It's never too late! In The Netherlands we don't change a complete city at once. Every road that is in a bad condition and needs new aphalt it's looked at to check if there is a possibility for improvement. It's a never ending work in progress that overhere already started many! years ago. The biggest fear I would have is that in the US every state has their own method of doing things. It should be something that is the same everywhere instead of different in every state.
We had bad roads too, but when a road is up for a refurbishing, it gets upgraded to the latest standards. We didn't get here in a year. It took decades. I still remember when we just had painted cylcing lanes instead of cycling paths, so it is never too late. Yes, we get tickets when cycling. The most common ones are riding without lights and using your phone (you're not allowed to hold a phone when operating a vehicle). Technically, drunk cycling is illegal, but this is tolerated as long as you cycle safely. The police prefers drunk cycling over drunk driving, but you will be in trouble if you cause trouble and since it is operating a vehicle while drunk, you can lose your driving license for this.
Every time I hear the USA is a big country, so we cannot change anything, I am surprised! You have to look at it in another way. The Netherlands is part of the EU with 500 million inhabitants, much more than the USA. But we did improve a lot in safety. Why would Maine, or New Jersey be unable to do likewise? Same traffic rules apply all over Europe... like in the USA. If a Dutch village of 50.000 can do it why not a US village of 50.000?
Yes that is a good point! Problem is our government prefers to not invest in infrastructure. For example, we still have lead in our water pipes. There are individual cities which have done a great job with this (like Portland, Oregon). Also, in a state like mine, oil fuels the economy so politicians don't want people to drive less, switch to bikes, or even go green. Half of our country wants everything to stay the same forever because they believe America is the best, but the other half want to modernize, reform, and improve. That's why nothing gets done because people don't agree and politicians make a lot of money from big oil and corporate lobbyist. Our elections are essentially cities versus rural. (Democrat versus republican). City folks want infrastructure investments, social safety nets, and others. While rural residents only care about no regulations and no federal government intervention. Republicans and "moderates" believe it should be the responsiblity of independent entities to improve infrastructure but democrats and progressives believe it is the responsibility of the government because when you leave it up to private business it either does not get done or they do it as cheap as posible. Lastly, you can find amazing infrastructure and quality of life in the U.S. (if you have the money). Problem is, most people don't.
@@LocaliaProject It will not be a shock but we've got conservative municipalities and progressive ones. Even a bible belt! When citizens see what is done next door, they want the same. Advantage we have is that we do not have endless poor or endless rich areas, we are mixing all classes. Neighborhoods are small, but this is also a policy very well thought off. It prevents us against them, and promotes 'we' on every scale. Maybe you should look at the Dutch principle of 'polderen', something like 'we are in this together, and we have to work together, or nobody will be happy'.
@@LocaliaProject Are you familiar with the infrastructure overhaul in Carmel, Indiana? From a Dutch standpoint it looks quite promising. UA-camr Brandon Lust is making videos on it at ua-cam.com/users/AmericanFietser, you might want to check it out and see what IS possible in the United States.
Usually bike haters want cyclist to wear helmets. They know that if helmet are required less people will use a bike. While studies have shown that the health benefits of biking far outway the risk of head injury. Only reason to use a helmet on a bike if for small children that are still learning, people on sport bikes that go really fast and older people on electric bikes or especially on speed pedelecs that can go 30 miles or faster.
What this video specifically talks about is design limits, speed limits are often higher. So you could have a 20mph speed limit, but a design limit of 10mph in certain spots using methods described in the video. If you can't drive faster it doesn't matter what the speed limit is.
drinking is a crime on bike you will get a ticket, and if you don't have you lights on after dark you will also get a ticket. the intersting thing is in the Netherlands if a bike gets hit by a car it is blamed on the car driver, when you are on a bicycle you are the weakest participant in traffic so you will almost not get the blame for accidents. that helps car drivers to be more careful because it will cost them to pay for injury and damage
While it is a crime to ride a bicycle drunk, i have never ever heard of someone getting a fine for it. Just like they won't give you a ticket if you're walking on the street whilst drunk.
More likely that the police will give you a lift home if they find you swerving down the road. Unless you are a rude jackass, that might earn you a trip to the station to sober up.
the 6 miles per hour is not a speed limit; it is "enforced" with infrastructure like speedbumps and raised crossings. And yes, you can get ticketed on your bike. Most commonly for failing to have working lights and/or a bell but also for using a mobile phone or being drunk. BTW: the Netherlands wasn't always like this. So it certainly do-able if there's the political will to do it. But like you said: as long as you waste so much of your wealth on the military, nothing will change in the US until the oil runs out.
The Netherlands used to have the same road design as the US. It has taken decades to get it to this level. It is not too late, every little change is good if they keep chasing little by little the US can do it. Although that requires political alignment which is difficult.
I agree to that. I was born in 1955 and I must say that riding a bike in the late 60's and 70's was not fun at all. I had to bike to high school and just needed to ride on the road, passed by by cars and busses. Yes, accidents happened, death happened, but as a country we've learned. Countrywide we now use the same way of protecting cyclists and pedestrians. O, just the last years all the cycling lanes are now all painted red, it took some time, but it's a safe feeling! You asked about getting a ticket riding a bike being drunk: one answer: YES. (that is when they catch you...), Drunk driving is not allowed, not in a car, a motor cycle or just a bicycle.
Not mentioned; The supported laws in the Netherlands. The car driver is always responseble for the accident when a bike or pedestrian is involved! So Dutch drivers think twice when aproaching an intersection.
it is cheaper to change it than to keep it. your wide roads are bleeding you dry not even counting the cost of injury and all the other things. it is rare to be pulled over on your bike even when you break some rules. just have a light when it is dark, don't cycle in pedestrian areas or on high-speed roads and you will never be pulled over.
Another great video from the UA-camr bicycledutch is "How the Dutch got their cycle paths". It gives you an idea how cycling really took off in the 70s after declining for decades. It also shows how the cycling infrastructure has developed over the decades. It took more than 40 years to get where we are now. And it is still not perfect! In some places, we now have traffic jams of bikes. Especially now that e-bikes have become extremely populair, people continue cycling when they get older and generally cycle longer distances. Unfortunately, the higher speed and greater turning rates of these bikes leads to more accidents and fatalities. On the plus side, with an e-bike you can commute longer distances than with a normal bike. 16 kilometres or 10 miles is doable.
I live in the city that almost all of this was filmed in (Utrecht, Netherlands). It doesn’t actually cost very much money to implement this. It just takes lots of time. Roads need a full refurb anyway every 3-4 decades. Building it like this is about the same price or sometimes less as another way - so after you put regulations like this in place and wait four decades, your country is improved. Over here there are still many places that are the same from before this set of rules were put in place, but every year, little by little, things get better. Not as radically better as it would be in the US, because it wasn’t quite as bad over here as it is over there, but still.
Big difference also is how to get you're license. Avarage it's 30 lesson hours before you can even try for the final exam. You need to drive all over doing multiple manouvres and you need to show you're actual able. They can make you fail realy easy if they think you're not ready yet.
