this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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It's slightly old news, but it's a deep dive into an important subject.

Anyone who has watched Not Just Bikes knows has seen examples of just how dangerous it can be to ride a bicycle in North America. Things have been getting worse, it seems.

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[–] jrredho 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's an interesting headline, given that pretty much every one of these cars being referenced is being driven by a person. It is precisely this disconnect that creates the leniency at least partly responsible for such careless driving. :(

[–] wolfeh 2 points 1 year ago

100%. And more than half the media outlets will describe it as a "bicycle accident".

[–] ineedtosleep 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

100% it's more dangerous in the US -- just look how dangerous it is be a pedestrian, or even drive a car in the US. In almost every big city I've been in, the number of drivers that no longer care about the rules is much too high.

Speeding (i.e. going 40MPH+ in 25MPH zones), taking blind turns without caution, distracted driving -- all of that and more are basically normalized along with the injuries and deaths that come along with them.

I would love to ride my bike more regularly, but sadly that is not going to be possible when I would have to ride roads that are 30MPH, but almost every driver drives through at 50MPH+.

[–] wolfeh 3 points 1 year ago

With all of the urbanist videos I've taken in and studies I've read, a lot of it has to do with the very very wide, straight geometry of the roads (in addition to people's biases and perception of anyone not in cars, of course). There's a disconnect that's really hard for people behind the wheel of a car to get past.

[–] Sidhean 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh.. Thats terrifying. What a way to find this community lol

[–] wolfeh 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it's not the most cheerful piece.