culture of fear

I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/

"Fear of cycling is most effectively produced through constructions of
cycling as a dangerous practice. By saying that cycling is constructed
as a dangerous practice, I am not denying that cyclists are really
injured and killed on the roads; rather I am noting how people’s fears
of these (im)probabilities of injury and death are culturally
constructed."

"The rest of this section explores three ways in which cycling is
constructed as dangerous, and thus a contemporary fear of cycling is
produced; road safety education, helmet promotion campaigns, and the
increasing separation of cycling from motorised traffic. The irony, of
course, is that these interventions are responses to a fear of
cycling, clearly aimed at increasing cycling’s safety. But I will
demonstrate how, contrary to intentions, each intervention actually
tends to exacerbate fear of cycling, and sometimes literally invokes
it in order to promote the ‘solution’."

I feel torn... I like using the off road paths to get to work, riding
by a river is pleasant. Not dealing with cars and intersections is
pleasant.

On the other hand, the onroad lanes are unpleasant!

But I'm a "confident cyclist" and always have been, plus I've never
had the problem that 2 wheels are 'strange'. (Haven't owned a car
since 1986...)

So I'm obviously not the kind of person being talked about and I
suspect few if any readers of this group are. But shouldn't this be
being talked about more widely?

Zebee

On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/

"Fear of cycling is most effectively produced through constructions of
cycling as a dangerous practice. By saying that cycling is constructed
as a dangerous practice, I am not denying that cyclists are really
injured and killed on the roads; rather I am noting how people’s fears
of these (im)probabilities of injury and death are culturally
constructed."


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.

"The rest of this section explores three ways in which cycling is
constructed as dangerous, and thus a contemporary fear of cycling is
produced; road safety education, helmet promotion campaigns, and the
increasing separation of cycling from motorised traffic. The irony, of
course, is that these interventions are responses to a fear of
cycling, clearly aimed at increasing cycling’s safety. But I will
demonstrate how, contrary to intentions, each intervention actually
tends to exacerbate fear of cycling, and sometimes literally invokes
it in order to promote the ‘solution’."

I don't think the construction of fear thru the various safety programs
was deliberate, intended or even desired. It is more probable that like
most good intentions, the unintended negative consequences tended to be
overlooked.


I feel torn... I like using the off road paths to get to work, riding
by a river is pleasant. Not dealing with cars and intersections is
pleasant.

With all due respect, not wanting to deal with cars is probably where
part of the problem lies. It is all well and good trying to educate
cyclists of their responsibilities but the reality is that unless other
road users like trucks, cars and motorbikes get the same intensity of
indoctrination as well, we are NOT dealing with the WHOLE problem.

Cyclists are seldom mentioned in road safety campaigns. For example, it
would be nice to see road safety ads on alcohol which include lotsa
exposure for cyclists but alas, such ads tend to only focus on cars.

On the other hand, the onroad lanes are unpleasant!

Compared to some Asian countries, onroad lanes in Sydney are a cyclist's
heaven Road courtesy towards other road users in many Asian countries
is virtually non-existent - the bigger vehicle WILL bully the smaller
vehicle into giving way.

But I'm a "confident cyclist" and always have been, plus I've never
had the problem that 2 wheels are 'strange'. (Haven't owned a car
since 1986...)

You may be weird, Zeebee, but never strange I have yet to decide if
you might possibly fall into the category of "a different social order"
Hm, maybe, if I took cycling out of the equation .....

So I'm obviously not the kind of person being talked about and I
suspect few if any readers of this group are. But shouldn't this be
being talked about more widely?

Actually, if the truth be known, I am not immune to having fear being
put into me, directly or indirectly, so maybe the article has some
relevance to me and being "forewarned is forearmed"

Looking at the points raised by that article, it would appear that the
"construction of fear" element does appear to feature greatly in many of
the literature, official and unofficial, disseminated.

There is no doubt that eliminating the fear of cycling is a great start
but, IMHO, is NOT sufficient. I have previously mentioned above that
there are other road users who need to be taken into consideration.

Getting politicians like Clover Moore and many within the Greens, Labour
and Liberal on-side with cyclists have been a great help but the NSW
Minister for Transport and the NSW Minister for Police are also key
persons as the incumbents have the ability to influence the thinking of
other road users towards cyclists thru the various agencies like the
RTA, the Police, Road Safety bodies, etc.

