On Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:20:41 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On Jun 15, 3:33*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On Jun 15, 8:58*am, Frank Krygowski wrote:



On Jun 14, 8:05*pm, john B. wrote:

The interesting thing is that there are no bike lanes and no special
rules for bikes. Bicycles seem to be treated as just another highway
user. You see them peddling along the side of the road, stopping for
stop lights and hardly ever on the sidewalks as bicycles and
motorcycles are forbidden to ride on sidewalks which are reserved for
foot traffic.

The idea that somehow you are different because you ride a bicycle to
work that I've noticed on various groups doesn't seem to exist and a
bicycle is viewed as just another variety of transportation.

By the way, no lycra, no foam hats, no half gloves. Just normal
attire.

In other words, Singapore proves that a city can have lots of
bicycling without weird multicolored bike lanes, barrier separated
"bike tracks," special traffic lights, etc.

And people can ride bicycles and feel adequately safe without weird
plastic hats and day-glo clothing.

Can someone please let the American "bike advocates" know? *Start with
Andy Clarke, John Pucher and Mia Birk.

(Of course, telling them to abandon fear mongering would be like like
telling them to abandon their life's work.)

Well, then there is Holland with separate bicycle facilities. *If you
believe that is the proper model, then current efforts in the USA are
woefully inadequate. We should be condemning rights of way to put in
extensive bicycle avenues -- maybe through your living room.

Of course, I don't think we need such things. Or rather, we need them
only in a few unusual places.

In general, I'm pretty fond of the system of bike facilities we
already have. They call them "roads" and they already go everywhere a
person is likely to want to go!

- Frank Krygowski

In Thailand the bicycle is considered, by law, to be one step above a
pedestrian and has no special rights at all. Just as the pedestrian
they are allowed to use the highways but with the caveat that they
have a very low priority. In fact there is a law that bicycles and
motorcycles are to ride on the side of the road; signs every couple of
kilometers on all highways.

There is another idiosyncrasy here, the larger vehicle is deemed to be
guilty, until proven innocent. If a bicycle hits a pedestrian the
bicycle is deemed wrong; an automobile hits a bicycle, the auto is
wrong, and so on. The burden of proof is on the larger vehicle to
prove that he/she/it was not guilty.

Of course, if the bicycle hits a larger vehicle while it is stationary
the moving vehicle (bicycle) is at fault. Getting "doored" is the
bicycle's fault and thus it is a rather uncommon accident here.