There are a lot of rules for biking: - You need lights, brakes, a steering wheel, handles, bicycle paddles, a bicycle saddle, tires, reflectors (in/on both wheels, on the rear of the bike and on the bicycle paddles), and a bell. If you dont have those things on your bike, there is a pretty good chance you will get fined for that once you get pulled over, and you are not allowed to resume your trip on that bike untill the errors are fixed. - You can't use your phone on your bike. - No more then two bikes can be next to eachother (passing is an exception), - You aren't allowed to ignore traffic lights or to bike on the side walk, - you aren't allowed to bike on or in between tramrails or in pedestrian zones - some bike lanes are mandatory (meaning you aren't allowed to use the parallel (car)lane/road) (blue round traffic sign with a picture of a white bike in the middle) - you aren't allowed to participate in traffic when you are under the influence of certain substences (alcohol, marihuana, cocaine, xtc, certain medications). That includes pedestrians. Ignoring just one of these rules (and probably more) is a legit reason for the police to pull you over and give you a fine. PS. Apple navigation had some trouble with this a couple of years ago. ua-cam.com/video/8MVqdefxq-o/v-deo.html edit: PS 2 for people who are interested. Here is a practice exam for children at primary school that they all need to pass. (sorry, no English translation) examen.vvn.nl/start/exam/oefenexamen-1
one exception is that bicycles can legally ignore trafficlights if they turn right (if that path is not on the otherside of the crossing) because they won't intersect any traffic coming in from the left.
When i'm in the US I drive above the speed limit as well. The roads invite you to do. In the Netherlands a lot of the times I drive slower than the speed limit just because the road visual and practically discourage you to drive above the speed limit
Yes, the USA is large, however, starting with the larger and smaller cities, will make a major impact! I understand you can't connect all cities through bike lines immediately (since the USA is so vast!). Having people bike (or even walk) makes a MAJOR difference, not just in traffic accidents, but it will also help with the immense amount of overweight Americans. Since movement is know to improve metabolism and has amny other health benefits. So in the long run you would also end up saving LOT of money on healthcare! On top of that, people would be happier as well, which means more productivity during work (which means less hours for more production, which in turn means more time off to spend with family/friends).
Here in Denmark, there are pedestrian areas where biking is allowed during the night, usually 21:00 - 9:00. I have seen police set up a "stop all zone" in the middle of such area, at 9:30 and onward, giving fines to everyone biking. As far as I know, then the fine is 700 DKR ( 110 US$ ).
Here in NL, especially in autumn (fall) when the nights are starting to get longer, you will occasionally get traffic cops stopping and ticketing everyone without a functional light on their bike just after dark. If you get into a traffic accident, you may be tested for alcohol even if you were on a bike. Fines for BUI and DUI are the same - you’re just someone operating a vehicle.
When it comes to getting tickets while on a bike, they can legally stop you if you ignore traffic lights, give you a ticket for not having your lights on your bike in the evening, generally the police will leave you alone if you are in the city out partying and ride home on your bike while you had something to drink, but if you are being loud and make excessive noise or being generally problematic, the police can stop you. Tickets for not having lights on your bike (both front and rear lights) can result in a fine, this is the most likely fine you will get while on a bike, if you obey the traffic laws (even while you drank some alcohol) if you ride home without showing very clear signs of being absolutely smashed or hammered from alcohol, the police will generally leave you alone.
Like others have said, it's not a one day project to change a road, it is something that takes a long time and happens gradually. Whenever a road needs a new surface, they'll immediately look to see what can be done or what should be done to make that road more in accordance with the design principles. Often they'll also do things like sewers and electricity lines and cables and so on that are under the road's surface so they won't have to dig up the surface again in a year. Little by little they change streets. The speed limit is not actually a posted limit or anything, but the design of the road makes it impossible to go faster. A speed bump means you damage your car if you go much faster. The road signs may tell you the speed limit is, say 20 m/h but the actual speed when going over speed bumps by necessity is much lower. In the video at 9.09 you could see metal bollards that can lower into the ground. So the area is accessible to emergency services by lowering the bollards for example and for bikes and pedestrians, who can just walk or cycle past, but regular motor traffic can't go through there. This is a retro fit. That intersection used to be a normal 4 way intersection, but now the two streets don't actually intersect anymore. They do this a lot in residential areas, so motor traffic won't use the streets as a short cut, sometimes with flower beds, or bollards, or other slowing measures, or what they did next to our house, there is a 2 meter stretch of bicycle path with a bollard in the middle, so bikes can pass through, but cars definitely can't.
We don't have an official speed-limit of 6 mph (10 kph). What we do have, though, is "woonerven" (residential areas) which are indicated by the large rectangular blue signs depicting playing kids and a little house. The speed limit here is "stapsgewijs", which means walking speed. I think the narrator meant this when he mentioned the 6 mph speed limit.
I've only gotten a warning once for not having lights, I was allowed to walk the remainder of my trip home. Never for drunk cycling though as I see in many of the comments and it's not like I haven't given the cops tons of opportunities to do so. I think they'd rather have you on a bicycle than in a car, maybe enforcement is different in the more populated regions.
In the Netherlands you can get pulled over when cycling drunk, or for other offenses during cycling such as having no lights or no bell, or cycling in a pedestrian area.
hahaha, just saw a clip that's just around the corner from where I live!! I grew up in the 90s when they just finished the first fase which started in the 70's. Before that it was as dangerous as other countries. Then the next 20 years was the second fase where everything was made even safer. Now the third fase is going on and it gets more and more convenient and lovely to live here with such freedom of transportation. No car needed. In the US and other big countries it would be more difficult but not in the cities. I see no reason why you shouldn't. And you're very right about instead of more lanes, make less lanes. It will flow much better and safer
Actually it is very simple here in the Netherlands....safety comes first....at all times....for everyone who is in traffic. Then builders, engineers and designers are challenged and they become very inventive. And all for the benefit of everyone who is on the road. Makes me proud to be a dutchy! That doesn't always mean that we are flawless, we are still just human.
In the US you also have "jaywalking" - in several Euro countries no such thing exists (not sure about every country but Norway, Italy, Netherlands, etc.). This means that you can cross the road at any place (but is not recommended). And motorists will be responsible if they hit a pedestrian - regardless of the situation. The only place pedestrians are not allowed is on motorways/highways. Trivia: A few years back we had a case here in Norway where a drunk guy ended up asleep on a road. It was an unlit rural road. He was lying in the middle of the road, just after a sharp turn - and police investigation determined that it was not possible to see or react to the person if you were driving. However - the driver was sentenced for severely injuring the man.
There is no explicit law against jaywalking in The Netherlands. However, there is a catch-all clause in the Dutch traffic law (article 5), which is such that you can get a fine for existing. Roughly: "It is forbidden to everyone to exhibit any behavior that causes or might cause danger or hindrance to users of the public road." Under that article people have been fined for having barbecues in their backyard (smoke drifting on to the road). So an enterprising police officer could fine you for jaywalking under that article.
Here in the netherlands, you can get fined for most of the things you can get fined for in a car. (Drinking, phone, no lights, red light). And it's actually illegal to participate in traffic drunk in/on any vehicle. Car, bike, mobility scooter and even on foot if necessary
The reason why you don't want a bike lane is because everything is too far apart, you have no mixed zones (commercial / residential) a zone is either exclusively residential or commercial, which makes riding a bike in the US a huge task to go to the store to pick something up "real quick", it won't take 10-15 minutes round trip, but instead 30 min to 1 hour just to get to the store across town.