The use of more positive methods in promoting cycling, in conjunction
with educating other road users, would seem to provide a more cohesive
and logical approach.

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:58:49 +1000
Geoff Lock glock@home wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

I feel torn... I like using the off road paths to get to work, riding
by a river is pleasant. Not dealing with cars and intersections is
pleasant.

With all due respect, not wanting to deal with cars is probably where
part of the problem lies. It is all well and good trying to educate
cyclists of their responsibilities but the reality is that unless other
road users like trucks, cars and motorbikes get the same intensity of
indoctrination as well, we are NOT dealing with the WHOLE problem.


Putting all the blame on cyclists for being "vulnerable" is certainly
part of the problem.

When I worked in North Sydney I used Pyrmont Bridge and the path to
Sussex St and the Harbour Bridge path, but the rest was on roads,
over half mixing with a lot of cars.

I never had a problem on the commuter run into the city. I have had
more problems on weekends. Same on the motorcycle I note... Commuters
are on a road they know, they aren't usually chopping lanes cos they
know there's no point, they are travelling fairly slowly, and they
know when to change lanes to turn. I find peak hour traffic safer to
cycle in than weekend traffic!

The cars on my commute now are much less safe. The roads are more
empty so the cars are going faster and object to the slower bicycle
more. They pass unsafely (especially on THe Crescent leading up to
Bridge Rd Homebush and Melville St Meadowbank) and turn across in
front of me. Not all that often, but often enough that I'm wary of
it.

(And don't get me started on the Rhodes bike path! Blind and deaf
pedestrians, doors being flung open, and cars faffing about
everywhere...)

I used to think the problem was the illusion of speed, that passing
something *now* gives the feeling of both speed and control, even if
both are lost at the next lights. I now think it's also a lot about
not seeing *other cars* as a problem. Other cars are there, like rain
or traffic lights, they are accepted. Something that isn't a car is
rare and odd and so a target for anger. Even though the real cause of
hte holdup isn't the bicycle it's the other cars preventing the
overtake...

(Had that happen the other day. Driver being aggro about not being
able to pass. He couldn't pass because of the traffic the other way.
If they hadn't been there, no problem. It was clear this had never
occurred to him.)

The car is unquestionable. Everything else has to give way. Until
that changes, we won't get a better deal on the roads.

(I can think of another entitled species, and the parallels are
fascinating to me... but it is a bit OT!)


Zebee

On 29/05/2011 5:20 PM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Sun, 29 May 2011 14:58:49 +1000
Geoff Lockglock@home wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:

I feel torn... I like using the off road paths to get to work, riding
by a river is pleasant. Not dealing with cars and intersections is
pleasant.

With all due respect, not wanting to deal with cars is probably where
part of the problem lies. It is all well and good trying to educate
cyclists of their responsibilities but the reality is that unless other
road users like trucks, cars and motorbikes get the same intensity of
indoctrination as well, we are NOT dealing with the WHOLE problem.


Putting all the blame on cyclists for being "vulnerable" is certainly
part of the problem.

Seen from David Horton's viewpoint in his article, there is compelling
evidence that the onus of responsibility is, more or less, forced upon
the cyclist.

Like you, I see it as a one-sided attempt to address road safety. I
still maintain that unless ALL road users are make aware of their
responsibilities towards ALL other road users, such one-sided affairs
will amount to little.

As an aside, I watched an NRMA ad last night extolling the virtues of
their insurance products claiming that one needs never to be without a
car! There were pushbikes seen in the ad but they were relegated to
background props. The car-centric focus of the ad was quite
understandable but still nonetheless confronting.

I never had a problem on the commuter run into the city. I have had
more problems on weekends. Same on the motorcycle I note... Commuters
are on a road they know, they aren't usually chopping lanes cos they
know there's no point, they are travelling fairly slowly, and they
know when to change lanes to turn. I find peak hour traffic safer to
cycle in than weekend traffic!

Bloody weekend drivers are the same in any suburb in Sydney, eh?

The cars on my commute now are much less safe. The roads are more
empty so the cars are going faster and object to the slower bicycle
more. They pass unsafely (especially on THe Crescent leading up to
Bridge Rd Homebush and Melville St Meadowbank) and turn across in
front of me. Not all that often, but often enough that I'm wary of
it.

I don't have a problem with cars turning right in front of me as long as
they have their indicators on and make the turn with room to spare for
me to slow down/continue riding/brake, etc etc. Maybe I have been
fortunate over the years not to have any nasty surprises - I dunno.

