I almost got run over by a cyclist today

[Exterous]

because, as a cyclist, he felt that 4 way stops did not apply to him and he shouldn't even bother to slow down for the intersection. Clearly this means all cyclists are douchebags. However - pedestrians and drivers should not be subject to the same sort of generalizations because: reasons

 

[highland145]

Next time I'll aim better.


And, yes, I was preying on you.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Here's a donut.

 

[nathanddrews]

Most statutes treat cyclists as cars in terms of traffic laws, but cyclists tend to behave like pedestrians when it suits them or cars when it's convenient. Despite all the crazy that seems to go down in SF, this one makes me happy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ilty-vehicular-manslaughter-article-1.1408495

 

[Brainonska511]

Most statutes treat cyclists as cars in terms of traffic laws, but cyclists tend to behave like pedestrians when it suits them or cars when it's convenient. Despite all the crazy that seems to go down in SF, this one makes me happy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ilty-vehicular-manslaughter-article-1.1408495

I wish I'd see more drivers charged in NYC when they run people over (they're rarely charged). For all the bitching about bicyclists, car and truck drivers are by the far the bigger danger to pedestrians. I can't go one day without seeing several people run red lights here.

 

[highland145]

A groundbreaking guilty plea in San Francisco saw a cyclist take accountability for plowing into and killing a pedestrian crossing the street.

Sounds like he did this on his own which he did not.

Chris Bucchere, 37, will perform 1,000 hours of community service and serve three years of probation for committing felony vehicular manslaughter in the March, 29, 2012 crash

That's it? That's B.S. if the article is correct.

Eyewitnesses and surveillance video showed Bucchere skipping two stop signs and racing to get through a red light when he plowed into Sutchi Hui, who was walking in a crosswalk with his wife.

 

[highland145]

Here's a donut.

I don't get one for effort?

 

[pete6032]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-mccarron-perspec-0909-jm-20160908-story.html

 

[CraKaJaX]

I don't get one for effort?

Your effort was half-assed. I have seen better from you. Here's some eggplant. Take it or leave it.

 

[nathanddrews]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-mccarron-perspec-0909-jm-20160908-story.html

That's a separate problem, but definitely contributes to the ongoing animosity between drivers and cyclists.

 

[rh71]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-mccarron-perspec-0909-jm-20160908-story.html

Yeah this part is pretty ridiculous planning...

There bikers get their green-painted lane of pavement along the north curb; the line of parked cars gets moved out into the street; and motorized traffic gets squeezed into the middle. God forbid you should make a right turn without first checking if a biker is pedaling up behind that row of parked cars.

 

[nathanddrews]

For all the bitching about bicyclists, car and truck drivers are by the far the bigger danger to pedestrians. I can't go one day without seeing several people run red lights here.

A bigger danger only in terms of physics. The number of people hit while legally crossing is pretty low compared to those that fail to yield, walk on freeways (illegal in most places), cross illegally, etc. Most studies involving pedestrian and cyclist activities show that they will almost always choose the most direct path, even if it is higher risk.

Ultimately it would help if everyone was more alert and less aggressive.

 

[glenn1]

because, as a cyclist, he felt that 4 way stops did not apply to him and he shouldn't even bother to slow down for the intersection. Clearly this means all cyclists are douchebags. However - pedestrians and drivers should not be subject to the same sort of generalizations because: reasons

Don't actually act like a douchebag then the problem of generalization will fix itself. It's annoying that examples of bicyclists behaving badly are more subject to the availability heuristic compared to auto drivers behaving badly but that's life.

 

[IronWing]

As punishment for bad behavior, we should make cyclists wear pink spandex shorts and Star Wars reject helmets.

 

[brainhulk]

As punishment for bad behavior, we should make cyclists wear pink spandex shorts and Star Wars reject helmets.

they actually make a badass stars wars stormtrooper bike helmet

 

[Brainonska511]

A bigger danger only in terms of physics. The number of people hit while legally crossing is pretty low compared to those that fail to yield, walk on freeways (illegal in most places), cross illegally, etc. Most studies involving pedestrian and cyclist activities show that they will almost always choose the most direct path, even if it is higher risk.

Ultimately it would help if everyone was more alert and less aggressive.

A bigger danger not just in terms of physics (but obviously, this should be very important - people operating motor vehicles should be exercising more care since they can more easily kill someone when they hit a person), but in terms of numbers. In NYC, motor vehicles injure thousands of pedestrians per year. Bicyclists might injure a tiny fraction of that, yet people get up in arms over a douche on a bicycle yet ignore the calamity that motor vehicles inflict.

 

[nathanddrews]

A bigger danger not just in terms of physics (but obviously, this should be very important - people operating motor vehicles should be exercising more care since they can more easily kill someone when they hit a person), but in terms of numbers. In NYC, motor vehicles injure thousands of pedestrians per year. Bicyclists might injure a tiny fraction of that, yet people get up in arms over a douche on a bicycle yet ignore the calamity that motor vehicles inflict.

