We the Cyclists are a minority oppressed by the dominant class: people on 3 tons metal boxes entitled to do whatever they want in the name of the car industry benefits.
I feel at home in this comments section! Ive been riding a bike since 1971. I have run my entertainment business for 31 years using bike/trailer, more recently a cargo-bike, and public transport occasionally. I run my composting and gardening activities/business with my bike. The sofa I'm sitting on came home on my bike trailer. I bought a second-hand canoe - that came home in the cargo bike. etc etc etc.
I moved a table and four chairs for six-miles on my bike-trailer. I padded the trailer, put the table on upside-down, stood the chairs back-to-back between the table-legs and secured everything with bungee straps. The only limit is your imagination as they say.... 🚴♀️
I feel that many drivers do need the illusion that cyclists are reckless rule breakers. It gives them the perfect excuse to not treat them with the care required so that they can continue to speed, not look at junctions and overtake too close. It also helps to refuse valid requests for safer streets or rules, arguing like this: "They should start obeying a rules first (and go above and beyond with safety precautions - yes, when a cyclist follows the rules, the goalpost is moved) if they really care about safety." Funnily, enough you never hear this if car drivers are in danger. Have you heard of the highway agency claiming: " We will only consider crash barriers on the motorway median once all drivers stick to the speed limit."? Instead a lot of money is spend straightening "dangerous" curves or fixing "dangerous" traffic jams. These things wouldn't even be dangerous if car drivers followed the basics of safe speed for the conditions and keeping your following distance. Also note that whenever something is heavier than a car, cars get extra protection. Lorries have speed limiters. Railway crossings have lights and barriers or are replaced with expensive overpasses altogether. Yet asking to make cars safer for less protected road users is seen as a "war on cars" as if cars are the only mode of transportation that is worthy of a safe environment.
I remember talking to someone about what cars do in terms of infrastructure costs and them telling me that "cars are vital to the economy" since "how do you attach a flat screen TV to a bike?" [the Vietcong could transport field artillery through the jungles of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on bikes but perhaps that doesn't work with consumer goods] "so there's no way you could go to IKEA and get a new sofa, go to Curry's and get a flat screen TV, go to Prada for new outfits, stop off at Starbucks (or Costa if you're a bit posh or a Europhile [I voted remain but I think she meant more than that]), go to the Apple Store for the latest Iphone and then go get your nails done all on a bike." Part of me wonders if there might be better ways to facilitate economic activity than as E.B. White put it "Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car." and perhaps then cyclists could move more freely and enjoy the economy to and drivers could enjoy the roads more as they wouldn't be sharing much if any road with cyclists since cars wouldn't be needed for most journeys.
It's infuriating how people are so judging on things they have no experience in. I've been beeped at cycling on the road & not being on a cycle path. But if they'd attempted it themselves they'd soon realise the councils spend millions creating them & then don't do anything to maintain them, so inevitably many are covered in broken glass etc. If the beepers want to buy me innertubes & be on hand to change them out for me then I'll happily cycle on those paths.
Car-drivers complain when Cyclists ride on the road, they complain if we ride on the footpath, and complain even louder when cycle-lanes are installed. Make-up your minds, what do you want?
Not to mention that traffic lights are optimized for cars. When a car runs a red light it's frequently because they're turning or speeding. The single greatest threat to my and my cohort's health is drivers.
averagemanonabike: Let's not forget the A34 crash where a lorry driver was jailed for killing a family while on the phone (He only got 10 years and even tried to appeal that!) Tomasz Kroker smashed into the family's car while scrolling through music on his phone, killing the mother and her three children AND remember the car was crushed one third of its size. When a constable was first on scene they didn't even know that the vehicle was there due to the other vehicles in the pile-up. I have never heard of a cyclist who went into a back of a vehicle that killed four people with their cycle! Unlike MOTOR VECHICLES!!
Motorists want cyclists to follow the rules "just like motorists do" never seem to understand how many people motorists kill. When cyclists pass stationary cars waiting at a light, all the comments are about the 1.5m passing distance. They have to explained, like a 2 year old that hitting a hammer with your hand is yield very different results than hitting your hand with a hammer.
