tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post3335337080321354456..comments2024-03-29T02:23:04.995-06:00Comments on twin city sidewalks: Using Psychobabble to Justify Anti-Bicycle Rage is Dangerous Bill Lindekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11373780012930618768noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-91136065763728614382013-07-29T02:05:05.947-06:002013-07-29T02:05:05.947-06:00Although I think your point on the absurd and hist...Although I think your point on the absurd and historically unique car focus in traffic rules is brilliant, I'd like to disagree with respect to cyclists not being free-riders (at least some of them sometimes, me in younger days almost all the time). I've been riding my bike to work on a daily basis for the last twenty or so years, mostly in continental Europe, mostly in Germany. Germany being Germany, cars tend to stop at red lights, always. Not so in Italy, where I lived for three years until the beginning of this year. Drivers there tend to have the same attitude towards traffic lights that bicyclists regularly have the world round - a red light being a recommendation rather than an obligation to stop. But as soon as you as a bicyclist can't be sure anymore whether the cars will in fact stop at the red light, you can't run (however carefully) your own red (or dark yellow) light anymore - too dangerous. In other words, well established (and car-centric) traffic rules allow bicyclists to free-ride on the margins of these rules (exactly because bicyclists are not cars and can manoeuvre with more agility). Once there are no clear rules anymore (or no rules that have positive externalities for bicyclists), there is no room for this kind of free-riding anymore. If in fact clear rules are lacking overall, that's disadvantageous for everybody, as traffic becomes really hazardous. The loss of free-riding options for bicyclists is of the least concern in these settings. Having negotiated somewhat rule-free traffic on a daily basis the last three years (the truth is, there are informal traffic rues in Italy, but they all assume you have some steel sheets around you...), I've come to appreciate the predictability of German traffic of late. And although there's enough slack in the timing of the traffic lights to do all the free-riding you want in Germany, I find myself stopping on my bike at the first hint of a red light more often than not these days - a bit out of solidarity with the rule-obiding car drivers, and a bit in an attempt to act as a role-model for my fellow bicyclists... Arnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-61107217681911144872013-03-26T18:17:02.905-06:002013-03-26T18:17:02.905-06:00I am attracted to the idea that there is psycholog...I am attracted to the idea that there is psychological basis to motorists acting out against bicyclists. But, I think the basis is cost/benefit analysis.<br /><br />The cyclist has a hard time catching up with the motorist and even then the motorist is wearing armor, so the perception is that rude and aggressive behavior will go without a reply. I think this is why some motorists indulge in hit and run bicycling lessons.Kurtis Englehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09265575928755989713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-54953718531102386752013-03-22T01:39:37.543-06:002013-03-22T01:39:37.543-06:00Mr Stafford question is ridiculous, of course, man...Mr Stafford question is ridiculous, of course, many drivers and cyclists, as if the two are mutually exclusive. They become angry when riding a bicycle through a red light, because they are less often in their car?<br /><a href="http://www.lnfsale.com/quality-mlb-jerseys-best-c-176.html" rel="nofollow">cheap baseball jerseys</a> cheap baseball jerseyshttp://www.lnfsale.com/quality-mlb-jerseys-best-c-176.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-19159408507863695852013-03-13T13:59:29.143-06:002013-03-13T13:59:29.143-06:00I think most people against the implementation of ...I think most people against the implementation of shared spaces like advisory bike lanes appeal to the logical fallacies of universality and antiquity. Humans tend to fall into this cognitive trap because of a lack of understanding of the actual issue. One could argue that it is used as some type of heuristic where the individual can appeal to it to solve an internal conflict, in this case their lack of knowledge of the new street markings and regulations. It isn't that drivers "morally condemn" cyclists, drivers become enraged when anyone does not obey as what they view as the applicable traffic laws and driving habits, but that they feel threatened by sharing the same space as the cyclist. The driver fears that they may encounter a situation where they injure or kill a cyclist. If roadways have a more clearly define mode of use for cars in relation to bicycles this confusion might be mitigated. Drivers would know their place and cyclists theirs. As it stands currently there is a competition for space on the road. This is what most likely leads to the conflict this supposed "psychologist" is referring to. If drivers take the time to learn how to navigate the roadways and read the signs (which they are LEGALLY required to do and understand) there would be no issue. Cyclists will need to do this as well.Tyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00387336122090704010noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-4224209986314382772013-02-24T16:07:23.100-06:002013-02-24T16:07:23.100-06:00Of course, Mr. Stafford's question is ridiculo...Of course, Mr. Stafford's question is ridiculous on its face for the many drivers who are also cyclists, as though the two were mutually exclusive. Do they become filled with rage when running red lights on their bikes because they don't do it quite as often in their cars? Keith Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06408208773230875480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-18315801810858372282013-02-21T09:37:38.530-06:002013-02-21T09:37:38.530-06:00Also, the majority of the anti-bike rages I've...Also, the majority of the anti-bike rages I've endured (the people who actively try to drive me off the road onto the sidewalk, for example) have had to do (when I've asked, because I always do -- it's awfully compelling) with the basic rageful (mis)understanding that *bikes don't belong on roads* (Like unfortunate Toronto's mayor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nySs1cEq5rs). So yes, there may be some point that this author is drawing on (people get themselves into a swivet because they somehow think bikes are CHEATING and getting an advantage), but what seems useful would be understanding how to back off from that fundamentalism (and perhaps equally when cyclists get morally fundamentalist about internalizing the costs of their own transportation, even if that does seem like a much better-supported moral position...)Kirsten Valentine Cadieuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04781128427942978109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17629790.post-72056124507854910402013-02-21T08:51:19.930-06:002013-02-21T08:51:19.930-06:00It's a ridiculous concept - that there's s...It's a ridiculous concept - that there's some real explanation for anti-bicycle rage. There's no explanation, no justification.<br /><br />However, trying to decide a moral approach to traffic signals is also ridiculous. I stop at the red light near my home at 11pm when there are no cars around. Is there a moral justification for running the light? I suppose. But in a society of laws, we don't get to decide which ones we'll impose our own moral authority on, and which ones we don't.Jason DeRushahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08884712185903834626noreply@blogger.com