IDIOTS ON BIKES ARE NOT AS DANGEROUS

Originally Posted by mconlonx
"The Dutch aren't all that and are getting more and more conservative.
Heck, they just outlawed hallucinogenic mushrooms because some drunk,
depressed French chick jumped in a canal..."

....

That's no good, and they should try a Republican administration for 8
years before they really come to their senses...

Anyway, I was going to say some sweeping statement regarding idiots...
IDIOTS ON BIKES ARE NOT AS DANGEROUS as idiots on SUVs. Kind of common
sense, no? But I know some here need to feel good about themselves.

If half of America fails a REAL driving test and are channelled to
bikes and public transportation, the world would a better, safer place
to live.

NOTE: We should remind the Dutch how bad things are in Mexico and even
America under a War on Drugs (which they are winning).

***

T-shirts to fight IDIOCY...

I find one of the most hideous problems of living in mediocrity to be
putting up with (or surviving) idiotic traffic. Nobody in power
acknowledges it to be a problem (only DUI is), let alone offers a
solution. And then the idiots arm themselves with the biggest SUVs
they can possibly find. I just had to come up with a t-shirt for
them...

description...
"Whether you are in a rush or not to get to the revolution you will
benefit from passing on the left."

t-shirt says...
THE ROAD TO THE REVOLUTION IS FULL OF IDIOTS DRIVING EVERYWHERE
(please pass on the left)

http://zazzle.com/bananarevolutiongear


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HYPOCRISY+IDIOCRACY=MEDIOCRITY=DEMOCRACY

THE BANANA REVOLUTION

http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

Uzytkownik "ComandanteBanana" napisal w
wiadomosci
...

snip

I find one of the most hideous problems of living in mediocrity to be
putting up with (or surviving) idiotic traffic. Nobody in power
acknowledges it to be a problem (only DUI is), let alone offers a
solution.

snip

Just wait until they find out about Swedish "Vision Zero" and try to adopt
it to your local conditions...

http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/repor...isionzero.html

You'll be missing the times when you could drive like an idiot... ;-)

MS

On Feb 27, 10:05*am, "Mat S" wrote:
Uzytkownik "ComandanteBanana" napisal w
...

snip

I find one of the most hideous problems of living in mediocrity to be
putting up with (or surviving) idiotic traffic. Nobody in power
acknowledges it to be a problem (only DUI is), let alone offers a
solution.

snip

Just wait until they find out about Swedish "Vision Zero" and try to adopt
it to your local conditions...

http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/repor...isionzero.html

You'll be missing the times when you could drive like an idiot... ;-)

MS

You'd like drive like an idiot only when you drive a large mass
vehicle (SUV), and not a smaller vehicle or bicycle.

Now there's the Swedish approach (vision zero) and the German
approach, where you drive fast but not like an idiot. Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated. And if they are
not separated then the vehicles would have to be slowed down to 30kph
(20mph or so) as stated in the paper.

Right in front of my house, though, I have a 30mph road where is
common to see cars doing 50, and the bicycles must stay out of the
idiots' way.

I don't know, but I some times think of accidents in America as an
INDUSTRY... Think of the insurance, the lawyers, the paramedics, the
therapists, the towing company, and, perhaps, the undertaker.

On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:18:43 -0800 (PST), ComandanteBanana
wrote:

[---]

Now there's the Swedish approach (vision zero) and the German
approach, where you drive fast but not like an idiot.

With certain restrictions - where traffic and/or whether conditions
are bad, there are often speed limits imposed on the Autobahn.

Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist. Cycle paths are a
contentious issue in Germany, particularly those whose use is
compulsory.

On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:21:36 +0100, Andrew Price
wrote:

Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist.

Just curious--got any statistics to back that up? The reason I ask is
that during three years of riding on paths in Berlin, I found that the
drivers were pretty good about looking for cyclists before making a
right turn. I still did it instinctively (for awhile) when I got back
to the U.S.

On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:05:28 -0600, wrote:

Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist.

Just curious--got any statistics to back that up?

This study in English:

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/research.html

touches on the issue.

In German, extensive information he

http://radweg.radzeug.de/

http://www.bernd.sluka.de/Radfahren/Radwege.html

http://www.radwegweg.info/radwege/index.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/NoRadweg.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Rad-Tipps.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Radw-Tip.htm

including a simple, but graphic illustration:

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Abb-Unf.gif

of how most of the accidents happen.