Great video ❤️ The Netherlands has beautiful roads 🛣️ and cycle paths🚲 Also many roundabouts are important. The traffic 🚥 flows easily through the streets. Motorists are warned 🛑 if there are schools nearby, with a road sign, drive slowly please 🚘. I love yours videos it's so interesting. Thank you so much. Greetings from Volendam the Netherlands ❤️🤍💙🧡🇳🇱🙋🏼♀️
The Dutch principle in traffic: if you drink, you don't drive...not by car or anyother means of transport. You must walk or beter grab a cab. People on bikes may get a ticket for defects on the bike, like broken light (bad visiability for other road-users), but often you will get a way with a warning. Gr. Ron
There is a maximum amount of "blood alcohol" that you can have and legally still be allowed to drive in the Netherlands. But yeah, no drinking before driving is way easier and safer.
Living in a student city, I see people cycling drunk/tipsy on the regular. But usually late at night, with low traffic, and police tend to be pretty chill about it. Unless you're being a danger and/or nuisance to others
It's not too late to change -- after all, we did it. The way roads are in The Netherlands is a result of 50+ years of effort and investment, starting in the 1970s. Sure, it takes money. But mostly it takes dedication, patience and realism. You don't get to the top of a mountain by standing at the foot and jumping; you climb one step at a time. Same with this -- you pick a problem area, you improve it a bit. Not whole hog everything at once, but maybe you paint a piece of road to become a bike lane. You paint arrows on the road to create turn lanes. Then you do the same in other problem areas. You look at how it affects the flow of traffic in the city, maybe improve other areas a bit. Next maintenance cycle, maybe you add traffic lights, a few pedestrian crossings. Next major maintenance cycle you add things like islands in the road and speedbumps to force slowing down cars at crosswalks. Maybe you put in a thin, raised barrier between bike lane and road as a first step towards separation. And so on. That's how we did it. Are doing it, in fact, because even in The Netherlands it is by no means done.
It is never too late !! It takes choice / commitment / stamina etc. The infrastructure in the Netherlands is very good, but not without flaws. The way it is now is not the result of 3 or 5 years. It took us decades to reform everything and it is still an ongoing process. Our roads don't have potholes. Our highway are not littered with blown truck tires. Potholes are repaired within a few days after they manifested themselves; blown tires and other debris is removed from the highway / hard shoulder within a few days at the most and often the same day. But it comes at a price. . Dutch government(-s) and people have chosen to create an infrastructure like the one we have now. If a pothole occurs, you can bet there will be people phing city hall to tell them and ask them to repair the road. And if it takes to long you can bet they will receive a lot of angry phone calls. We pay a lot of taxes and we expect our government ( wether the nations or our local government / counsel ) to step up , take their responsibility and take action.
Thers a reason taxes are higher in NL, the extra money is spent to help support good infrastructure work (not neglect like in the States). And also stuff like affordable healthcare thats accessible to everyone etc. But yea taxes are mostly seen as a bad thing in the States (doesnt help that filing them in US is way more timeconsuming and difficult, way easier in NL too) since it takes away choice of where to spend money urself.
You can tickets when driving a bike. Riding a bike without a light, or three cyclists next to eachother (only two are allowed), riding the sidewalk, riding a bike in a shopping area (only walking allowed). Drunk. Using your mobile phone nowadays too. ETc.
Drinking & Bike riding is the same fine/pentaly as drinking and driving. Plus yeah you can be pulled over, think about lights or going through red or even being on your phone nowadays...
every 30 to 40 years every bit of road needs to be resurfaced or redesigned. That is the time to change the layout. And putting in a bike-lane is cheaper than resurfacing that one carlane that is used to create the bike-lane. And for getting tickets while on a bike. You generally don't get ticketed for running a red light (cops wouldn't be doing anything else if they started to inforce that). But tickets for using a cellphone while cycling, drunk cycling or not having a working front- or rear light, yes those are frequent.
Calling and being on you're bike now can give you a fine. Also being drunk in public and there for also on the bike can give you a fine. From junior high kids are teached on how to ride the bike and follow the rules of the road. It's like a theoretical exam for the traffic simulair to cars and motorcycles.
While it will cost money to change existing communities, it will still be cheaper than what is often spent on roads. Also, many places continue to be built new so even if it is true that changing existing communities would be hard, we can at least adopt better standards such that as new places are built, they do not make the same design mistakes that we're now trying to find money to change in the older existing places.
Drunk cycling is technically illegal but systematically not enforced if it's within limits. Just like motorists are expected to deal with the erratic riding of kids, they have to deal with the intoxicated cyclists. Which brings me to the cost of cycling infrastructure, it's an investment in mobility and mobility brings economic activity. Alcohol is an imporant ingredient of the leisure industry as a whole and if it's just a ten minute bike ride to a bar, a venue, a restaurant or a sports club with a beer afterward, people tend do a lot more of those things in a week. And it's all business. Moving away from car centric culture since the 70's has also created a quite impressive sidewalk cafe culture, especially impressive considering the weather. That's also because it's much nicer to enjoy a coffee or a beer next to a bicycle traffic than in the noise and exhaust fumes of car traffic, and you can have more than one beer and cycle home. It's quite a substantial business that would have been a lot smaller without cycling infrastructure.
I heard that parents teach their children how to drive a car…..this was in a video on UA-cam…….is that true? Do you pay road tax….? We do in the Netherlands….everybody who has a car has to pay…….the heavier the car the more tax they pay………And yes people on bikes also get tickets…….
official you aren't allowed to drink and drive your bike, also you need to have a white frontlight and red backlight in the dark, otherwise you can get a fine, sometimes the police hand out lights. also holding your phone on the bike isn't allowed it is a 95euro fine. and driving through a red light is also a fine.
Als je aangehouden wordt op de Fiets, met drank op, ben je in Nederland ook je rijbewijs kwijt!! En als je het echt erg gemaakt hebt en je loopt dronken over straat, ben je ook je rijbewijs kwijt!! Groetjes uit Spakenburg,Nederland.
You do it street by street, with one vision. It takes 50 years or more. And yes you can have tickets on your bike, for alcohol, but mostly for inadequate lights at night or biking in a pedestrian zone..
in the Netherlands. having phone out, carries a ticket of 95 euro. participating in traffic while drunk is a crime, it doesn't matter if you're on foot, on a bicycle, or in a motor vehicle.
Yes you can get a ticket on a bike The US can change for the better, one road/street at the time, however i would advice Washington to set laws/rules like 'a bike lane should always be colour x (like schoolbusses) so there can be no mistake if (for example) a Texan goes to California or Florida or even New York City And ofcourse: Don't act like there's only one answer to a problem, look around, ASK around to see what works best... - Imagine NYC with only bikes, public transport and delivery trucks (all electric) how impressive it would look and how much cleaner the air would be
Car drivers in the Netherlands are very aware of cyclists. Party because they're almost always held liable, partly because every Dutch driver is also a cyclist himself. So they know very well what cyclists do and how cycling works. Besides driving lessons, which are very hard in the Netherlands (try getting a driving licence here, you'll know - and definitly NOT taught by parents!) the instructors also teach drivers to be aware of bikes. Should you overlook a cyclist during your practical driving exam, you'll have failed. And you'll have to do your exam all over again a future time.
Cycling is quite safe here. Of course accidents do happen but compared other countries not that often. Often because of car drivers neglecting the rules and also cyclist not paying attention. See the channel: just bikes. It’s never too late but you have to build the whole system around it. Just bike lanes will mean not match. Yes, you can get a ticket on a bicycle.
Yes, cyclists can get ticketed. Drunk cycling can even get your driving license suspended! It is not unusual for Dutch police set traps to check bicycles for technical compliance like for lights and brakes. This is often done on near schools at the start of school years or early winter.