For starters, there's no data to back up or combat that claim. Nearly all crash data recorded around the world only tracks a collisions involving a motor vehicles. So while there's a lot of good data regarding when cars hit peds or bikes, there's almost nothing in regard to data when bikes hit other bikes or peds. Given the mobility and general anonymity (no license plate or ID required to operate) of cycling, even tracking down individuals that hit someone is difficult. Cars can sometimes hit and run, but usually someone gets a license plate or car description - or the car is damaged to the extent that it can't leave the scene.

And while the likelihood of death and serious injury increases with mass and speed (ground beef if hit by a semi doing 60mph), most cyclists and pedestrians are hit in low-speed, dense urban areas and suffer head injuries when knocked down and not wearing a helmet.

The solution? Treat them like cars and require cycling licenses, cycling tests, bike registration, mandatory liability insurance, stricter enforcement, taxes, fees, more bureaucracy, and harsher penalties. Sound good, comrade?

 

[Brainonska511]

For starters, there's no data to back up or combat that claim. Nearly all crash data recorded around the world only tracks a collisions involving a motor vehicles. So while there's a lot of good data regarding when cars hit peds or bikes, there's almost nothing in regard to data when bikes hit other bikes or peds. Given the mobility and general anonymity (no license plate or ID required to operate) of cycling, even tracking down individuals that hit someone is difficult. Cars can sometimes hit and run, but usually someone gets a license plate or car description - or the car is damaged to the extent that it can't leave the scene.

And while the likelihood of death and serious injury increases with mass and speed (ground beef if hit by a semi doing 60mph), most cyclists and pedestrians are hit in low-speed, dense urban areas and suffer head injuries when knocked down and not wearing a helmet.

The solution? Treat them like cars and require cycling licenses, cycling tests, bike registration, mandatory liability insurance, stricter enforcement, taxes, fees, more bureaucracy, and harsher penalties. Sound good, comrade?

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtml (See statistics for 2015)

Citywide (crashes involving motor vehicles):
Pedestrians injured: 10461
Pedestrians killed: 137
Bicyclists injured: 4433
Bicyclists killed: 14

Citywide (crashes involving pedestrians and bicycles, no motor vehicle involvement):
Pedestrians injured: 361
Pedestrians killed: 0
Bicyclists injured: 28
Bicyclists killed: 1

I guess we're missing about ~10000 unreported bicycle incidents? From the data, the biggest problem remains motor vehicles. Focusing on ridiculous "solutions" for bicycles is a waste of time and money.

 

[JulesMaximus]

because, as a cyclist, he felt that 4 way stops did not apply to him and he shouldn't even bother to slow down for the intersection. Clearly this means all cyclists are douchebags. However - pedestrians and drivers should not be subject to the same sort of generalizations because: reasons

I think this is the take-away from all cyclist threads isn't it?

 

[glenn1]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikestats.shtml (See statistics for 2015)

Citywide (crashes involving motor vehicles):
Pedestrians injured: 10461
Pedestrians killed: 137
Bicyclists injured: 4433
Bicyclists killed: 14

Citywide (crashes involving pedestrians and bicycles, no motor vehicle involvement):
Pedestrians injured: 361
Pedestrians killed: 0
Bicyclists injured: 28
Bicyclists killed: 1

I guess we're missing about ~10000 unreported bicycle incidents? From the data, the biggest problem remains motor vehicles. Focusing on ridiculous "solutions" for bicycles is a waste of time and money.

You're overlooking the fact that there are far fewer bicyclists period so your argument fails once you consider scale (CDC estimates only 1% of trips nationally are via bicycle). If you normalize the numbers to be per percentage of vehicle miles traveled by each mode I think you'll fine that bicyclists cause just as many collisions as motor vehicle operators.

 

[nathanddrews]

Really impressed that NYC is tracking this!

You can't just look at one year or take raw data as your conclusion. Well, you can... but you shouldn't. Using the last three years of non-vehicle-related data, there is an average of:
Pedestrians injured: 328
Pedestrians killed: 2 (1.3 actual)
Bicyclists injured: 443
Bicyclists killed: 2 (1.3 actual)

By NYC's own estimate (based also upon some good data) there are approximately 400,000 cycling trips made per day across an unknown distance and unknown number of cycling routes. As for vehicle trips, NYC has ~59,000,000 AADT (annualized average daily traffic) across only known driving routes and distances. Without quantifying how many miles are traveled by those cyclists or vehicles, getting an equivalent VMT (vehicle miles traveled) would be difficult, which would make calculating a standard crash rate or fatality rate even more difficult.

The bottom line is that while the raw number of cyclist crashes is a lot lower, the picture isn't quite as rosy when adjusted for the number of trips taken per day, especially when factoring in the variability of injury severity. As motor vehicle trips continue to decrease and autonomous vehicles grow in number and walking/cycling trips continue to increase, my guess is that the picture won't look as good for bikes.

 

[highland145]

Your effort was half-assed. I have seen better from you. Here's some eggplant. Take it or leave it.

giggity

 

[K1052]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-mccarron-perspec-0909-jm-20160908-story.html

The Trib is well known here for it's constant anti-bike screeds. At least this one fesses up to an irrational hatred of bikes due to age.

 

[Exterous]

I think this is the take-away from all cyclist threads isn't it?

Pretty much but it should be reiterated every once and a while in case people start to forget