People on bikes may be rude and may not follow the rules, but can’t be aggressive.
When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man.
Original stripe from the Onion: https://www.theonion.com/bum-rush-hour-1846606314
Cross-posted from: https://mastodon.uno/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/113615912203015089
And when they have their own lane:
Literally me every day going solids 35km/h on the bike lane passing the cars stuck In traffic. Is delicious.
Me too. There’s usually an unbroken line of jammed-up cars from my home all the way to my workplace, and I get to ride past it on a separated bike lane.
Every day I walk into the office with a smile on my face.My company have 3 days home office 2 in the office, but I like to go everyday to the office mainly because I love to start the day with a 30 minutes bike ride.
My company has the same policy. I like to go every day cause like you, the commute is a bonus instead of lost time.
And also, I have ADHD and need to be in the office to be motivated to work.Lmao, same for me. I understand that some people are more productive on home, specially if they’re already tired for the commute and transit when they’re finally on the office. But for me, in house they are so many distractions, that I can’t really finish anything in time.
I am visiting Boston. I am looking forward to using their transit, but their biking has not left a good impression so far. In one spot, they had a bike lane symbol, but it was just on a busy street between parking and traffic with no actual lane. In another spot, there was an actual lane, but people were parking on it. And just in general, there aren’t a lot of obvious places to bike around. People are making it work, but it just looks dangerous.
There’s room for a lot of improvement, and drivers hungry for parking are already fighting back against the changes we have.
Something that makes the experience much nicer is if I manage to plan out a destination that will take me along one of the community paths that are walking/bike specific. But yes, ideally you shouldn’t need to do such a thing.
Wait, this artist is serious and not mocking drivers with this opinion? Lol
Poe factor means you can’t tell. (And either side may claim it and use the imagery regardless of authorial intent.
Pretty sure that’s the onion
No
Well. There are some really dumb bicyclists out there.
I have a real world example from just over an hour ago. I work overnights. I have to travel to different locations during my shift on certain nights. Tonight was one of those nights. I’m headed up to a location on a city street, 40mph speed limit, when I catch sight of a cyclist in my lane when I’m maybe 20ft from him. He’s peddling for his life but only doing 12-15mph or so.
Why didn’t I see him until he was that close to me? Was I playing on my phone? Tired because I work overnights? No. He is a black guy, wearing a black hoodie with black sweat pants, on a bike with no reflectors on it. Riding down a city street in the middle of the night. I’m pretty sure this is the second time I’ve encountered this guy too (same ninja cosplay both times). The first time was at least half a year ago. Honestly I’m surprised he’s still alive, or at least uncrippled to the point that he can bike.
People are insufficiently conscious of their visibility. Last night, in the dark and rain, a jogger came running full speed to cross a crosswalk from a dark wooded area between buildings who was completely wearing black. I would have hit her if it weren’t for the two inches of white socks that extended above her black sneakers which allowed me to slam the brakes just a moment before.
I know it can be hard to introspect about your own visibility. My partner has pointed out to me how to be better visible when I go out on my bike. More people should think about it.
It would be very good for pedestrian deaths if somebody spray painted a garbage can black, put it on that crosswalk in the middle of the night, and filled it with bricks. That way, all the people who drive their cars too fast will crash into it and learn to be more careful.
How about we build a raised crosswalk so cars naturally have to slow down to cross it, which will make them more aware of anyone attempting to cross at the crosswalk and lower the speed, which will lower impact forces, if they still get hit.
Great idea!
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Across the board, nighttime visibility on US roads has gotten worse for drivers and cyclists alike imo.
Then you need actual bike lanes
So you almost ran a guy over, but it’s his fault for being black?
I mean, that’s one way to live your life.
EDIT: just saw the user name. Totally ate the onion. Leaving the comment up to commemorate my shameful action.
No, as a driver you are always responsible for your actions.
However, being a driver does not absolve any cyclists of their responsibility as cyclists. In this case the issue is the lack of reflectors and lack of bike lights. That is part of the responsibilities that comes with being a biker.
Any reference to race, outside of the reflective properties of different colors that might actually be relevant in this case, are yours.
Any reference to race, outside of the reflective properties of different colors actually relevant in this case, are yours.
