Do you think more people are scared of hitting a cyclist with their car, or are there more cyclists scared of getting hit by cars?
4 Likes
I think there’s also an argument to be made that aggressive self-defense and occasional law-breaking IS, in fact, the safer option for many cyclists.
My attitude isn’t so much “fuck you” as it is “I want to live,” and people act in different ways when survival’s on the line.
9 Likes
That applies to pedestrians, too, at least if you’re a New Yorker.
ETA: obligatory…
3 Likes
Well since there are way more cagers than cyclists, I think the better question would be the relative levels of fear. And of course, that fear is present in all(?) cyclists, but only a majority(?) of cagers.
Well, no. We are better than them! 
I think one of my biggest pet peeves is having to ride on the sidewalk in a certain place because automobile traffic is just that bad, but then you get soooo many cars entering a roadway that don’t stop AT a stop sign, but instead block the sidewalk for pedestrians and bicyclists alike.
3 Likes
Same in Seattle. I had a pedestrian jay walk in front of me (without looking) on a steep Seattle street on a snowy day. Thankfully I was knew how bad that street is both in terms of snow and a lot of pedestrians crossing mid block. Still I was saying “fuck, fuck, fuck…” as I waited to see how the physics would work out. I don’t think they ever realized I was just a few feet away.
Something I used to see downtown before COVID, was drunk groups of tourists would walk into the curbed bike lane and then stop to argue which tourists place to go next. I’ve seen multiple crashes as cyclist veered to avoid the pedestrians. One time I saw a veering cyclist come as close to being hit by a fast moving car as possible, without actually being hit. After that I was shaking and thought I might throw up. I guess from the spike of adrenaline.
3 Likes
Here’s some sweet Fundamental Attribution Error that I subscribe to: Drivers don’t seem to know that they are required to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks.
7 Likes
Or that if one car is stopped at a cross walk that they, too, should stop at that cross walk rather than speeding up to go around the stopped car 
4 Likes
I saw the South Park documentary, and if bicycle tailpipe emmisions could be brought down to levels comperable to vegetarianism, it might be able to compete with electric cars!
Smug Alert! - Wikipedia!
Or that the same applies to unmarked crosswalks (in my state, at least). Or even that unmarked crosswalks exist (at nearly every intersection).
3 Likes
Yup.
5 Likes
This is great ^^^
If there are any doubts that streets haven’t always been car-dominated, the film of Market St. S.F. circa 1906 is a great reminder of the historical variety of uses and modes and relative degree of organic coordination between them that was feasible when velocities were somewhat less.
6 Likes
Mad props to the foley artist on that clip.
1 Like
Last I checked, nearly every automobile driver breaks the law nearly every day by driving above the speed limit. They regularly park and drive in bicycle lanes. They regularly park on sidewalks – especially delivery vehicles. But, most critically, someone in an automobile is likely to kill pedestrians and cyclists if they make a mistake and a cyclist will only kill themselves from their stupidity.
7 Likes
Or getting off your bike and pushing it?
1 Like
So like, what’s the use of bringing it then?
1 Like
Riding it to a certain place, pushing it past the danger, and riding it from a certain place to your destination?
1 Like
I’m talking about cities where bicycles have much less consideration, with narrow lanes in the street and heavy traffic. Or just crazy, dangerous cities to ride in the street because of overt car culture.
I can tell you, during my cross-country bicycle trek, states like Arizona were much easier to ride with wide lanes and shoulders than it ever was in Texas.
1 Like
So you prefer to reduce the consideration given to pedestrians?
1 Like