Our roads are so wavy because of the abuse. I have problems riding in a straight line because of it on my bike. I use tubeless tires with 1.2 bar pressure, and I get yanked from left to right because of it.
Take hope from the Netherlands! Here, most drivers are also cyclists, so you get treated with respect. Second thoughts, leave the UK and come to the Netherlands - it’s a much better place to be.
A cigarette packet like warning labels on every car dash "careful drivers kill every day" or "motor accident no.1 cause of premature death under the age of 40"
@@philroo1 He's a Danish pro-cycling urban planner. He's done a couple of excellent TEDx talks about this very subject. Well worth having a look when you get a few minutes 👍
The red light cameras being used for drivers is a good point. When cyclists run a red light, they usually check cross traffic first, treating it like a yield sign. That’s hard for a driver to do if he doesn’t slow down a lot first. Cyclists might run a red light if it requires a sensor to turn green and they are not sure the sensor gets triggered by a bike. And speeding. It’s not so common for cyclists to exceed the posted speed limit, even when it’s set for 20 mph. When they do get a speeding ticket, some cyclists see it as a cause for celebration being able to bike so fast. But drivers routinely go over a speed limit. In Toronto, every few years, drivers would get frustrated with this and a small team of drivers would drive side by side right at the highway speed limit, to protest permissiveness, only to get ticketed for obstructing traffic. Meanwhile, speed is the biggest factor in both likelihood and severity of car crashes. That’s not to say cyclists don’t need to learn to be more careful. Everyone does.
Until bicycles were invented, most working-class people never travelled more than five-miles from their place of birth in their entire lives. The bicycle gave people freedom and mobility that they had never had before.
I would also throw out if you have a very long riding commute there are also velomobiles, very cool cruising vehicles that take way less power for more speed and comfort. they are basically a recumbent bike with a light weight aerodynamic shell around them, add some pedal assist for hills or light snow and they seem like they would make great long distance bikes that are also faster
A lot of people really want to do the right thing and endangering themselves following rules that are written as if a kid on a bike is equal to a cement truck. Rules of the road in most countries are not based on any data or science, and drivers don't follow them anyway, so you have to take your safety into your own hands. Make choices based on what makes it impossible for a distracted or unskilled driver to injure you even if it's "illegal". Use the crosswalks, use sidewalks, do whatever it takes to spend as little time as possible in the danger zone of being stationary at or in an intersection. A driver can't hit you through a wall of parked cars. A driver can't hit you if you're already gone. If you end up in the hospital nobody is going to come give you a ribbon for being "right", for having the right of way and following the rules correctly. No one will go after the driver who broke the rules and ran you down. My safety, then politeness towards my fellow humans, then rules of the road in that order.
I agree with almost all of that (not surprising as YT chose your video for me). However, I have real worries that creating dedicated and segregated cycling infrastructure effectively marginalises cyclists and actively encourages the "you shouldn't be on the road" attitude. Roads are for people, not just motorised transport, and it is the onus of all road users to accept the responsibility of the potential impact that their behaviours can have on the others. I welcome the recent changes to the highway code in the UK but, because of the attitudes constantly reinforced by the media, non-motorised users are still regarded as PITAs to the majority of car users*. Like you imply, follow the money. * I have noticed, however, that since the introduction of the new highway code, lorry, bus and coach drivers are seeming to behave more responsibly towards cyclists. I suspect that this is, at least in part, because they operate under a regulatory framework that would punish them more severely if they were involved in an accident and were found to be at fault, rather than a new found respect...