The way OP listed the person’s skin color along with other attributes that are supposedly relevant for visibility looked to me like HE was implying it was relevant.
Usually, I would let it slide, but (at least over here) “lol black people are hard to see at night” is unfortunately still a very harmful trope that gets bandied about, even in the aftermath of crashes.
So you can see why I thought it was worth calling out.
Now I think it’s all moot, a guy called “psycho driver” posting in “fuck cars” is probably not posting in good faith. But still.
“Black peoples are more likely to be criminals” is a harmful trope, and evokes racism through stereotyping. But “black people are hard to see at night” is…just true.
What the hell?
Yeah, your shameful comment makes you sound like the racist, idiot…
Uhh, ok.
Your post history is 90% name calling and deleted comments, so I’m sure it’s me who is the problem here.
Ok. My post history makes you not look like a dumbass.
Yup. That’s how it works. Lol
Edit: I’ve never once seen somebody who is actually debating in good faith check post history. As I’ve said to others, I don’t give a flying fuck. But going immediately to an ad hominem attack? Like, could you look any more like a stupid asshole?!?
You ad hominem’d first lmao.
Yea bud, except the amount of stupid drivers out there far exceeds both the amount of stupid bikers and the danger they pose. You’re just used to it because the standard of driving skill is so abyssmally low and you’re a) probably part of that group whether you like it or not and b) familiar with what to look out for while bikes might be rarer.
In all my time driving I rarely see people who aren’t way too close to the limit of their driving skill. One little mistake followed by someone else not making up for it and bam, problem.
I’m going out on a limb here. On average car drivers and cyclists are equally rubbish in traffic. After that it becomes a numbers game. I don’t see any reason why the mode of transportation has any bearing on my skills in traffic.
As I told my kids when they started venturing out in traffic by themselves:
Me: expect anyone in traffic to be a moron Them (in a got ya-snicker): But that means you, too! Me: yes.
We all have bad days in traffic, regardless of how many wheels are at our disposal. Plan for it.
Probably the main point to follow this on is that bike collisions likely do happen, involving pedestrians or other cyclists. They’re aggravating and occasionally require intense treatment, but generally nowhere near as lethal as car collisions.
So, the risk factor makes a big difference. Like walking to your desk with a full cup of coffee, vs a pinless grenade.
That’s why your car has lights. If someone could have spray painted a garbage can black, filled it with bricks, and put it in the street, would you have smashed into it and damaged your bumper? If the answer is yes, then you were going too fast. Drivers have a responsibility to drive to the conditions. You’re the one operating the deadly machinery.
Could he have benefitted from putting on reflectors? Sure, yes he could have. But that is a decision for his own benefit, it doesn’t affect you. If he’s an idiot, then he’s only being an idiot to himself. If a car driver is an idiot, then someone else could die. That’s why idiots should all be on bicycles.
Could he have benefitted from putting on reflectors? Sure, yes he could have. But that is a decision for his own benefit
Back in ol’ England, it’s illegal to ride without reflectors, and illegal to be without lights at night.
You can’t even buy a bike in the US without reflectors.
Some years ago in the Netherlands, I was cycling home through a pitch black cycling path covered by trees (so not even moonlight) with my very decent bike light illuminating the path ahead of me.
Before I could even process that there was another cyclist coming towards me, a dark figure zips past so closely that I feel their jacket brush my left hand. It startled me so much that I needed to stop and catch my breath. I could only imagine what would have happened if I had hit him head on with us both going 25 km/h.
I’m curious to hear how that incident was my fault.
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At what speed should a car travel at night in a 40mph zone?
The textbook answer, the one you have to learn when you take drivers education around here at least, is that traffic should travel at a speed that is safe in the current situation (taking into account the environmental conditions, the condition of the road etc) but not exceeding the maximum velocity.
Poor visibility is one of the main reasons to reduce speed. As is things that affect handling, like snow or wet conditions.
So, “At what speed should a car travel at night in a 40mph zone?”
I don’t know. But if you almost ran someone over, you probably took a risk you shouldn’t have.
At a speed at which the driver has time to break whatever the driver may encounter on that road.
Wild life are notoriously bad at wearing high Viz clothing, although I’ve heard the Finns are making progress on the issue.
