximum passing space. when it's unsafe I move to the center so they don't try to pass too close. on a hilly two-lane road with oncoming traffic i moved to the center. guy who couldn't wait 10s to pass had all day to argue about it.

I used to judge cyclists who rode up the inside of a column of stop-start rush-hour traffic. Then I realised that getting moving from a standing start is one of the most dangerous moments and staying in motion is sometimes essential to stay safe

There's a spot here leaving the beach, you have to merge across one lane of a freeway offramp to stay in the bike lane. I've tried it 1000 ways, but the safest seems to stop at the green and gun it when it turns red bc that's the only time there's a break in traffic. try explaining that to drivers

and very very in the motorist's way with no obvious means to "sneak by" me. yep yep. you gotta be in the way of the people so they pay attention to you and out of the way of the people who will never pay attention to you (ie people opening vehicle doors, coming out of buildings, alleys, or walking

The drivers cut it too close I mean- Using the bike lane like free space

yesss

When I learned to drive in Ocean Beach SD, my parents, driving instructor and even the police told me, pedestrians and bicycles ALWAYS have the right of way, always! When I asked why, they just looked at me and repeated this. I wasn't the sharpest for my age but I figured it out!

Me too. If I need to take the lane, that's my position. I won't weave back to the kerb to sneak by, even if it's safe to do so. But if I'm riding in the gutter (as is required by law here in BC) in slow moving or stalled congestion, I'll be undercutting as many cagers as I can.

next intersection. then you get to play the game of trying to pass them all over agin. in my world, i just everyone plenty of space.

Also if they clearly don’t care about their own safety or they wouldn’t be breaking the law by making cars go slower, so i don’t see why I should care.

I don't understand when there are two whole open lanes, people choose to pass within a foot of me.

A cyclist has much more incentive not to hit a pedestrian since they can get hurt worse than the person they hit. I do agree that there are some dumbasses on bikes.

Be careful. I used to do this (actually, banging right behind the gas tank; it makes a REALLY loud sound in the cab). Then someone tried to run me down for it.

That sounds like a plus to me.

also, speed limits are stupid and people who adhere to them are bad drivers who should disappear from the roads. so should cyclists, tractors, etc, for slowing cars down. it’s like they’ve time-travelled here from the 1970s.

Including that they kill and maim and sicken millions of people. Including hundreds and thousands and millions of children. Oh and animals, plants, and ecosystems.

Any road construction using state funds cannot be used for sidewalks or bike lanes or pedestrian safety period.

Of course. Idaho.

I see motorists and cyclists do stupid, illegal and dangerous things every day, because people - regardless of means of conveyance - are stupid. So, I’m a huge fan of good bike infrastructure!

Some years back in my town a road-raging driver crossed into oncoming traffic *and onto a sidewalk* to deliberately try to run down a cyclist, and the general reaction was *still* basically "well the cyclist, being a cyclist, probably had it coming." It's surreal.

“Bikes run red lights you know!” Shut up with your giant pedestrian-plowing, cattle-catching, fossil fuel-guzzling nightmare machine that beeps and boops and has an individual tv for every passenger.

I ride a bike and the behaviour of other cyclists can be embarrassing, disrespecting rules of the road or perhaps not knowing them? pedestrians can also be thoughtless stepping out in front of you because they’re not looking and have earbuds in 🤷‍♀️ bike lanes help keep everyone safer 

The other part is that the rules bikes sometimes break are often the ones blatantly made for cars and which are just nonsensical on a bike

you should have your license revoked

“England has a knife problem! We can’t regulate guns!” same vibes

The amount of people in this very thread proving OP's point is surreal

protect but not bind, bind but not protect

Turns out drivers never wanted me to stop for the stop, they just wanted to feel like they were getting where they were going faster, and once they see how much me on a bicycle can slow them down they hate that too. (Not instead, they are still mad about cyclists running the stop sign) *If turning

I dunno man, someone walked into my shopping basket at Walmart the other day.......seems dangerous

Me: "Bro!" Him: "Fuck off." Me: "No!!!" But did I brush it off and continue my run, barely thinking about it thereafter? Yes! Would I have been able to do the same if it was an SUV driver that had done that? Heck no! 2/2 (I cycle ridiculous mileage btw...)