(And don't get me started on the Rhodes bike path! Blind and deaf
pedestrians, doors being flung open, and cars faffing about
everywhere...)

Oh, I see, I better not get you started then. I was just curious as to
what the hell cars were doing on the bike path Never mind, just
stirring you, Zeebee - I knew what you meant

I used to think the problem was the illusion of speed, that passing
something *now* gives the feeling of both speed and control, even if
both are lost at the next lights. I now think it's also a lot about
not seeing *other cars* as a problem. Other cars are there, like rain
or traffic lights, they are accepted. Something that isn't a car is
rare and odd and so a target for anger. Even though the real cause of
hte holdup isn't the bicycle it's the other cars preventing the
overtake...

Hm, there are people around who really have no sense of civic
consciousness and think the cosmos revolves around them. Such delusional
people will probably lash out at anything around them - usually at
something/someone they perceive to be weaker than themselves and thus
can be bullied with impunity.

All cyclists should be allowed to carry Glock 18s with drum mags

(Had that happen the other day. Driver being aggro about not being
able to pass. He couldn't pass because of the traffic the other way.
If they hadn't been there, no problem. It was clear this had never
occurred to him.)

Hahahahahah!! One should ALWAYS feel sorry for a person trapped in a car
at a traffic jam ))

The entrance into the M4 tunnel at Marsh Street, Rockdale(?) is pretty
busy most times as traffic lights and umpteen lanes get crushed together
into 2 or 3 lanes and cars/trucks get backed up over the lanes of
oncoming traffic. As I am part of the oncoming traffic, I just simply
give the CORRECT hand signals to move into whatever lane I deem
appropriate and safe and simply ride around the banked up traffic -
continuing my merry way towards the International Terminal All the
other traffic simply get held up behind me for a bit but they usually
catch me before I hit the bridge. It is fun doing the downhill run
towards the International Terminal - over 500m/750m(?) of a straightline
gentle downhill

The car is unquestionable. Everything else has to give way. Until
that changes, we won't get a better deal on the roads.

Change will come. It takes time to put together the many pieces of the
puzzle and managing the interactions between the various pieces of the
puzzle but then, we all know that


(I can think of another entitled species, and the parallels are
fascinating to me... but it is a bit OT!)


Hey!! Who's gonna spin this off to another thread?

On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/

"Fear of cycling is most effectively produced through constructions of
cycling as a dangerous practice. By saying that cycling is constructed
as a dangerous practice, I am not denying that cyclists are really
injured and killed on the roads; rather I am noting how people’s fears
of these (im)probabilities of injury and death are culturally
constructed."


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.




"The rest of this section explores three ways in which cycling is
constructed as dangerous, and thus a contemporary fear of cycling is
produced; road safety education, helmet promotion campaigns, and the
increasing separation of cycling from motorised traffic. The irony, of
course, is that these interventions are responses to a fear of
cycling, clearly aimed at increasing cycling’s safety. But I will
demonstrate how, contrary to intentions, each intervention actually
tends to exacerbate fear of cycling, and sometimes literally invokes
it in order to promote the ‘solution’."

I don't think the construction of fear thru the various safety programs
was deliberate, intended or even desired. It is more probable that like
most good intentions, the unintended negative consequences tended to be
overlooked.


I feel torn... I like using the off road paths to get to work, riding
by a river is pleasant. Not dealing with cars and intersections is
pleasant.

With all due respect, not wanting to deal with cars is probably where
part of the problem lies. It is all well and good trying to educate
cyclists of their responsibilities but the reality is that unless other
road users like trucks, cars and motorbikes get the same intensity of
indoctrination as well, we are NOT dealing with the WHOLE problem.

Cyclists are seldom mentioned in road safety campaigns. For example, it
would be nice to see road safety ads on alcohol which include lotsa
exposure for cyclists but alas, such ads tend to only focus on cars.

On the other hand, the onroad lanes are unpleasant!

Compared to some Asian countries, onroad lanes in Sydney are a cyclist's
heaven Road courtesy towards other road users in many Asian countries
is virtually non-existent - the bigger vehicle WILL bully the smaller
vehicle into giving way.

But I'm a "confident cyclist" and always have been, plus I've never
had the problem that 2 wheels are 'strange'. (Haven't owned a car
since 1986...)