I mean the answer obviously depends on what the road is like. Near me, for example, I have 2 different roads that I drive on most often at night, both with speed limits around 35-40. One of them is in town, and has streetlights, stoplights by the crosswalks, and is just generally way better lit. Even so at night visibility is worse, so I’ll go like 10 below the speed limit (maybe only 5 bit depending on if I don’y see/think people are out walking or if I’m not as worried about visibility). The other road is basically a country road. It has trees and farm fields on either side, no lights, and is extremely hilly. Because of all that I go like max 20 or 25 pretty much, so I have enough time to brake for a biker I missed when I went over a hill, or for a deer or other animal that jumps out in front of me.
The dangerous thing in a crash between a bike and a car is definitely the car, so it should also fall more on the car to be safe. Not to say a bike has no responsibility for their own safety obviously, but a car should be traveling slowly enough that they have the ability to stop without hitting something if they have a sudden need to, and that means potentially going much slower than the speed limit at night.
Thank you for your insight, @psycho_driver@lemmy.world
I think most cyclists are great but there are also jackasses. when I used to have to drive to work in Houston, TX, I was coming home at night. Cyclist with no bike lights wearing all black just blew through a stop sign with a wall that ran all the way to the sidewalk. I slowed down because that intersection has poor visibility and people just yolo’d through it frequently, else i’d’ve hit them. I did notice one thing as they shot out: white earbuds in so also not listening to what’s going on around then.
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I’m pretty sure in this case, the indication was that his skin color literally made him harder to see at night.
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What’s more visible at night, an all-black outfit or a rainbow outfit? A: The all black outfit because antidenialistbot doesn’t see color
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Which non-natives did you steal your country from?
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And the same people are the loudest complainers when bike lanes are installed so this doesn’t happen.
I was riding on a two-lane road a couple of years ago. I heard a car approaching from behind, and he went really wide into the opposite lane to pass me. This was thoughtful of him except that there was a white van coming the opposite way which had to get almost all the way over to their curb to avoid hitting the car passing me head on. The driver of the white van stuck his head out of his window and yelled at me “YOU’RE GONNA GET SOMEBODY KILLED!”
I watched someone do that (without the screaming) right in front of a cop car going the other way, to the point where the cop had to hit the brakes to avoid a collision. I had to laugh.
Naturally nothing came of it. You know, driving dangerously isn’t a ticketable offense, for some reason.
Most assholes in cars can’t be bothered to stop for twenty seconds – like they’re supposed to – when there’s an obstruction in their lane. They think there’s some unwritten rule that they absolutely have to be moving no matter what’s on the road in front of them.
The proper thing to do in these “squeezed by a bike” scenarios is to just let the fucking bike determine the pace for a little while, and then wait until the other lane is free and you can pass using it.
They think there’s some unwritten rule that they absolutely have to be moving no matter what’s on the road in front of them.
I’ve experienced that more times than I can count from cyclists on sidewalks that think that I should be expected to dodge out of their way just because they ring their little bell.
Maybe they just want to warn you so you don’t startle when they pass.
Mixed use paths are not great for commuting.
Most sidewalks are not “mixed use”.
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At that point, I’d expect the cyclist to pull over and let traffic flow past.
The same way we expect slower traffic to keep right or use turnouts to let faster traffic pass them on mountain roads. Nothing wrong with being slower or less comfortable on the roads, but if you are causing traffic to back up, you can get out of the way.
The biker’s loss is <1min as they use a turnout, shoulder or sidewalk, and the cars all get where they are going without needing to perform riskier passing maneuvers.
Doesn’t generally apply if you have a single car but I’ve been in a situation behind a cyclist where I wasn’t knowledgeable about the road ahead and was unable to find a place to safely pass for a while. I clearly was making the cyclist nervous, and I was nervous. A 10 second delay for the cyclist would have resolved the issue. Instead, I spent more like a minute waiting for a moment with enough visibility to let me safely pass.
Clearly you’ve never commuted by bike. You’d get nowhere if you’d have to let cars safely pass.
Most assholes in cars can’t be bothered to stop for twenty seconds – like they’re supposed to – when there’s an obstruction in their lane.
The problem is that this applies to assholes on bikes, too. This is not to defend asshole car drivers, but you cannot deny that quite a number of bicycle riders have a rather loose connection to the rules of the road.