Don’t get me started on shopping carts in grocery store lanes.

"A cyclist nearly killed me! There I was, running in the exact middle of a shared-use path on a Saturday at noon, just minding my own business..."

The level of perfection expected from a cross section of society before it can be considered is profound. Especially considering the pervasive scofflaw behavior amongst drivers. 🤷‍♂️

Seriously.

Bike lanes are awesome. 👍

This is literally every argument against e bikes "Well i heard from one of my friends that their great aunt was hit by an e scooter once maybe" damn, 1,000 more of those and you get 1% of the anual pedestrian hit by cars each year!

« There was no consultation » ‘There was no consultation to ask me if i wanted to cycle down the street with cars parked on both sides, and cars driving behind me and cars driving towards mé

Hey.... absolutists need to absolute 😁

It’s “I Hate Mondays”ing. Conservatives don’t have policy debates, they have group therapy sessions where they list things about the world that make them anxious.

I have found it is next to impossible to reason with car brain people about bike lanes. They see it as “taking space away from cars therefore it increases traffic”. The cult of the car

My cities sort of solution to this is that bikers are free to use bus lanes where they are available and they have been building more bike infrastructure and their are trails all over the place. It doesn't keep you off the road permanently but it certainly helps.

Drivers complain about cyclists on the roads. Drivers complain about bike lanes. Drivers kill cyclists.

Oh, sharrows are worse than useless. Studies have shown.

The idea is to remind drivers that bicycles are allowed to be in the middle of the lane if they wanted to and felt it was safest. But of course, since it's completely vague, it doesn't really mean anything to the people. who need that reminder the most, hahaha

If more regular people are cycling, it becomes more like Amsterdam than the Tour de France.

If Americans get so in shape by riding bicycles everywhere that the average cyclist becomes capable of killing as many people at maximum bicycling effort as the average motorist can with mere inattention, we would be a nation of unstoppable supermen! Seems like a win/win.

And the only evidence is "one time I saw a cyclist do something"

Having just started cycling in a city that has really good cycle lane provision, the only time I've been close to hitting a pedestrian is when they were walking in the cycle lane and not on the pavement!

I visited a friend in Portland, Oregon in 2014 and spent 10 days bicycling around downtown. So many dedicated bike lanes! I noticed that 4 bikes take up about as much space as 1 car, and most cars have fewer than 4 occupants. Bike lanes saved space and reduced congestion. You could see it plainly.

As a car driver and cyclist I really support bike lanes, they make it safer for cyclists AND drivers. 🤷‍♀️ It's win win. It's also easier to promote biking in a city if its easy and safe to do so 🤷‍♀️

"And they don't come to a full stop at stop signs!"

I love that half the astro- people I follow make me forget they aren't the bike people I follow, because they are also the bike people.

You'd think cyclists could cause this sort of damage via inattention the way drivers go on about them.

I think Harry was arguing for dedicated bike infrastructure, not against cyclists.

I swear Porter Square needs bike lanes with protective barriers including the side streets inside the shopping center AND 'this means you' bike lights.

Yea, I mean I want good bike infrastructure BECAUSE cyclists drive like assholes lol. Give them their own space to do that

I hear deep cleansing breaths are helpful for bouts of rage.

That’s the safer behaviour statistically. There’s actually loads of science as to why cyclists can have different rules biking. avidcyclist.com/bike-law/the...

i was hit by a biker full force once, i just got some bruises and was a bit upset. i saw a woman get hit by a car once, she broke her leg and was taken away by an ambulance. id much rather get hit by a bike over a car!!!!!