Riding a bike drunk is illegal and you'll get a ticket. You can even lose your car driver's licence when you're riding you bike when drunk but that hardly ever happens, but it IS possible.
You basically react as probably Most Americans react: it is what it is and we can't change it. That is your whole problem right there: There simply no difference between European and American trip length. The problem starts when you view the country as a whole. Just you first live in your house, then the street, then the neighbourhood, the the city. Next step up is Inter City, from city to city, next up is state wide. And only then it has to be integrated...
As far as I know it's technically illigal to be drunk while on a bike, but usually kind of allowed anyway, I mean people gotta get home some way right? If you're just on your way home, and are not a danger to yourself or others, they're not gonne pull you over and fine you really.
When you realize no infrastructure lasts much more than a decade before needing major repairs or upgrades, then you will see any changes can be made and are possible. The Netherlands weren't as bike friendly ten years ago as now, it wasn't as bike friendly in the nineties compared to the twothousands. It is an ongoing process and you just gotta start somewhere.
and remember all people in the netherlands also bike so they know how dangerous it can be. Also dutch driving exams are way harder than american ones, we have to have driving lessons with a certified instructor and we need to do a theoretical exam too.
It's never too late. Also in The Netherlands cars were dominating the streets and everything had to go away for the car. Like bike lanes etc. But we changed are policy. This video will explain how we got our bike infrastructure ua-cam.com/video/XuBdf9jYj7o/v-deo.html
The US can cut 500bn on military spending and still be the largest spending country on defense. And that's before properly taxing multinationals and the super rich. In return you'd get a huge boost in employment and local economies. On top of that US infrastructure is crumbling due to poor maintenance. There never was a better time to overhaul US infrastructure to be safer and designed with the future in mind.
What really helps is that when there is an accident between a car and a bicycle the the car driver is automatically at fault. Unless the cyclist is a 'kamikaze pilot' are a vandal.
Too late? I don't think so! In fact from what I read and hear the US will be forced to renew their roads and bridges just about everywhere. If people rise to the occasion they might be able to force the government to change road designs and really upgrade them instead of renewal. But before anything changes the mindset of people needs to change!!! Creating something new is hardly a problem. Changing the way people think about these things ... that's the hard one!! In the Netherlands road design changed because of an up-rise of the Dutch against their government. They where fed up with the ever increasing death toll of traffic, among them a significant number of children.
you can get a ticket when you hold your phone and bike, I dont know if you can get a ticket for being drunk on a bike. you can be pulled over on a bike by police on motor cycle or bike, even by city surveillance.
You know why North America has such high drunk driving rates? Because all bars are mandated to build an X number of parking spots and there's no other reasonable way to get to them. They're too far to walk, too dangerous to bike to, and public transport is scary and slow if it exists at all. So people drink and then they drive.
You asked if people get pulled over on bikes: yes, you can get pulled over. Usually it's because you don't have lights and that will get you a warning or a small fine. There's a little bit of tolerance for running red lights (although you should never do it) because you're unlikely to seriously hurt anyone else if you have an accident. The police also semi-secretly prefer that people bike rather than drive when they're under the influence so that is often left unenforced as well whereas drunk driving is severely and frequently cracked down on.
You can change to safer road designs without the cost of ripping everything up and starting over, by doing one road at the time, when it's time to repave that road anyways. It will take decades anyway you do it, so you might as well do it in the order you would have repaved the roads in the first place. Do we get pulled over on our bicycles? Basicly no. You can cycle home after having had some drinks and have the lights on your bike not working. I don't recommend it, but you'll likely get away with it. The chance of being in an accident is higher than the chance of getting pulled over by police while you're on a bicycle. Not true if you're on a moped. On a moped you will be scrutinized much more by the police, and if your lights don't work there's a fair chance you will be pulled over. As for being pulled over for drunk driving, the police do organise checks, usually on friday or saturday night. They'll pick a road and pull over every driver they can (depending on their capacity) for a breathalyser test. In my 12 years of driving (cars) I've been pulled over 3 times for a breathalyser test. The last time they made a judgement call and never even bothered with the test and let me go right away.
They want to sell cars not bicycles. More roads means more cars. No shops in the neighborhood means more cars . You're work 20 or 30 miles from you're home means .... 🙄
I guess that bike-people in the US are a big minority and therefor political not powerful enough for chances. I think in essence that the Dutch place people first and matter/money in second place.
Getting your drivers license cost 2000/3000 euro. With theory exam and practical exam. You need to go to a driving school. Learning from parents is forbidden
I don’t think it is. There are also road markings and road signs to let you know you are entering a school zone. People will slow down from 30km/hr during school begin and end times, but outside school hours there is hardly any reason to lower your speed. And drivers see all the parents and children walking and biking out of the school grounds onto the roads and sidewalks. It forces you to slow down. If roads are designed to the speed limits, there is no reason to lower the speed limit. The problems are more the road construction and temporary signs and barriers that causes problems. People are more concerned with those road changes than paying attention to other weaker road users. We have a gradation in road users from strong to weak. Trains and trams, busses and trucks, cars and vans, motor bikes and scooters/mopeds and speedelecs, bicycles and e-bikes, pedestrians and disabled persons.
20 000 deaths equals an economic loss of 200Bj dollars… Bike lines are cheaper to make and maintain then a road because they are narrower. They have a higher capacity of people, surface area of a bike vs 1 person in a f150… How to get more people on a bike? Make it easier and faster to get there, go 5 minutes by bike or 15 minutes by car to get to the store for example
Just the fact that you paint bicycle lanes green is already the wrong idea. Green stands for "Go", good, safe. Red stands for "Danger", stop, careful. Just like traffic lights. These colors are psychological. So by painting the bike lanes green you are telling traffic to go there instead of staying away from it (and in turn, protect bikers).
![Systematic Safety: The Principles Behind Vision Zero. [522]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5aNtsWvNYKE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Systematic Safety: The Principles Behind Vision Zero. [522]](/img/tr.png)
It's never too late! In The Netherlands we don't change a complete city at once. Every road that is in a bad condition and needs new aphalt it's looked at to check if there is a possibility for improvement. It's a never ending work in progress that overhere already started many! years ago.
The biggest fear I would have is that in the US every state has their own method of doing things. It should be something that is the same everywhere instead of different in every state.
Helemaal met je eens!
Ik ook!
Compleet mee eens!
We had bad roads too, but when a road is up for a refurbishing, it gets upgraded to the latest standards. We didn't get here in a year. It took decades. I still remember when we just had painted cylcing lanes instead of cycling paths, so it is never too late.
Yes, we get tickets when cycling. The most common ones are riding without lights and using your phone (you're not allowed to hold a phone when operating a vehicle). Technically, drunk cycling is illegal, but this is tolerated as long as you cycle safely. The police prefers drunk cycling over drunk driving, but you will be in trouble if you cause trouble and since it is operating a vehicle while drunk, you can lose your driving license for this.
We've been working on it for almost 50 years, so it didn't happen overnight and it's still far from finished! 😁✌🏼
Every time I hear the USA is a big country, so we cannot change anything, I am surprised!
You have to look at it in another way. The Netherlands is part of the EU with 500 million inhabitants, much more than the USA.
But we did improve a lot in safety. Why would Maine, or New Jersey be unable to do likewise?
Same traffic rules apply all over Europe... like in the USA.
If a Dutch village of 50.000 can do it why not a US village of 50.000?