You may be weird, Zeebee, but never strange I have yet to decide if
you might possibly fall into the category of "a different social order"
Hm, maybe, if I took cycling out of the equation .....

So I'm obviously not the kind of person being talked about and I
suspect few if any readers of this group are. But shouldn't this be
being talked about more widely?

Actually, if the truth be known, I am not immune to having fear being
put into me, directly or indirectly, so maybe the article has some
relevance to me and being "forewarned is forearmed"

Looking at the points raised by that article, it would appear that the
"construction of fear" element does appear to feature greatly in many of
the literature, official and unofficial, disseminated.

There is no doubt that eliminating the fear of cycling is a great start
but, IMHO, is NOT sufficient. I have previously mentioned above that
there are other road users who need to be taken into consideration.

Getting politicians like Clover Moore and many within the Greens, Labour
and Liberal on-side with cyclists have been a great help but the NSW
Minister for Transport and the NSW Minister for Police are also key
persons as the incumbents have the ability to influence the thinking of
other road users towards cyclists thru the various agencies like the
RTA, the Police, Road Safety bodies, etc.

The use of more positive methods in promoting cycling, in conjunction
with educating other road users, would seem to provide a more cohesive
and logical approach.

On 30/05/2011 8:59 PM, Rob wrote:
On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.

"tort", "thought", who cares - i don't it's usenet and grammar or
spelling are the least of my problems

once upon a time i used to post the way i spoke and then i realised it
was quite difficult to read as i had difficulties following my own
babblings i still do have problems following my own posts but i guess
practice is the only way i'm gonna get good at anyfing, eh?

Geoff Lock wrote:
On 30/05/2011 8:59 PM, Rob wrote:
On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.

"tort", "thought", who cares - i don't it's usenet and grammar or
spelling are the least of my problems

once upon a time i used to post the way i spoke and then i realised it
was quite difficult to read as i had difficulties following my own
babblings i still do have problems following my own posts but i guess
practice is the only way i'm gonna get good at anyfing, eh?

Think a little about what you just wrote...

Shirley.

On 31/05/2011 1:11 PM, Shirley Nott wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
On 30/05/2011 8:59 PM, Rob wrote:
On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.

"tort", "thought", who cares - i don't it's usenet and grammar or
spelling are the least of my problems

once upon a time i used to post the way i spoke and then i realised it
was quite difficult to read as i had difficulties following my own
babblings i still do have problems following my own posts but i guess
practice is the only way i'm gonna get good at anyfing, eh?

Think a little about what you just wrote...

I did, which is why I wrote it the way I did write it

Geoff Lock wrote:
On 31/05/2011 1:11 PM, Shirley Nott wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
On 30/05/2011 8:59 PM, Rob wrote:
On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.

"tort", "thought", who cares - i don't it's usenet and grammar or
spelling are the least of my problems

once upon a time i used to post the way i spoke and then i realised it
was quite difficult to read as i had difficulties following my own
babblings i still do have problems following my own posts but i guess
practice is the only way i'm gonna get good at anyfing, eh?

Think a little about what you just wrote...

I did, which is why I wrote it the way I did write it

So you understand that practicing being an idiot will ultimately make you a perfect idiot.

S Nott.

On 31/05/2011 2:26 PM, Shirley Nott wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
On 31/05/2011 1:11 PM, Shirley Nott wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
On 30/05/2011 8:59 PM, Rob wrote:
On 29/05/2011 2:58 PM, Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/05/2011 7:33 AM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
I came across this, and feel it's very important, especially to
bicycle advocacy.

http://thinkingaboutcycling.wordpres...ar-of-cycling/


Interesting article and highly recommended reading although a tad
long
for some but then it was probably written by someone who tort long
and
hard about the subject.


hope that was the Eye dialect spelling of thought.

"tort", "thought", who cares - i don't it's usenet and grammar or
spelling are the least of my problems

once upon a time i used to post the way i spoke and then i realised it
was quite difficult to read as i had difficulties following my own
babblings i still do have problems following my own posts but i
guess
practice is the only way i'm gonna get good at anyfing, eh?

Think a little about what you just wrote...

I did, which is why I wrote it the way I did write it

So you understand that practicing being an idiot will ultimately make
you a perfect idiot.

Practice makes perfect and it looks like we are both getting lots of it
in these last coupla posts. Or have you already perfected it?

BTW, are you trolling?