• cramola@sh.itjust.works
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    5 days ago

    Cyclists: Everyone hates me, tells me to ‘get off the road,’ or if I’m not on the road, I get told to get on it. There’s barely any legal thought or consideration given to where I’m allowed to be and if I get hit or killed it’s framed as being my fault.

    Attempts at creating a safe place for cyclists to be that is separate from either of these places is seen as an inconvenience to the people who don’t want cyclists on the road, or off it, and so creating lanes and bike-specific infrastructure is met with stiff opposition.

    Surely a licensing, inspection, and insurance framework won’t be abused to further erode the viability of cycling in a society that doesn’t want cyclists around in the first place.

    Never mind that bicycles predated cars, used to be more popular and never needed these things in that time.

    Insurance, inspections and licensing of motor vehicles was created because of motor vehicles and how dangerous they are.

    There are other places in the world where lots of safe cycling infrastructure exists and it’s considered normal, even desirable to commute by bike, and they don’t have or need shit like this there.

    • yeehaw@lemmy.ca
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      5 days ago

      As a driver I hate cyclists on the road.

      As a cyclist I hate cars on the road.

      There is the crux of the problem and why bike lanes are so good

      • Naich@lemmings.world
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        5 days ago

        As a road user, I accept that I might have to slow down or stop for other road users - car drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists, that this is normal, and a part of driving, cycling, or walking.

        People getting cross about this simple fact is really weird, if you think about it.

    • nwtreeoctopus@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      No, but I’d love if we (in the US) actually tested drivers and expected them to be competent.

      And, I guess, we’d have to build trains and good busses and subways so everyone didn’t have to drive to make the broader economy work. Becaus so many of these fuckers don’t deserve to drive.

    • masterflappie@europe.pub
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      2 days ago

      These work fantastic in the Netherlands. A lot of times you can get to places faster on bike than in a car. The only problem is tourists who aren’t used to bikelanes and who keep walking across them without checking if a cyclist is coming their way

  • ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net
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    5 days ago

    As a cyclist I’m super careful not to hit anyone because it’s more dangerous for me than for the pedestrian. I mean, high speed it’s probably equally dangerous but at low speed I can bump into someone and end up on the ground.

  • ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    No. These things exist for cars because you can cause a lot of damage with a car. Try that with a bike. BTW, in the EU there are random road safety inspections for bikes.

  • meekah@discuss.tchncs.de
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    5 days ago

    I mean, insurance and thus tags might make sense, but inspections? What for? Cars need inspections because an unsafe car is a danger to not just the driver, but everyone around them. An unsafe bicycle is really only a danger to the rider.

  • lol_idk@piefed.social
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    5 days ago

    If we licensed, insured, etc bikes, then we could start addressing the real reasons people hate bikes