I totally agree with you. Je kent het Nederlandse gezegde "Waar een wil is, is een weg!!!!!". (Eeeeeuh, ik bedoel een fietspad :-)
@@bertkassing8541 So you say: Where there is a will there is a bike way! 😛
Yes that is a good point! Problem is our government prefers to not invest in infrastructure. For example, we still have lead in our water pipes. There are individual cities which have done a great job with this (like Portland, Oregon).
Also, in a state like mine, oil fuels the economy so politicians don't want people to drive less, switch to bikes, or even go green. Half of our country wants everything to stay the same forever because they believe America is the best, but the other half want to modernize, reform, and improve. That's why nothing gets done because people don't agree and politicians make a lot of money from big oil and corporate lobbyist.
Our elections are essentially cities versus rural. (Democrat versus republican). City folks want infrastructure investments, social safety nets, and others. While rural residents only care about no regulations and no federal government intervention.
Republicans and "moderates" believe it should be the responsiblity of independent entities to improve infrastructure but democrats and progressives believe it is the responsibility of the government because when you leave it up to private business it either does not get done or they do it as cheap as posible.
Lastly, you can find amazing infrastructure and quality of life in the U.S. (if you have the money). Problem is, most people don't.
@@LocaliaProject It will not be a shock but we've got conservative municipalities and progressive ones. Even a bible belt!
When citizens see what is done next door, they want the same.
Advantage we have is that we do not have endless poor or endless rich areas, we are mixing all classes. Neighborhoods are small, but this is also a policy very well thought off.
It prevents us against them, and promotes 'we' on every scale.
Maybe you should look at the Dutch principle of 'polderen', something like 'we are in this together, and we have to work together, or nobody will be happy'.
@@LocaliaProject Are you familiar with the infrastructure overhaul in Carmel, Indiana? From a Dutch standpoint it looks quite promising. UA-camr Brandon Lust is making videos on it at ua-cam.com/users/AmericanFietser, you might want to check it out and see what IS possible in the United States.
I don't get how in USA on Bicycle you need a helmet, when while on moter bike you don't seem to need them. puzzling for the Dutch tourist in USA lol
More head injuries occur amongst car drivers than cyclists, yet most countries still persist in mandatory cyclist helmet wearing.
Usually bike haters want cyclist to wear helmets. They know that if helmet are required less people will use a bike. While studies have shown that the health benefits of biking far outway the risk of head injury.
Only reason to use a helmet on a bike if for small children that are still learning, people on sport bikes that go really fast and older people on electric bikes or especially on speed pedelecs that can go 30 miles or faster.
If you fall off your bike in the US and hit your head, there is more heavy traffic that might run over your head. 😉
@@bentels5340 still isn't logic you don't have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle...
What this video specifically talks about is design limits, speed limits are often higher. So you could have a 20mph speed limit, but a design limit of 10mph in certain spots using methods described in the video. If you can't drive faster it doesn't matter what the speed limit is.
drinking is a crime on bike you will get a ticket, and if you don't have you lights on after dark you will also get a ticket. the intersting thing is in the Netherlands if a bike gets hit by a car it is blamed on the car driver, when you are on a bicycle you are the weakest participant in traffic so you will almost not get the blame for accidents. that helps car drivers to be more careful because it will cost them to pay for injury and damage
While it is a crime to ride a bicycle drunk, i have never ever heard of someone getting a fine for it. Just like they won't give you a ticket if you're walking on the street whilst drunk.
That is only when you are younger than 14 years of age.
At least when I used to live in the Netherlands.
More likely that the police will give you a lift home if they find you swerving down the road. Unless you are a rude jackass, that might earn you a trip to the station to sober up.
Drunk biking is illegal but you usually don't get a ticket for it. It's way safer to be drunk on a bike than drunk driving in a car.
the 6 miles per hour is not a speed limit; it is "enforced" with infrastructure like speedbumps and raised crossings.
And yes, you can get ticketed on your bike. Most commonly for failing to have working lights and/or a bell but also for using a mobile phone or being drunk.
BTW: the Netherlands wasn't always like this. So it certainly do-able if there's the political will to do it. But like you said: as long as you waste so much of your wealth on the military, nothing will change in the US until the oil runs out.
It is not 6 miles/hour it is 15 km/h (9.32mph) as stated by the higher court and made it in de law in 2013. Before it was 'stapvoets'...
The Netherlands used to have the same road design as the US. It has taken decades to get it to this level.
It is not too late, every little change is good if they keep chasing little by little the US can do it.
Although that requires political alignment which is difficult.
I agree to that. I was born in 1955 and I must say that riding a bike in the late 60's and 70's was not fun at all. I had to bike to high school and just needed to ride on the road, passed by by cars and busses. Yes, accidents happened, death happened, but as a country we've learned. Countrywide we now use the same way of protecting cyclists and pedestrians.
O, just the last years all the cycling lanes are now all painted red, it took some time, but it's a safe feeling!
You asked about getting a ticket riding a bike being drunk: one answer: YES. (that is when they catch you...), Drunk driving is not allowed, not in a car, a motor cycle or just a bicycle.
Not mentioned;
The supported laws in the Netherlands. The car driver is always responseble for the accident when a bike or pedestrian is involved! So Dutch drivers think twice when aproaching an intersection.
it is cheaper to change it than to keep it.
your wide roads are bleeding you dry not even counting the cost of injury and all the other things.
it is rare to be pulled over on your bike even when you break some rules.
just have a light when it is dark, don't cycle in pedestrian areas or on high-speed roads and you will never be pulled over.
Another great video from the UA-camr bicycledutch is "How the Dutch got their cycle paths". It gives you an idea how cycling really took off in the 70s after declining for decades. It also shows how the cycling infrastructure has developed over the decades. It took more than 40 years to get where we are now. And it is still not perfect! In some places, we now have traffic jams of bikes. Especially now that e-bikes have become extremely populair, people continue cycling when they get older and generally cycle longer distances. Unfortunately, the higher speed and greater turning rates of these bikes leads to more accidents and fatalities. On the plus side, with an e-bike you can commute longer distances than with a normal bike. 16 kilometres or 10 miles is doable.
I live in the city that almost all of this was filmed in (Utrecht, Netherlands).
It doesn’t actually cost very much money to implement this. It just takes lots of time. Roads need a full refurb anyway every 3-4 decades. Building it like this is about the same price or sometimes less as another way - so after you put regulations like this in place and wait four decades, your country is improved.
Over here there are still many places that are the same from before this set of rules were put in place, but every year, little by little, things get better. Not as radically better as it would be in the US, because it wasn’t quite as bad over here as it is over there, but still.
Big difference also is how to get you're license. Avarage it's 30 lesson hours before you can even try for the final exam. You need to drive all over doing multiple manouvres and you need to show you're actual able. They can make you fail realy easy if they think you're not ready yet.
There are a lot of rules for biking:
- You need lights, brakes, a steering wheel, handles, bicycle paddles, a bicycle saddle, tires, reflectors (in/on both wheels, on the rear of the bike and on the bicycle paddles), and a bell. If you dont have those things on your bike, there is a pretty good chance you will get fined for that once you get pulled over, and you are not allowed to resume your trip on that bike untill the errors are fixed.
- You can't use your phone on your bike.
- No more then two bikes can be next to eachother (passing is an exception),
- You aren't allowed to ignore traffic lights or to bike on the side walk,
- you aren't allowed to bike on or in between tramrails or in pedestrian zones
- some bike lanes are mandatory (meaning you aren't allowed to use the parallel (car)lane/road) (blue round traffic sign with a picture of a white bike in the middle)
- you aren't allowed to participate in traffic when you are under the influence of certain substences (alcohol, marihuana, cocaine, xtc, certain medications). That includes pedestrians.