Excellent in most respects, but two things baffle me: (1) Riding without a helmet. Basic physics says that your head's vertical impact from falling off a bicycle onto a hard surface (asphalt or concrete) is irrespective of your horizontal speed, whether 5mph or 25mph. The human skull is not designed for this. A helmet is designed to mitigate this impact. Years ago a simple fall (no other vehicle) nearly killed me. A "hairnet" helmet (what we had then) saved me: I was knocked out, with a severe concussion that left me fuzzy for about a week. As a scientist, I should have known better. I didn't sleep through basic physics, apparently many cyclists did. (2) Zero focus on training motorists to deal better with cyclists. Motorists should be retested at license renewals anyway, laws change over time. Also, driver training courses in lieu of fines for tickets are great but should include modules on cycling safety. This would be far less expensive and less problematic than building cycling infrastructure. Based on my 70 years of riding on the road, (only one collision with a car, a minor one which was my fault) infrastructure often increases danger for the cyclist. Motorists focus on objects in the space between the center line and the fog line at the edge, either ignoring or classifying as stationary any cyclists on cycle lanes to the sides, which is especially problematic at junctions. I find it far safer to be in the travel lane, motorists reflexively avoid other vehicles in that space.
I think motorists vent their frustration at cyclists, because they are an easy target. I think the root of their anger is simply that there is too much traffic on the roads and it doesn't look like car commercials on TV, but would never admit that their car is part of that problem. Cyclists are blamed for being on "their" roads and holding up the traffic because we are viewed as being too slow. Even if cyclists were taxed, insured, licenced etc. the drivers would still not be happy until there were no more cyclists at all to blame and then they would find a different target, like motorbikes are trucks to be angry about. Anything except blame cars for filling the roads with traffic.
Inwas gonna say the bias comes from capitalism. Auto ads make the media outlets lots of money, so of course they won't tell the truth about a harmful industry that pays their bills.
We the Cyclists are a minority oppressed by the dominant class: people on 3 tons metal boxes entitled to do whatever they want in the name of the car industry benefits.
I feel at home in this comments section!
Ive been riding a bike since 1971. I have run my entertainment business for 31 years using bike/trailer, more recently a cargo-bike, and public transport occasionally. I run my composting and gardening activities/business with my bike. The sofa I'm sitting on came home on my bike trailer. I bought a second-hand canoe - that came home in the cargo bike. etc etc etc.
I moved a table and four chairs for six-miles on my bike-trailer. I padded the trailer, put the table on upside-down, stood the chairs back-to-back between the table-legs and secured everything with bungee straps.
The only limit is your imagination as they say.... 🚴♀️
I feel that many drivers do need the illusion that cyclists are reckless rule breakers. It gives them the perfect excuse to not treat them with the care required so that they can continue to speed, not look at junctions and overtake too close.
It also helps to refuse valid requests for safer streets or rules, arguing like this: "They should start obeying a rules first (and go above and beyond with safety precautions - yes, when a cyclist follows the rules, the goalpost is moved) if they really care about safety."
Funnily, enough you never hear this if car drivers are in danger. Have you heard of the highway agency claiming: " We will only consider crash barriers on the motorway median once all drivers stick to the speed limit."? Instead a lot of money is spend straightening "dangerous" curves or fixing "dangerous" traffic jams. These things wouldn't even be dangerous if car drivers followed the basics of safe speed for the conditions and keeping your following distance.
Also note that whenever something is heavier than a car, cars get extra protection.
Lorries have speed limiters. Railway crossings have lights and barriers or are replaced with expensive overpasses altogether.
Yet asking to make cars safer for less protected road users is seen as a "war on cars" as if cars are the only mode of transportation that is worthy of a safe environment.
Excellent take. Would you mind if I quoted you in a video?
@averagemanonabike Yes, please go ahead! I am using an anonymous alias anyways, so no attribution needed. If you spread these ideas, I am happy.
@@SapienzBuchse Thank you!
Thank You for this video.
I hope lot's & lots of people see it & understand it.
I remember talking to someone about what cars do in terms of infrastructure costs and them telling me that "cars are vital to the economy" since "how do you attach a flat screen TV to a bike?" [the Vietcong could transport field artillery through the jungles of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam on bikes but perhaps that doesn't work with consumer goods] "so there's no way you could go to IKEA and get a new sofa, go to Curry's and get a flat screen TV, go to Prada for new outfits, stop off at Starbucks (or Costa if you're a bit posh or a Europhile [I voted remain but I think she meant more than that]), go to the Apple Store for the latest Iphone and then go get your nails done all on a bike."
