NY Times article - Cycling will kill you!

not far from eating your children....

In article ,
John B. wrote:


Naw Dan, the guy had all his mates killed in them there cycle crashes
and is scared to death.

and it was a Sunday, a known slow news day, and he had to gin up a
thousand words on something for the editor.
--
Cheers,

John B.

He's just an occasional freelance contributer to the NY Times, so that
wasn't it. And I agree with his request that cyclists obey the law; it
grates on me when I'm waiting at a light, on bike or in car, and a
cyclist whips right through it. That cyclist's actions reflect on me,
and on other driver's response to me when I'm on a bike.

In the last few years, I've biked in Italy and in France, and never felt
threatened by cars. Not so in the US, I'm sorry to say. We have not yet
come to terms with the bicycle as useful transportation device, in this
land of the automobile. I sympathize with the author's fear of biking in
the city, and wish he didn't have good reason for that fear.

On Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:59:02 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:

snip


I suppose that may be true in some areas, but in almost every place I've
ridden, the traffic signals have been easily visible when I've been
stopped at the light.


You move your head when you are stopped at a light. This brings the light
within your field of vision.

When you are riding your eyes and attention are on the road ahead of you.
In most cases your concentration is looking at the near field to avoid
potholes.

Your vertical field of vision is limited to +/- 15 degrees. Even if your
head looked straight ahead (level with the horizontal plane), a traffic
light would leave your field of vision 56 feet in front of it.

The brain processes what the eye sees. It abhors discontinuities and will
make you think you see things you do not. This is why those people with
blind spots in their visual field have a difficult time recognizing their
condition. Many optical illusions are based on the brain's propensity to
interpolate between discontinuities. Motion pictures are the best known
example.

Similarly, objects to not appear to suddenly disappear when they leave
one's field of vision. The brain makes you believe you still see them.
The brain cannot account for state changes in these objects, once they
have left the field of vision. Therefore, a light changing from green to
yellow will not be detected, when that light is outside the field of
vision.

Traffic lights are supposed to be placed at least 40 feet beyond the stop
line. This places the point where the traffic light leaves one's field of
vision at 16 feet before the stop line. The minimum duration for the
combined yellow and red guard intervals is 3.5 seconds. A car moving at
40 mph will travel 210 feet or 194 feet beyond the stop line in those 3.5
seconds. This is usually enough for the car to clear the intersection.
However, a bike moving at 10 mph will travel only 52.5 feet or 36.5 feet
beyond the stop line. This usually leaves the bike about 2 lanes into the
intersection.

Stephen Bauman

On Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:59:02 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:

snip



Wikipedia claims "The New York State Legislature took the first step
toward resolving the conflict, with the passage in 1887 of "An Act in
Relation to the Use of Bicycles and Tricycles." This statute established
for the first time that bicycles are "carriages," and that cyclists are
"entitled to the same rights and subject to the same restrictions" as
drivers of carriages.[New York Law 1887, Chapter 704, An Act in Relation
to the Use of Bicycles and Tricycles]"


The NYS 1887 law established the right of bicycles to use the roadways.
This was further clarified in the 1890's. The 1890's law survives as
section 316 of today's NYS Highway Law. It prohibits local authorities
from prohibiting bicycles from free passage along highways while at the
same time permitting other pleasure vehicles.

These 19th century laws did not regulate traffic in the modern sense.
They stated who was entitled to be in the highways.

Given that the first big push for traffic laws was by William Eno in
1903 in New York City, wouldnt those laws must have applied to cyclists?

New York State cyclists were first included in its traffic laws in
1937. Like most places they were accorded the least desirable road
space - as far to the right as practicable.

Perhaps what you mean is 1937 was when bikes were first specifically
mentioned in law. But that's not necessarily when vehicular laws first
applied to cyclists.


There were no statewide traffic laws until the 1920's. There were local
traffic regulations up until then. Laws regulating traffic - rules of the
road - were not enacted on a statewide basis until the 1920's. Moreover,
there was uniformity in the laws adopted by the different states.

I'm not familiar with the 1903 history you cite. I'll conduct a thorough
investigation the next time I've got time to kill while I'm near the NYC
Municipal Reference Library.

My investigations were conducted at home by consulting and reading period
pieces in the NY Times. I've copied most of the articles from the 1930's
relating to including bicycles into the Vehicle and Traffic Law in NYS. I
believe what I posted earlier is an accurate description of the
motivation at that time.

snip

Stephen Bauman

there is a manual for eye exercise.

couples to four wheels not 2.

Racing at Indy above 200 is impossible due to DST within the human reflex response.

Or rallying thru the woods above 90....

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 8:29:17 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:59:02 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:



snip





I suppose that may be true in some areas, but in almost every place I've

ridden, the traffic signals have been easily visible when I've been

stopped at the light.





You move your head when you are stopped at a light. This brings the light

within your field of vision.