Ignoring just one of these rules (and probably more) is a legit reason for the police to pull you over and give you a fine.
PS. Apple navigation had some trouble with this a couple of years ago.
ua-cam.com/video/8MVqdefxq-o/v-deo.html
edit: PS 2
for people who are interested. Here is a practice exam for children at primary school that they all need to pass. (sorry, no English translation)
examen.vvn.nl/start/exam/oefenexamen-1
one exception is that bicycles can legally ignore trafficlights if they turn right (if that path is not on the otherside of the crossing) because they won't intersect any traffic coming in from the left.
When i'm in the US I drive above the speed limit as well. The roads invite you to do. In the Netherlands a lot of the times I drive slower than the speed limit just because the road visual and practically discourage you to drive above the speed limit
Yes, the USA is large, however, starting with the larger and smaller cities, will make a major impact! I understand you can't connect all cities through bike lines immediately (since the USA is so vast!). Having people bike (or even walk) makes a MAJOR difference, not just in traffic accidents, but it will also help with the immense amount of overweight Americans. Since movement is know to improve metabolism and has amny other health benefits. So in the long run you would also end up saving LOT of money on healthcare! On top of that, people would be happier as well, which means more productivity during work (which means less hours for more production, which in turn means more time off to spend with family/friends).
Here in Denmark, there are pedestrian areas where biking is allowed during the night, usually 21:00 - 9:00.
I have seen police set up a "stop all zone" in the middle of such area, at 9:30 and onward, giving fines to everyone biking.
As far as I know, then the fine is 700 DKR ( 110 US$ ).
Here in NL, especially in autumn (fall) when the nights are starting to get longer, you will occasionally get traffic cops stopping and ticketing everyone without a functional light on their bike just after dark.
If you get into a traffic accident, you may be tested for alcohol even if you were on a bike. Fines for BUI and DUI are the same - you’re just someone operating a vehicle.
When it comes to getting tickets while on a bike, they can legally stop you if you ignore traffic lights, give you a ticket for not having your lights on your bike in the evening, generally the police will leave you alone if you are in the city out partying and ride home on your bike while you had something to drink, but if you are being loud and make excessive noise or being generally problematic, the police can stop you. Tickets for not having lights on your bike (both front and rear lights) can result in a fine, this is the most likely fine you will get while on a bike, if you obey the traffic laws (even while you drank some alcohol) if you ride home without showing very clear signs of being absolutely smashed or hammered from alcohol, the police will generally leave you alone.
Like others have said, it's not a one day project to change a road, it is something that takes a long time and happens gradually. Whenever a road needs a new surface, they'll immediately look to see what can be done or what should be done to make that road more in accordance with the design principles.
Often they'll also do things like sewers and electricity lines and cables and so on that are under the road's surface so they won't have to dig up the surface again in a year. Little by little they change streets.
The speed limit is not actually a posted limit or anything, but the design of the road makes it impossible to go faster. A speed bump means you damage your car if you go much faster. The road signs may tell you the speed limit is, say 20 m/h but the actual speed when going over speed bumps by necessity is much lower.
In the video at 9.09 you could see metal bollards that can lower into the ground. So the area is accessible to emergency services by lowering the bollards for example and for bikes and pedestrians, who can just walk or cycle past, but regular motor traffic can't go through there. This is a retro fit. That intersection used to be a normal 4 way intersection, but now the two streets don't actually intersect anymore. They do this a lot in residential areas, so motor traffic won't use the streets as a short cut, sometimes with flower beds, or bollards, or other slowing measures, or what they did next to our house, there is a 2 meter stretch of bicycle path with a bollard in the middle, so bikes can pass through, but cars definitely can't.
Watch the strong town series from not just bikes, it shows excacly what the problem is and a good solution for it
The topic is also about bike safety in the usa/ netherlands
The only ticket we get on the bike is for not having light at night. Great video 👍🏻
We don't have an official speed-limit of 6 mph (10 kph). What we do have, though, is "woonerven" (residential areas) which are indicated by the large rectangular blue signs depicting playing kids and a little house. The speed limit here is "stapsgewijs", which means walking speed. I think the narrator meant this when he mentioned the 6 mph speed limit.
Never too late, you have to start somewhere and sometime
I've only gotten a warning once for not having lights, I was allowed to walk the remainder of my trip home.
Never for drunk cycling though as I see in many of the comments and it's not like I haven't given the cops tons of opportunities to do so. I think they'd rather have you on a bicycle than in a car, maybe enforcement is different in the more populated regions.
Nope, no cops pulling over visibly drunk cyclists here in a major city either. Scooter drivers yes.
In the Netherlands you can get pulled over when cycling drunk, or for other offenses during cycling such as having no lights or no bell, or cycling in a pedestrian area.
hahaha, just saw a clip that's just around the corner from where I live!!
I grew up in the 90s when they just finished the first fase which started in the 70's. Before that it was as dangerous as other countries. Then the next 20 years was the second fase where everything was made even safer. Now the third fase is going on and it gets more and more convenient and lovely to live here with such freedom of transportation. No car needed.
In the US and other big countries it would be more difficult but not in the cities. I see no reason why you shouldn't. And you're very right about instead of more lanes, make less lanes. It will flow much better and safer
Actually it is very simple here in the Netherlands....safety comes first....at all times....for everyone who is in traffic. Then builders, engineers and designers are challenged and they become very inventive. And all for the benefit of everyone who is on the road. Makes me proud to be a dutchy! That doesn't always mean that we are flawless, we are still just human.
In the US you also have "jaywalking" - in several Euro countries no such thing exists (not sure about every country but Norway, Italy, Netherlands, etc.). This means that you can cross the road at any place (but is not recommended). And motorists will be responsible if they hit a pedestrian - regardless of the situation.
The only place pedestrians are not allowed is on motorways/highways.
Trivia: A few years back we had a case here in Norway where a drunk guy ended up asleep on a road. It was an unlit rural road. He was lying in the middle of the road, just after a sharp turn - and police investigation determined that it was not possible to see or react to the person if you were driving.
However - the driver was sentenced for severely injuring the man.
There is no explicit law against jaywalking in The Netherlands. However, there is a catch-all clause in the Dutch traffic law (article 5), which is such that you can get a fine for existing. Roughly:
"It is forbidden to everyone to exhibit any behavior that causes or might cause danger or hindrance to users of the public road."
Under that article people have been fined for having barbecues in their backyard (smoke drifting on to the road). So an enterprising police officer could fine you for jaywalking under that article.
Here in the netherlands, you can get fined for most of the things you can get fined for in a car. (Drinking, phone, no lights, red light).
And it's actually illegal to participate in traffic drunk in/on any vehicle. Car, bike, mobility scooter and even on foot if necessary
The reason why you don't want a bike lane is because everything is too far apart, you have no mixed zones (commercial / residential) a zone is either exclusively residential or commercial, which makes riding a bike in the US a huge task to go to the store to pick something up "real quick", it won't take 10-15 minutes round trip, but instead 30 min to 1 hour just to get to the store across town.
