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In the absence of a flair system on lemmy yet, let’s try to make it easier to scan through posts by type in here by using tags:
People on bikes may be rude and may not follow the rules, but can't be aggressive.
When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man.
Original stripe from the Onion: https://www.theonion.com/bum-rush-hour-1846606314
Cross-posted from: https://mastodon.uno/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/113615912203015089
Well. There are some really dumb bicyclists out there.
I have a real world example from just over an hour ago. I work overnights. I have to travel to different locations during my shift on certain nights. Tonight was one of those nights. I'm headed up to a location on a city street, 40mph speed limit, when I catch sight of a cyclist in my lane when I'm maybe 20ft from him. He's peddling for his life but only doing 12-15mph or so.
Why didn't I see him until he was that close to me? Was I playing on my phone? Tired because I work overnights? No. He is a black guy, wearing a black hoodie with black sweat pants, on a bike with no reflectors on it. Riding down a city street in the middle of the night. I'm pretty sure this is the second time I've encountered this guy too (same ninja cosplay both times). The first time was at least half a year ago. Honestly I'm surprised he's still alive, or at least uncrippled to the point that he can bike.
So you almost ran a guy over, but it’s his fault for being black?
I mean, that’s one way to live your life.
EDIT: just saw the user name. Totally ate the onion. Leaving the comment up to commemorate my shameful action.
No, as a driver you are always responsible for your actions.
However, being a driver does not absolve any cyclists of their responsibility as cyclists. In this case the issue is the lack of reflectors and lack of bike lights. That is part of the responsibilities that comes with being a biker.
Any reference to race, outside of the reflective properties of different colors that might actually be relevant in this case, are yours.
The way OP listed the person’s skin color along with other attributes that are supposedly relevant for visibility looked to me like HE was implying it was relevant.
Usually, I would let it slide, but (at least over here) “lol black people are hard to see at night” is unfortunately still a very harmful trope that gets bandied about, even in the aftermath of crashes.
So you can see why I thought it was worth calling out.
Now I think it’s all moot, a guy called “psycho driver” posting in “fuck cars” is probably not posting in good faith. But still.
“Black peoples are more likely to be criminals” is a harmful trope, and evokes racism through stereotyping. But “black people are hard to see at night” is…just true.