Bicycle injuries: Is the right-of-way fight getting ugly?

[August]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

You, my friend, should be a lawyer.



Oh wait, I was planning to ban you for that Suzuki crack....

But i've owned two Zukes so I get to badmouth them and got the broken bones and road rash to illustrate it!

But if you want real insults let me tell you my Saab Story some time. A 1974 99EMS is not a car built for long distances.

[Skybird]

Electric pedelecs, as they are called, and electric choppers (Vespa style, not helicopters). Scooters they are getting called also, could that be? For urban traffic, the daily pendling in town, these are great things. Batteries need to become a bit more potent though. The big metropoles will see more traffic in the future, and more people moving there, so solutions and concepts to get rid of the ridiculously high car drensity are in urgent need. Small vehicles that are a hybrid between bicycles, tribikes and a small car like the Smart, could be a solution, maybe.

Kettweasels with battery, so to speak. I wonder if Kettweasel maybe already has developed one.

In Germany, pedelecs limited to a top speed with motor assistance of 25 km/h, are free and are treated as normal bicycles, beyond that speed (motor assistance even beyoind 25 km/h) they need a tax plate, and helm, and must use the road, since they are treated as choppers/scooters then. A license then also is obligatory (normally included in the normal car license).

[u crank]

This thread has me thinking about the subject of safety and personal responsibility. I grew up in the era of no seat belts, bicycle helmets etc. I remember going on family vacations, my two brothers and I in the back seat of the family sedan. We could wrestle, stand up and every once in a while Dad would yell, "hey light me a cigarette!" Not kidding. We felt safe because I think for the most part we were.

On the other hand, today people walk on the side of the road texting on their phones. They drive around with small dogs on their lap. They ride bicycles while listening to music. And yes they drive cars as if they have a divine right to the road. I lived in Toronto for several years and I could cross any street without stopping traffic. Today I see people standing by the side of a street waiting to cross. And I don't mean kids, these are adults. You have to stop for them. This is not at a crosswalk. Have we lost some kind of basic skill here? Maybe I'm just an old guy who's out of touch but people seem more reckless, yet less skilled at common sense issues.

Is it just me?

[em2nought]

Originally Posted by u crank

Is it just me?

Or idiocracy?

[AngusJS]

Originally Posted by August

But if a person walking out in the open can't detect the approach of a bicycle then how can we expect the driver inside a car to do any better?

Yep, clothespin a few of your doubles into the tire spokes of a bike and a pedestrian would have to be deaf not to hear it coming! I advocate a similar solution for those quiet hybrid and electric cars which have been sneaking up on walkers lately.

I agree. If bikes are to be relegated to sidewalks, then I think noisemakers should be compulsory.