pbrisgreatAug 14, 2023

You’re a Cyclist Who Was Just Struck by a Car Driver. Here’s Why It Was Your Fault

https://midwest.social/post/2070142

You’re a Cyclist Who Was Just Struck by a Car Driver. Here’s Why It Was Your Fault - midwest.social

McSweeney’s bringing some hard truths with this one. We could all be doing better. >You forgot to go back in time and tell people that subsidizing the oil industry might be a bad idea. When the oil and auto industries teamed up to bend public policy to their will, making a system of roads and parking lots that now function as a continuous subsidy and magnificent symbol of the normalization of injury and pollution, you had a lot of options. You could have objected. You could have shifted public opinion. Instead, you weren’t even born yet. And, rather than go back in time, all you’ve been doing is riding to get groceries and occasionally saying, “Please stop killing us.” On the effort scale? 1/10.

Show threadBorgDroneAug 14, 2023
If a car hits a pedestrian or cyclist, the car is always legally at fault. At least here in the Netherlands. Is this not the case everywhere?
Show threadKalashAug 15, 2023
God I hope not, that would be really stupid.
Show threadBorgDroneAug 15, 2023
Cyclists and pedestrians are more vulnerable, the law is there because drivers have a duty to be extra careful around them.
Show threadKalashAug 15, 2023
Yeah the part I have a problem is, is where you’re automatially at fault even when you were careful and did nothing wrong.
Show threadNouveau_BurnswickAug 15, 2023

How did you do nothing wrong if you hit a pedestrian/cyclist?

Anywhere you can drive fast enough to not stop in time should be protected highway, where there is no risk of pedestrians or bicycles.

Show threadKalashAug 15, 2023

As someone that is a pure pedestrian (tram/trains otherwise), cyclists (and rarer but even worse, people on e-scooters) are much more of a personal menace to me than cars.

There is a predestian traffic light accross a street with 2 dedicated bike lanes, that I have to cross everyday. And I’ve seen a fair amount of near misses there, mostly caused by reckless cyclists that disregarded traffic rules and common sense.

In fact I’d say a good bit more than half of cyclists do not think the traffic light applies to them. If there see no one crossing, most cyclist will just run the light. This basically happens daily. I sometimes shout after them, but meh.

And in one extreme case, a cylist, still a good bit off from the traffic light, saw it was about to turn red abd took that opportunity to cross the road himself. So he just turned left, right into traffic to cross the road. That car next to him hardly manage to brake in time, there was tire noises. Really good reaction by the driver.

It maybe a rare case, but had he hit that cyclist, I don’t think it would be fair to blame the driver. He did something incredibly stupid.

Show threadNouveau_BurnswickAug 15, 2023

I’m sorry that you have such horrible cyclists on your area.

I do agree that you presented scenario the cyclists would be at fault. But the driver would still be at fault also, it is their job to not hit anything in an intersection, regardless of lights and indicators. The driver being able to stop shows that they were driving appropriately.

Show threadKalash

Well, luckily this time they didn’t. And I do know this is the anti-car sub and I’m not trying to be anti-bike at all. But there as a pedestrian from my expirence, I’d like to see numberplates on bikes.

Like on the same intersection, if there is a truck stopped and I cross, I’ll stop and check the bike lane … because I don’t trust the red light with them.

I’m sorry that you have such horrible cyclists on your area.

But it’s not just here. Even back in Germany I had trouble with it. Maybe I’m being a Bünzli, but there was a mixed predestian/cyclist lane and in Germany you have 2 very similar signs that designate how the lanes are used. If there is a horinzal line between the predestian and cylist, it’s mixed. If the line is vertical, there are 2 separately marked pathes for each lane. Couldn’t be easier, right?

Well, the city decided to pave the of this “mixed lane” with two different colours of bricks that basically painted two lanes. A reddish one and a usual, “stone coloured” one. Grey I guess. Anyway.

At more than one occation I was just walking by with a couple of people on this path, that basically is just randomly coloured for no reason … when a cyclist speeds by, yelling that we’re blocking that bike path.

And they are gone to fast, so you can’t even yell back “there is no bike path, learn to read the fucking traffic signs”.

Another problem might be that there really is no mandatory traffic education when buying a bike. Everyone just get’s to have one. That might not be that smart in the long run.

Aug 15, 2023 at 6:49pmWeb
Show threadNouveau_BurnswickAug 15, 2023

Absolutely, and I’m not trying to minimize your frustrations with cyclists either. I’ve been hit by cyclists numerous times, thankfully I’m big, so it normally just ends up with a confused cyclists on the pavement. Someone smaller than we would not be so lucky.

My observations on cycling design are :

  • The wider the cycle lane, the less dangerous and fewer conflicts their are.

  • It should be easier for the cyclists to transfer to car traffic and back than pediatrician traffic. This way a cyclist deciding to pass has to make a decision that could hurt themselves rather than someone else.

  • Like a vehicle hitting a ped/cyc is always the cars fault, a cyc hitting a ped is always the bicycles fault.

    • When I say bicycle there, I’m referring to all the wheeled dangers.

    The biggest upside I see it that people are oblivious assholes in cars or on bicycles, so at least bikes are slightly safer. Now that I think of it, there are oblivious assholes pedestrians too, I’m talking to you group of 6 walking abreast the entire sidewalk!

    Show threadKalashAug 15, 2023
    You are right and I’m definitly venting a lot of personal and anecdotal frustration here. Thank you for being so rational about it.