Part of me wonders if there might be better ways to facilitate economic activity than as E.B. White put it "Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car." and perhaps then cyclists could move more freely and enjoy the economy to and drivers could enjoy the roads more as they wouldn't be sharing much if any road with cyclists since cars wouldn't be needed for most journeys.
Wow! Well thought out, reasoned and expressed.
Good cycle advocacy and road sharing safely mentality.
Well done!!
It's infuriating how people are so judging on things they have no experience in. I've been beeped at cycling on the road & not being on a cycle path. But if they'd attempted it themselves they'd soon realise the councils spend millions creating them & then don't do anything to maintain them, so inevitably many are covered in broken glass etc. If the beepers want to buy me innertubes & be on hand to change them out for me then I'll happily cycle on those paths.
Those damn cyclists are always trashing their own lanes and blaming others for it!
Car-drivers complain when Cyclists ride on the road, they complain if we ride on the footpath, and complain even louder when cycle-lanes are installed.
Make-up your minds, what do you want?
They want you to disappear.
Not to mention that traffic lights are optimized for cars. When a car runs a red light it's frequently because they're turning or speeding.
The single greatest threat to my and my cohort's health is drivers.
averagemanonabike: Let's not forget the A34 crash where a lorry driver was jailed for killing a family while on the phone (He only got 10 years and even tried to appeal that!) Tomasz Kroker smashed into the family's car while scrolling through music on his phone, killing the mother and her three children AND remember the car was crushed one third of its size. When a constable was first on scene they didn't even know that the vehicle was there due to the other vehicles in the pile-up.
I have never heard of a cyclist who went into a back of a vehicle that killed four people with their cycle! Unlike MOTOR VECHICLES!!
Remember reading about that. I have no words.
@@averagemanonabike I know and people still think it's ok to use their phone while driving🙄🙄
Motorists want cyclists to follow the rules "just like motorists do" never seem to understand how many people motorists kill. When cyclists pass stationary cars waiting at a light, all the comments are about the 1.5m passing distance. They have to explained, like a 2 year old that hitting a hammer with your hand is yield very different results than hitting your hand with a hammer.
Well put.
Our roads are so wavy because of the abuse. I have problems riding in a straight line because of it on my bike. I use tubeless tires with 1.2 bar pressure, and I get yanked from left to right because of it.
Take hope from the Netherlands! Here, most drivers are also cyclists, so you get treated with respect.
Second thoughts, leave the UK and come to the Netherlands - it’s a much better place to be.
I'm working on my Dutch 👍
A cigarette packet like warning labels on every car dash "careful drivers kill every day" or "motor accident no.1 cause of premature death under the age of 40"
Mikael Colville-Andersen
@Teapot-Dave who?
@@philroo1 He's a Danish pro-cycling urban planner. He's done a couple of excellent TEDx talks about this very subject.
Well worth having a look when you get a few minutes 👍
@@Teapot-Dave thanks ☺️ I'll check him out.
Ban cars and get rid of traffic lights!
The red light cameras being used for drivers is a good point. When cyclists run a red light, they usually check cross traffic first, treating it like a yield sign. That’s hard for a driver to do if he doesn’t slow down a lot first. Cyclists might run a red light if it requires a sensor to turn green and they are not sure the sensor gets triggered by a bike.
And speeding. It’s not so common for cyclists to exceed the posted speed limit, even when it’s set for 20 mph. When they do get a speeding ticket, some cyclists see it as a cause for celebration being able to bike so fast. But drivers routinely go over a speed limit. In Toronto, every few years, drivers would get frustrated with this and a small team of drivers would drive side by side right at the highway speed limit, to protest permissiveness, only to get ticketed for obstructing traffic.
Meanwhile, speed is the biggest factor in both likelihood and severity of car crashes. That’s not to say cyclists don’t need to learn to be more careful. Everyone does.
not to mention that cycles are the most energy efficient vehicles !
Until bicycles were invented, most working-class people never travelled more than five-miles from their place of birth in their entire lives.