Yeah also the Adjuster that killed that CEO was seen leaving on a bike!1!1!1!
He also used a backpack and jacket!!! We will outlaw those next.
Yeah, no more clothes!
Wait that would actually solve the issue of fast fashion.
Drivers in my city liberally use the bike lane as an impromptu turn lane, especially if another car is behind them even more if a bike is in the lane.
If it’s California that’s legally required. I know bicyclists in California are unfamiliar with the concept of laws, but that’s how they work.
There’s a dotted line when a car lane crosses a bike lane. That is not in every intersection. I agree we need to standardize and dummy proof stuff more but there’s only so much you can do with drivers who think it’s okay to turn the shoulder into an extra lane during a highway backup.
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I think you may be the only person in the state to have read that, also the dotted lines need to extend that far then. Their entire purpose is to visually represent that area.
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We’ll yeah, you’re kind of supposed to follow the lines. The entire point of them is to be a visual indicator, especially in border areas where you get a lot of people from out of state/country driving. It’s the agreed principle that keeps car accidents from happening.
I don’t think you’ve driven a car before
woe is you thinking the bike lane is anything more than an extended turn lane, especially outside of California.
we should all be more like Frayedpickles here and mow down the bikes in the bike only lane, teach them that they should keep their weak aluminum a-frames off our glorious car lanes.
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I don’t get this reaction. Cars should be in the bike lane for turning because after dooring the most common way to get injured is getting hooked by a turning car. Where I live we don’t really have bike lanes, but when you do have them cars don’t tend to look for you passing and turn as soon as they are signaled to do so.
just like school shootings, this seems to not be an issue in the rest of the world.
Really high Poe factor. I can’t tell if the cartoonist is posting this ironically or not.
I’ve heard enough people regard bicyclists as a menace (and feeling ashamed in the cases when I’m quiet about being a bicyclist) that this really is how we’re seen.
ETA the source explains a lot. Not knowing where it came from, though, seriously high Poe.
It’s a parody news site
IMO. Bicyclists have liberal disregard for traffic laws here. But so do the following groups: pedestrians, motorcyclist, big rigs, cars.
Kelly’s artistic screeds are devoid of irony, but as the invention of Colorado-based cartoonist Ward Sutton, Kelly the character — much like Stephen Colbert’s former Comedy Central bloviator — is composed almost entirely of irony. And that joke-within-a-joke makes all the difference.
…
Sutton is a true student of old newspaper comic strips and cartoons, so what emerged was a character whose persona embodied this “man out of time” approach — a cartoonist who is himself a caricature of a blind-to-his-own-buffoonery pundit, producing old-timey cartoons that ripple with parody.
A visual stroll through the Kelly collection is like a meta-history lesson in editorial cartooning before sardonic subtlety became fashionable. Kelly’s illustrations, reflecting wading-pool deep takes on the news, are larded with labels (“today’s no-good teens,” “today’s troop haters,” “benevolent America”) that skewer the worst practitioners of the art form. Kelly sees himself as a political “king of comedy,” but in truth, he is as deluded as Robert De Niro’s bad stand-up Rupert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy.” He would have been painfully mediocre at best in his own era; in our era, he is laughably hackneyed.
Ben Garrison uses this style unironically, so at a glance it’s hard to tell. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/ben-garrison
I’ve heard enough people regard bicyclists as a menace
The point is, most aren’t. But the handful of assholes are the ones that stay in the mind. Just like with car drivers.
Being introspective, I wasn’t great, learning from the bike messenger sector who was adroit at aggressive driving downtown, but to be fair San Francisco has an intense, unkind traffic vibe (at least compared to Vacaville and Sacramento, when my then-girlfriend was driving from Vacaville and Sacramento to visit me every other week.
In my opinion, the best traffic community in SF was on Clement street in the commercial area (a blend of Chinese community and Russian community small businesses) in which everyone drove horribly but did so at five miles per hour, so I could be patient while a cluster sorted themselves out, and in the meantime find an opening to zip through.