Great video ❤️ The Netherlands has beautiful roads 🛣️ and cycle paths🚲 Also many roundabouts are important. The traffic 🚥 flows easily through the streets. Motorists are warned 🛑 if there are schools nearby, with a road sign, drive slowly please 🚘. I love yours videos it's so interesting. Thank you so much. Greetings from Volendam the Netherlands ❤️🤍💙🧡🇳🇱🙋🏼♀️
The Dutch principle in traffic: if you drink, you don't drive...not by car or anyother means of transport. You must walk or beter grab a cab. People on bikes may get a ticket for defects on the bike, like broken light (bad visiability for other road-users), but often you will get a way with a warning. Gr. Ron
There is a maximum amount of "blood alcohol" that you can have and legally still be allowed to drive in the Netherlands. But yeah, no drinking before driving is way easier and safer.
Living in a student city, I see people cycling drunk/tipsy on the regular. But usually late at night, with low traffic, and police tend to be pretty chill about it. Unless you're being a danger and/or nuisance to others
It's not too late to change -- after all, we did it. The way roads are in The Netherlands is a result of 50+ years of effort and investment, starting in the 1970s. Sure, it takes money. But mostly it takes dedication, patience and realism. You don't get to the top of a mountain by standing at the foot and jumping; you climb one step at a time. Same with this -- you pick a problem area, you improve it a bit. Not whole hog everything at once, but maybe you paint a piece of road to become a bike lane. You paint arrows on the road to create turn lanes. Then you do the same in other problem areas. You look at how it affects the flow of traffic in the city, maybe improve other areas a bit. Next maintenance cycle, maybe you add traffic lights, a few pedestrian crossings. Next major maintenance cycle you add things like islands in the road and speedbumps to force slowing down cars at crosswalks. Maybe you put in a thin, raised barrier between bike lane and road as a first step towards separation. And so on. That's how we did it.
Are doing it, in fact, because even in The Netherlands it is by no means done.
It is never too late !! It takes choice / commitment / stamina etc. The infrastructure in the Netherlands is very good, but not without flaws. The way it is now is not the result of 3 or 5 years. It took us decades to reform everything and it is still an ongoing process. Our roads don't have potholes. Our highway are not littered with blown truck tires. Potholes are repaired within a few days after they manifested themselves; blown tires and other debris is removed from the highway / hard shoulder within a few days at the most and often the same day. But it comes at a price. . Dutch government(-s) and people have chosen to create an infrastructure like the one we have now. If a pothole occurs, you can bet there will be people phing city hall to tell them and ask them to repair the road. And if it takes to long you can bet they will receive a lot of angry phone calls. We pay a lot of taxes and we expect our government ( wether the nations or our local government / counsel ) to step up , take their responsibility and take action.
Thers a reason taxes are higher in NL, the extra money is spent to help support good infrastructure work (not neglect like in the States). And also stuff like affordable healthcare thats accessible to everyone etc. But yea taxes are mostly seen as a bad thing in the States (doesnt help that filing them in US is way more timeconsuming and difficult, way easier in NL too) since it takes away choice of where to spend money urself.
You can tickets when driving a bike. Riding a bike without a light, or three cyclists next to eachother (only two are allowed), riding the sidewalk, riding a bike in a shopping area (only walking allowed). Drunk. Using your mobile phone nowadays too. ETc.
Drinking & Bike riding is the same fine/pentaly as drinking and driving.
Plus yeah you can be pulled over, think about lights or going through red or even being on your phone nowadays...
every 30 to 40 years every bit of road needs to be resurfaced or redesigned. That is the time to change the layout. And putting in a bike-lane is cheaper than resurfacing that one carlane that is used to create the bike-lane.
And for getting tickets while on a bike. You generally don't get ticketed for running a red light (cops wouldn't be doing anything else if they started to inforce that). But tickets for using a cellphone while cycling, drunk cycling or not having a working front- or rear light, yes those are frequent.
And keep in mind that it’s about 40 years of development. It is not a 1 year thing all those road changes
Calling and being on you're bike now can give you a fine. Also being drunk in public and there for also on the bike can give you a fine. From junior high kids are teached on how to ride the bike and follow the rules of the road. It's like a theoretical exam for the traffic simulair to cars and motorcycles.
While it will cost money to change existing communities, it will still be cheaper than what is often spent on roads. Also, many places continue to be built new so even if it is true that changing existing communities would be hard, we can at least adopt better standards such that as new places are built, they do not make the same design mistakes that we're now trying to find money to change in the older existing places.
Drunk cycling is technically illegal but systematically not enforced if it's within limits. Just like motorists are expected to deal with the erratic riding of kids, they have to deal with the intoxicated cyclists. Which brings me to the cost of cycling infrastructure, it's an investment in mobility and mobility brings economic activity.
Alcohol is an imporant ingredient of the leisure industry as a whole and if it's just a ten minute bike ride to a bar, a venue, a restaurant or a sports club with a beer afterward, people tend do a lot more of those things in a week. And it's all business. Moving away from car centric culture since the 70's has also created a quite impressive sidewalk cafe culture, especially impressive considering the weather. That's also because it's much nicer to enjoy a coffee or a beer next to a bicycle traffic than in the noise and exhaust fumes of car traffic, and you can have more than one beer and cycle home. It's quite a substantial business that would have been a lot smaller without cycling infrastructure.
I heard that parents teach their children how to drive a car…..this was in a video on UA-cam…….is that true? Do you pay road tax….? We do in the Netherlands….everybody who has a car has to pay…….the heavier the car the more tax they pay………And yes people on bikes also get tickets…….
Question!! which local dish you love to try! ( different countries)
official you aren't allowed to drink and drive your bike, also you need to have a white frontlight and red backlight in the dark, otherwise you can get a fine, sometimes the police hand out lights. also holding your phone on the bike isn't allowed it is a 95euro fine. and driving through a red light is also a fine.
Als je aangehouden wordt op de Fiets, met drank op, ben je in Nederland ook je rijbewijs kwijt!! En als je het echt erg gemaakt hebt en je loopt dronken over straat, ben je ook je rijbewijs kwijt!!
Groetjes uit Spakenburg,Nederland.
You do it street by street, with one vision. It takes 50 years or more. And yes you can have tickets on your bike, for alcohol, but mostly for inadequate lights at night or biking in a pedestrian zone..
in the Netherlands. having phone out, carries a ticket of 95 euro. participating in traffic while drunk is a crime, it doesn't matter if you're on foot, on a bicycle, or in a motor vehicle.
Yes you can get a ticket on a bike
The US can change for the better, one road/street at the time, however i would advice Washington to set laws/rules like 'a bike lane should always be colour x (like schoolbusses) so there can be no mistake if (for example) a Texan goes to California or Florida or even New York City
And ofcourse: Don't act like there's only one answer to a problem, look around, ASK around to see what works best...
- Imagine NYC with only bikes, public transport and delivery trucks (all electric) how impressive it would look and how much cleaner the air would be
Car drivers in the Netherlands are very aware of cyclists. Party because they're almost always held liable, partly because every Dutch driver is also a cyclist himself. So they know very well what cyclists do and how cycling works.
Besides driving lessons, which are very hard in the Netherlands (try getting a driving licence here, you'll know - and definitly NOT taught by parents!) the instructors also teach drivers to be aware of bikes. Should you overlook a cyclist during your practical driving exam, you'll have failed. And you'll have to do your exam all over again a future time.
Its never too late, every street has to be repaved every 30-40 years anyway, it just takes a while
Cycling is quite safe here. Of course accidents do happen but compared other countries not that often. Often because of car drivers neglecting the rules and also cyclist not paying attention.