When you are riding your eyes and attention are on the road ahead of you.

In most cases your concentration is looking at the near field to avoid

potholes.



Your vertical field of vision is limited to +/- 15 degrees. Even if your

head looked straight ahead (level with the horizontal plane), a traffic

light would leave your field of vision 56 feet in front of it.



The brain processes what the eye sees. It abhors discontinuities and will

make you think you see things you do not. This is why those people with

blind spots in their visual field have a difficult time recognizing their

condition. Many optical illusions are based on the brain's propensity to

interpolate between discontinuities. Motion pictures are the best known

example.



Similarly, objects to not appear to suddenly disappear when they leave

one's field of vision. The brain makes you believe you still see them.

The brain cannot account for state changes in these objects, once they

have left the field of vision. Therefore, a light changing from green to

yellow will not be detected, when that light is outside the field of

vision.



Traffic lights are supposed to be placed at least 40 feet beyond the stop

line. This places the point where the traffic light leaves one's field of

vision at 16 feet before the stop line. The minimum duration for the

combined yellow and red guard intervals is 3.5 seconds. A car moving at

40 mph will travel 210 feet or 194 feet beyond the stop line in those 3.5

seconds. This is usually enough for the car to clear the intersection.

However, a bike moving at 10 mph will travel only 52.5 feet or 36.5 feet

beyond the stop line. This usually leaves the bike about 2 lanes into the

intersection.



Stephen Bauman

Don't you people have traffic lights on the far side of an intersection as well as the side you'd be stopped at? It's the light on the far side that I watch when I'm stopped at a intersection. I can almose always see that far side light unless I'm behind a truck or a van and I can see that light when the truck or van moves after the light turns green.

Cheers

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 6:14:33 AM UTC-5, John B. wrote:

But the rant sounds a lot like the truck driver that turned right and
killed the lady cyclist... "I didn't see her".

What you've described - a lady killed by a truck turning right turn (or left turn in "drive on the left" countries) is a well-known cause of cyclist death, especially in crowded cities. London is an example. And our city had a sidewalk-riding kid killed that way a few years ago.

IIRC, in London it _is_ far most often a lady, which has led to some speculation about the reason for the gender disparity. Some have said that perhaps women are less confident, and feel a self-imposed requirement to stay as close as possible to the curb, whereas men might be more willing to be at the safer lane center.

Drivers of big trucks really can't see along the trucks' sides very well. Bike lanes are certainly no guarantee of safety in this situation.

(Heck, I'm even leery of passing stopped motorcycles at their curb side.)

- Frank Krygowski

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 8:03:50 AM UTC-5, John White wrote:
In article ,

In the last few years, I've biked in Italy and in France, and never felt
threatened by cars. Not so in the US, I'm sorry to say. We have not yet
come to terms with the bicycle as useful transportation device, in this
land of the automobile. I sympathize with the author's fear of biking in
the city, and wish he didn't have good reason for that fear.

Well, I can sympathize. But I think his fears are tremendously exaggerated, and that he could overcome them with some fairly simple learning.

I've biked in Italy and France too, as well as several other countries. And while I certainly enjoyed the cycling, I wonder if the "Ooh, it's nicer here!" emotion is just some sort of halo effect, from being on vacation in another country, one chosen for its supposed pleasantness.

Maybe similar to a guy saying "Gosh honey, these British fish & chips cost only 4 pounds! What a bargain! Back home, they'd cost at least five dollars!"

- Frank Krygowski

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 8:29:17 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:59:02 -0800, Frank Krygowski wrote:
... in almost every place I've
ridden, the traffic signals have been easily visible when I've been
stopped at the light.

You move your head when you are stopped at a light. This brings the light
within your field of vision.

Yep. Works for me.

When you are riding your eyes and attention are on the road ahead of you.
In most cases your concentration is looking at the near field to avoid
potholes.

Also works for me.

Traffic lights are supposed to be placed at least 40 feet beyond the stop
line.

Do you have a source for that?

- Frank Krygowski

On 11-10-2013 08:03, John White wrote:
In the last few years, I've biked in Italy and in France, and never felt
threatened by cars. Not so in the US, I'm sorry to say. We have not yet
come to terms with the bicycle as useful transportation device, in this

So far, I've only biked in USA, but I've never felt threatened by cars.

I've BEEN threatened by cars, but never FELT threatened. (A personal
failing perhaps.) Yelled at, honked at, almost hit, but silly me just
keeps on going as if it never happened.

Actually, there was a time when the percentage of idiots and jerks on
wheels has adjusted my behavior. That was in Onondaga County, New York.
The adjustment was to stop biking altogether and buy a car.

But in Fort Wayne and San Diego the problems are so rare that
I don't even need to own a car.

--
Wes Groleau

There are some ideas so wrong that only a
very intelligent person could believe in them.
— George Orwell