On Feb 27, 3:21*pm, Andrew Price wrote:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:18:43 -0800 (PST), ComandanteBanana

wrote:

[---]

Now there's the Swedish approach (vision zero) and the German
approach, where you drive fast but not like an idiot.

With certain restrictions - where traffic and/or whether conditions
are bad, there are often speed limits imposed on the Autobahn.

Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist. *Cycle paths are a
contentious issue in Germany, particularly those whose use is
compulsory.

Is someone contemplating the "American model," though?

On Feb 28, 2:36 pm, Andrew Price wrote:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:05:28 -0600, wrote:
Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated.

They are separated only until the next intersection - and that's where
they become dangerous, and many cyclists have been killed by
right-turning motorists not seeing the cyclist.

Just curious--got any statistics to back that up?

This study in English:

http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/research.html

touches on the issue.

In German, extensive information he

http://radweg.radzeug.de/

http://www.bernd.sluka.de/Radfahren/Radwege.html

http://www.radwegweg.info/radwege/index.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/NoRadweg.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Rad-Tipps.htm

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Radw-Tip.htm

including a simple, but graphic illustration:

http://www.med.uni-magdeburg.de/~maercker/Abb-Unf.gif

of how most of the accidents happen.

For all its faults I like the German system: They accommodate the very
fast and the very slow with as little conflict as possible.

In the States it seems there's a confused mass of vehicles trying to
beat everybody else.

Nothing stops you except an accident or the occasional policeman to
hand you a speeding ticket when the city budget is in the red.

(posted at bike forums)

As you may remember, I announced I was going to buy a fast single
speed (Giant Bowery) to ride on the little stretch of bike path (1 1/2
miles) I've got. Well, that would have been IDIOTIC...

It would have been like buying a Porsche in America, or an SUV for an
urban jungle. Absolutely STUPID, right?

Luckily I'm not that idiotic (I was just carried away by its exotic
lines), and I've decided to get a different type of bicycle altogether
that also symbolizes a revolution bent on bringing the Dutch model to
America...

Yes, I bought the Amsterdam! Here's something from its sales pitch...

"Style and speed running hand in hand through a field of tulips. You
get the idea. For the Dutch, cycling isn't just a sport; it's a way of
life. Out of a population of 15 million, you'll find 12 million riding
their bikes anywhere and everywhere they need to go. And this was the
inspiration for the Amsterdam."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HYPOCRISY+IDIOCRACY=MEDIOCRITY=DEMOCRACY

THE BANANA REVOLUTION

http://webspawner.com/users/bananarevolution

Phil W Lee wrote:
ComandanteBanana considered Fri, 27 Feb
2009 08:18:43 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:

On Feb 27, 10:05 am, "Mat S" wrote:
Uzytkownik "ComandanteBanana" napisal w
...

snip

I find one of the most hideous problems of living in mediocrity to be
putting up with (or surviving) idiotic traffic. Nobody in power
acknowledges it to be a problem (only DUI is), let alone offers a
solution.
snip

Just wait until they find out about Swedish "Vision Zero" and try to adopt
it to your local conditions...

http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/repor...isionzero.html

You'll be missing the times when you could drive like an idiot... ;-)

MS
You'd like drive like an idiot only when you drive a large mass
vehicle (SUV), and not a smaller vehicle or bicycle.

Now there's the Swedish approach (vision zero) and the German
approach, where you drive fast but not like an idiot. Notice also that
Germany has extensive bike lanes, so it works like a zero tolerance
between cars and bicycles since they are separated. And if they are
not separated then the vehicles would have to be slowed down to 30kph
(20mph or so) as stated in the paper.

Right in front of my house, though, I have a 30mph road where is
common to see cars doing 50, and the bicycles must stay out of the
idiots' way.

I don't know, but I some times think of accidents in America as an
INDUSTRY... Think of the insurance, the lawyers, the paramedics, the
therapists, the towing company, and, perhaps, the undertaker.
You left out the stonemason and the suppliers of ever more
sophisticated equipment to cut people out of their wrecked vehicles,
as well as the people that use it.
Probably a few more as well, and it's certainly an industry.


And the need for more cars to sell to replace the crashed ones!
Mangled barely alive bodies for the medical profession to practice new
techniques on with a "We did our best" clause.

On the up side, all these workers in the accident industry are gainfully
employed and paying taxes.