The bicycle gave people freedom and mobility that they had never had before.
I would also throw out if you have a very long riding commute there are also velomobiles, very cool cruising vehicles that take way less power for more speed and comfort.
they are basically a recumbent bike with a light weight aerodynamic shell around them, add some pedal assist for hills or light snow and they seem like they would make great long distance bikes that are also faster
Don't forget, cyclists can legally run red lights in many jurisdictions!
A lot of people really want to do the right thing and endangering themselves following rules that are written as if a kid on a bike is equal to a cement truck. Rules of the road in most countries are not based on any data or science, and drivers don't follow them anyway, so you have to take your safety into your own hands. Make choices based on what makes it impossible for a distracted or unskilled driver to injure you even if it's "illegal".
Use the crosswalks, use sidewalks, do whatever it takes to spend as little time as possible in the danger zone of being stationary at or in an intersection. A driver can't hit you through a wall of parked cars. A driver can't hit you if you're already gone.
If you end up in the hospital nobody is going to come give you a ribbon for being "right", for having the right of way and following the rules correctly. No one will go after the driver who broke the rules and ran you down. My safety, then politeness towards my fellow humans, then rules of the road in that order.
I agree with almost all of that (not surprising as YT chose your video for me). However, I have real worries that creating dedicated and segregated cycling infrastructure effectively marginalises cyclists and actively encourages the "you shouldn't be on the road" attitude. Roads are for people, not just motorised transport, and it is the onus of all road users to accept the responsibility of the potential impact that their behaviours can have on the others. I welcome the recent changes to the highway code in the UK but, because of the attitudes constantly reinforced by the media, non-motorised users are still regarded as PITAs to the majority of car users*. Like you imply, follow the money.
* I have noticed, however, that since the introduction of the new highway code, lorry, bus and coach drivers are seeming to behave more responsibly towards cyclists. I suspect that this is, at least in part, because they operate under a regulatory framework that would punish them more severely if they were involved in an accident and were found to be at fault, rather than a new found respect...
Excellent in most respects, but two things baffle me:
(1) Riding without a helmet. Basic physics says that your head's vertical impact from falling off a bicycle onto a hard surface (asphalt or concrete) is irrespective of your horizontal speed, whether 5mph or 25mph. The human skull is not designed for this. A helmet is designed to mitigate this impact. Years ago a simple fall (no other vehicle) nearly killed me. A "hairnet" helmet (what we had then) saved me: I was knocked out, with a severe concussion that left me fuzzy for about a week. As a scientist, I should have known better. I didn't sleep through basic physics, apparently many cyclists did.
(2) Zero focus on training motorists to deal better with cyclists. Motorists should be retested at license renewals anyway, laws change over time. Also, driver training courses in lieu of fines for tickets are great but should include modules on cycling safety. This would be far less expensive and less problematic than building cycling infrastructure. Based on my 70 years of riding on the road, (only one collision with a car, a minor one which was my fault) infrastructure often increases danger for the cyclist. Motorists focus on objects in the space between the center line and the fog line at the edge, either ignoring or classifying as stationary any cyclists on cycle lanes to the sides, which is especially problematic at junctions. I find it far safer to be in the travel lane, motorists reflexively avoid other vehicles in that space.
I think motorists vent their frustration at cyclists, because they are an easy target. I think the root of their anger is simply that there is too much traffic on the roads and it doesn't look like car commercials on TV, but would never admit that their car is part of that problem.
Cyclists are blamed for being on "their" roads and holding up the traffic because we are viewed as being too slow.
Even if cyclists were taxed, insured, licenced etc. the drivers would still not be happy until there were no more cyclists at all to blame and then they would find a different target, like motorbikes are trucks to be angry about. Anything except blame cars for filling the roads with traffic.
Inwas gonna say the bias comes from capitalism. Auto ads make the media outlets lots of money, so of course they won't tell the truth about a harmful industry that pays their bills.
I am a bike commuter, I cycle about 3000 miles a year. Cyclists definately run reds more than cars, you're wrong on that.