See the channel: just bikes.
It’s never too late but you have to build the whole system around it. Just bike lanes will mean not match.
Yes, you can get a ticket on a bicycle.
drinking and driving is never a good idea. You can get a ticket indeed if you,re indangeringing others while driving , no matter what the vehicle is.
Drunk driving on a bicycle is forbidden as well, but the police won't do anything unless you are endangering yourself or others.
@@dutchman7623 And you can also loose your drivers license. when very drunk on a bike. If you have a drivers license offcours.
Yes, cyclists can get ticketed. Drunk cycling can even get your driving license suspended!
It is not unusual for Dutch police set traps to check bicycles for technical compliance like for lights and brakes. This is often done on near schools at the start of school years or early winter.
The Netherlands :)
You can get a ticket for being on the phone on the bike I think when u drank u dont
Riding a bike drunk is illegal and you'll get a ticket. You can even lose your car driver's licence when you're riding you bike when drunk but that hardly ever happens, but it IS possible.
You basically react as probably Most Americans react: it is what it is and we can't change it. That is your whole problem right there: There simply no difference between European and American trip length. The problem starts when you view the country as a whole. Just you first live in your house, then the street, then the neighbourhood, the the city. Next step up is Inter City, from city to city, next up is state wide. And only then it has to be integrated...
As far as I know it's technically illigal to be drunk while on a bike, but usually kind of allowed anyway, I mean people gotta get home some way right?
If you're just on your way home, and are not a danger to yourself or others, they're not gonne pull you over and fine you really.
When you realize no infrastructure lasts much more than a decade before needing major repairs or upgrades, then you will see any changes can be made and are possible. The Netherlands weren't as bike friendly ten years ago as now, it wasn't as bike friendly in the nineties compared to the twothousands. It is an ongoing process and you just gotta start somewhere.
and remember all people in the netherlands also bike so they know how dangerous it can be. Also dutch driving exams are way harder than american ones, we have to have driving lessons with a certified instructor and we need to do a theoretical exam too.
It's never too late. Also in The Netherlands cars were dominating the streets and everything had to go away for the car. Like bike lanes etc. But we changed are policy. This video will explain how we got our bike infrastructure
ua-cam.com/video/XuBdf9jYj7o/v-deo.html
The Seat belt is Swedish
You can start with areas that are build up from scratch.
The US can cut 500bn on military spending and still be the largest spending country on defense. And that's before properly taxing multinationals and the super rich. In return you'd get a huge boost in employment and local economies. On top of that US infrastructure is crumbling due to poor maintenance. There never was a better time to overhaul US infrastructure to be safer and designed with the future in mind.
What really helps is that when there is an accident between a car and a bicycle the the car driver is automatically at fault. Unless the cyclist is a 'kamikaze pilot' are a vandal.
Too late? I don't think so! In fact from what I read and hear the US will be forced to renew their roads and bridges just about everywhere. If people rise to the occasion they might be able to force the government to change road designs and really upgrade them instead of renewal. But before anything changes the mindset of people needs to change!!! Creating something new is hardly a problem. Changing the way people think about these things ... that's the hard one!!
In the Netherlands road design changed because of an up-rise of the Dutch against their government. They where fed up with the ever increasing death toll of traffic, among them a significant number of children.
you can get a ticket when you hold your phone and bike, I dont know if you can get a ticket for being drunk on a bike. you can be pulled over on a bike by police on motor cycle or bike, even by city surveillance.
Adjustments step by step
Here's a video on dutch roundabouts to react to: ua-cam.com/video/41XBzAOmmIU/v-deo.html
You know why North America has such high drunk driving rates? Because all bars are mandated to build an X number of parking spots and there's no other reasonable way to get to them. They're too far to walk, too dangerous to bike to, and public transport is scary and slow if it exists at all. So people drink and then they drive.
You asked if people get pulled over on bikes: yes, you can get pulled over. Usually it's because you don't have lights and that will get you a warning or a small fine. There's a little bit of tolerance for running red lights (although you should never do it) because you're unlikely to seriously hurt anyone else if you have an accident. The police also semi-secretly prefer that people bike rather than drive when they're under the influence so that is often left unenforced as well whereas drunk driving is severely and frequently cracked down on.
Try GCPGreys' Holland vs the Netherlands
Stroads, Its all the fault of the stroad.
You can change to safer road designs without the cost of ripping everything up and starting over, by doing one road at the time, when it's time to repave that road anyways. It will take decades anyway you do it, so you might as well do it in the order you would have repaved the roads in the first place. Do we get pulled over on our bicycles? Basicly no. You can cycle home after having had some drinks and have the lights on your bike not working. I don't recommend it, but you'll likely get away with it. The chance of being in an accident is higher than the chance of getting pulled over by police while you're on a bicycle. Not true if you're on a moped. On a moped you will be scrutinized much more by the police, and if your lights don't work there's a fair chance you will be pulled over. As for being pulled over for drunk driving, the police do organise checks, usually on friday or saturday night. They'll pick a road and pull over every driver they can (depending on their capacity) for a breathalyser test. In my 12 years of driving (cars) I've been pulled over 3 times for a breathalyser test. The last time they made a judgement call and never even bothered with the test and let me go right away.
They want to sell cars not bicycles.
More roads means more cars.
No shops in the neighborhood means more cars .
You're work 20 or 30 miles from you're home means .... 🙄
Exactly!
most european countries started their road revolutions in the seventies. It didn't happen overnight. That's no excuse for not starting.
drink and cycle you lose your driving licence
you can save lot of money upkeek car roads cost way more then bicycle roads
I guess that bike-people in the US are a big minority and therefor political not powerful enough for chances. I think in essence that the Dutch place people first and matter/money in second place.
Getting your drivers license cost 2000/3000 euro. With theory exam and practical exam. You need to go to a driving school. Learning from parents is forbidden
Learning from parents is allowed, but not on public roads. Farmers often teach their kids to drive at a really young age on private property.
20 miles an hour in a school zone is too fast. When you hit a kid with that speed it could be killed or severely wounded.
I don’t think it is. There are also road markings and road signs to let you know you are entering a school zone. People will slow down from 30km/hr during school begin and end times, but outside school hours there is hardly any reason to lower your speed. And drivers see all the parents and children walking and biking out of the school grounds onto the roads and sidewalks. It forces you to slow down. If roads are designed to the speed limits, there is no reason to lower the speed limit. The problems are more the road construction and temporary signs and barriers that causes problems. People are more concerned with those road changes than paying attention to other weaker road users. We have a gradation in road users from strong to weak. Trains and trams, busses and trucks, cars and vans, motor bikes and scooters/mopeds and speedelecs, bicycles and e-bikes, pedestrians and disabled persons.
that mut be a woman parking her car at 08:55 lol
20 000 deaths equals an economic loss of 200Bj dollars…
Bike lines are cheaper to make and maintain then a road because they are narrower. They have a higher capacity of people, surface area of a bike vs 1 person in a f150…
How to get more people on a bike? Make it easier and faster to get there, go 5 minutes by bike or 15 minutes by car to get to the store for example
You do know all European countries are older than the US?
so it is never to late for change
Just the fact that you paint bicycle lanes green is already the wrong idea. Green stands for "Go", good, safe. Red stands for "Danger", stop, careful. Just like traffic lights. These colors are psychological. So by painting the bike lanes green you are telling traffic to go there instead of staying away from it (and in turn, protect bikers).
I thought the same thing! I agree 👍