Rehashes all the usual arguments that anti-bike people cling to, but provides evidence and fact as a way to counter those false, tired, and uninformed opinions.
Enjoyable read:
www.wired.com/2014/11/9-things-drivers-need-stop-saying-bikes-vs-cars-debate/
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Some of the comments are quite good.
Cyclists need better infrastructure, a deeper understanding by the general public of cycling law in their state, and fewer cars.
-Robert
The comments are pretty good so far…but like ST, I’m sure it will not be long before things lose their constructive nature and tailspin into name calling.
I still find the idea that bikers don’t follow the laws, and therefore shouldn’t be allowed on the roads, to be laughable. Because if the inverse were true, the roads would be empty.
Interesting facts : the better the city is for parking and driving, the worse it is for cyclists and pedestrians.
the better the city is for parking and driving, the worse it is for real-estate values.
the higher the volume of traffic that goes through a neighborhood street, **the less **that neighbors interact.
The fact is that America has made a huge mistake in urban planning by designing many communities to be car defendant.
People that visit America from Europe are amazed at the amount of city space that is allocated for cars.
Finnally, another huge problem with automobiles is that many drivers think they own the road and blast horns or worse at cyclists and pedestrians.
Who voted for cars to rule the streets?
In many places it is legal for bikes to pass stopped traffic at a light, where there is room to do so. But in general only the cyclists are aware of this. So the cyclists may well be behaving within the law for some behaviors but still get painted with a broad brush of illegality by people who perceive their legal actions as out of bounds.
This is in the comments and I think it is behind a lot of why people think bikes are ‘always breaking the law.’ There are a lot of things people think they know about the law that just ain’t so. Among my favorites are people telling me that I have to ride outside the white lane (maybe there is a law in some state that says this but not OH), telling me that I had to ride in a bike lane on a sidewalk and not in the road, that you cannot ever ride two abreast in OH, etc.
People have a lot of odd ideas, and they are dead sure they are right about them.
In many places it is legal for bikes to pass stopped traffic at a light, where there is room to do so. But in general only the cyclists are aware of this. So the cyclists may well be behaving within the law for some behaviors but still get painted with a broad brush of illegality by people who perceive their legal actions as out of bounds.
This is in the comments and I think it is behind a lot of why people think bikes are ‘always breaking the law.’ There are a lot of things people think they know about the law that just ain’t so. Among my favorites are people telling me that I have to ride outside the white lane (maybe there is a law in some state that says this but not OH), telling me that I had to ride in a bike lane on a sidewalk and not in the road, that you cannot ever ride two abreast in OH, etc.
People have a lot of odd ideas, and they are dead sure they are right about them.
That one is kind of a pet peeve of mine though. I get pissed off when I’m riding with people who move up on the right at a stop light and then get in the way of the cars that were there before them. It can be done well, safely and without getting in the way, but is isn’t always. I finally quit going on my local Saturday ride partially because of incidents like this. There is one place where we turn left on a relatively main road. 60 riders come up in the left turn lane and swarm around in front of the three cars in line. Then the light turns green and it takes them fucking forever to get going and get out of the way and the few of us who waited behind the three cars miss the light…
As cyclists we need to be cognizant of how things look and that looks really bad. Like I said, it can be done properly (not with 60 people surely, but a few riders maybe), but we as cyclists need to pay attention and do it right. And even with two people it is NEVER okay to have two riders move up on the right and then plant themselves side by side in front of the first car in line.
I know that quote above specifically says “where there is room to do so” and my examples are somewhat counter to that, but still we need to do our part.
Similarly, I have no problem rolling an empty stop sign if nobody is around, but if somebody is out watering their lawn I stop. There is no reason to give them another example of how cyclists can’t obey the law.
Cars are a suitable solution to a lot of transport questions (how do I get to work, get groceries, get stuff from the hardware store, visit grandma across state etc). One vehicle solves all those questions.
Bikes are also a suitable solution for a lot of transport questions. A lot of the same questions as cars solve. Bikes don’t (realistically) solve as many problems as cars however.
What we all need to do is to decide what is the best solution to the next transport question we have. While a car may solve it, is it the best solution? Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it’s no.
About 12 years ago, I moved house, to be about 13km (8mi?) from work. I chose to use a bike for commuting, for a lot of reasons. I love riding. It’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s better for me, it’s less polluting (if you don’t count the sweat I leave all over the road). From time to time (about 10-15 days a year) I take a car. Most times I ride to the ferry across the harbour. Sure I stay dry, but it takes just as long in traffic, but I do get to listen to the radio. Sometimes I drive all the way to work. It’s slower (it often takes 45 minutes to travel 600m to get onto the motorway) and my frustration levels are high.
I choose to ride a bike to work because for me, it’s the best solution in that situation. When I go to the lumber yard for one of my building projects, I do NOT take my bike. I’d need 20 trips with 1or 2 2x4’s to get the job done. In that case a car is a better solution. If I just need a few nuts or bolts I do take the bike. If I’m going to a bike race at some distant venue, some cycle advocates would suggest I could ride there. Sure it would take 2 days each way and I’d lose 2 days pay, but it could be done. Instead I use the car as that’s a better solution in that case.
For me, for each transport journey I make, I choose the best product for the task. That’s why I have 11 bikes, and borrow my wifes car from time to time.