They’ve done studies with motorcycles and a big problem we need to overcome is: For some reason our brains ignore people on bikes sometimes. It sounds silly but it’s a real thing I promise. I support anything anti car related, but any Bike lane shouldn’t come within 50 ft of a road cars use. The mainstream trend of all cars bad lends too much ammunition to the pro car crowd. It’s not pretty or satisfying but it’s true. It’s a nash equilibrium and there’s only so much we can do.
Edit: Just putting this here for google. Working towards a car free world is going to be a ton of work. Our efforts here are focused on appeasing the car centrists. I want independent bike lanes away from heavy machinery and toxic exhaust chemicals. I want the cars we do have to use, relegated to roads where their bulk and fumes aren’t affecting anyone. Picking a fight with anyone not towing the party line is stupid, and should be below this community.
“Mainstream trend of all cars bad” which mainstream is that? Because last I checked Australia, Canada, the US and the UK are all still extremely car centric. This also completely ignores the fact that it is car centrism that causes the disregard for pedestrians and people on bikes. Finland and Denmark certainly don’t seem to have an abundance of poeple developing bike blindness and they have mixed traffic zones all over the place.
Your logic is pretty silly. By that same beat we must really like work and paying taxes. I dont know any ‘car centrists’ in my daily, but maybe you do.
No evidence for my claim, however I think a lot of the not noticing bikes while driving is just an expectations thing. People expect large metal boxes with 4+ wheels barreling down the place. They don’t expect something smaller, with fewer wheels, and in some cases completely silent. Because they don’t expect it, they don’t process it.
What’s this mean? Well, for one it means we don’t simply “ignore” people on bikes. That’s a facet of our limited attention and expectations. It also means this trend can be changed. If we condition people to expect and look out for bikes/motorcycles, people will probably be FAR less likely to not see them.
You are absolutelt right. There is at least a study that proved that drivers who also use bicycles are better at noticing stuff. The rationale would be that if you are also a cyclist you know thst the road is not only used by cars.
If you are interested I can problably find that study.
Having data to back up my claims is always nice.
Sure! Have a nice read!
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000145751730249X
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Having infrastructure like a bike lane can help with this. If you see a bike lane, it is reasonable to assume a bike may be using it. This can help keep you looking for bikes at intersections.
People below you just continue the circlejerk, but I’ll address you directly. Yes, if we throw a ton of effort at training drivers to also use bikes, and expect this effect to hold as strong outside a study environment - it could work. People really do just ignore bikers though. Even bikers did it.
I CAN’T HELP IT UR HONOR! MY BRAIN JUST DOESN’T SEE BIKES! IT’S SIMPLE BIOLOGY REALLY!
Literally this, but unironically, and less stupid 🤣
Your honor I was suffering from car-fluenza which my highly paid personal doctor will testify is a real medical condition.
You should forget about stroads. Stroads are hell.
Separate roads for bikes and cars.
The reaosn people.ignore.bikes is because they’re off in the shoulder. Ive had much more space given to me by cars when I take the lane (riding where the car’s left tire runs in the road).
Bicyclests would be safer if they took motorcycle courses and learned how to ride to be seen.
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Just push him out of it. The mental gymnastics…
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German right wing party AfD had one just like this, but unironically
Bike needs a ‘Latest fad’ asterisk
The bicycle was invented in 1817. It isn’t the ‘Latest fad’.
It’s a Kelly comic, facts aren’t relevant
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No what I hate about bikes besides everyone saying it doesn’t happen is them not following the rules of the road
Man, if only they had like a place to fuck off to, so they don’t have to be on the road… Maybe like an area completely off the street? COUGHS IN DUTCH
like not parking or driving in the bike lanes ? Like not speeding on every street because of the “cushion” ?
like driving without a license ? or insurance ?
oh you were whining about the human powered vehicle not the one the needs gas/coal/oil. My bad.
Every time I take my bike I’m amazed at how many car drivers don’t follow (or don’t know) the rules about overtaking safely.
You only get to pass me if there is plenty of space and it’s absolutely safe for both of us. Just because you’re in a car doesn’t mean you’re entitled to squeeze past and nearly run me over.
Sometimes, though rarely, they even come to a complete stop at the slow down sign.
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This comic is woefully inaccurate. There’s no way there are three people in that car. Also it’s not a car, it’s an SUV or a truck.
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Reminds me of my bike messenger days.
