new rule for self
a) let others unnecessirily risk themselves, and others by riding their bikes on the wrong side of the street
I'm riding on Townsend St this morning, and I say "Cyclist you are on the wrong side of the street". His reason for going the wrong way (wrong side of the street) "...I want to make a safe left turn". Unforunately, his claim is totally ridiculous. His claim of making a safer left turn that is.
There was one bicycle study that John Forrester did, and he said "riding the wrong way has so many failure modes and is so obviously dangerous that I did not count those cyclists". He is a major figure in my own thought process for safer biking.
Unforunately, I have issues being a silent bike safety ambassador. I will work on being silent, (only speaking up when I am actually threatened) because all the horrible habits of people riding on sidewalks, the wrong way in the bike lane (woodstock218 is more exposed to this one), riding in crosswalks can be intrepreted as making all cyclists look bad. This reminds of another conversation I had the other day that had implications about how to spend one's time and energy (I do waste energy; at the same time the other implication of overwhelming others wills is something to think about).
There should be a license requirement for cycling as much as any other- but not so much because of the pedestrians you can mow down, and the property damage, but for the cyclists own sake. Like helmet fitting. I've seen quite a few people expose themselves to even more risk by wearing an ill-fitting helmet. The ear straps hanging at their jawline, the rakish angle of the tilted helmet, with the buckle inches from their throat. If they get a strap, that helmet will not help them at all. And their brain damage will not be as easily curable as properly adjusting their helmet.
Several weeks ago, I was in a bike crash where the properly fitted helmet helped me retain consciousness as my head struck the ground with enough force to crack the inner foam portion. If the helment had been loose, my ear, rather than the helmet would have received the full force of the blow.
Licenses are required for autos, motorcycles, other vehicles, but not bicycling. It's mostly because the amount of damage that the bicycle can cause is significantly less- there is no license for being a pedestrian, either (though it may help a bit).
I'm riding on Townsend St this morning, and I say "Cyclist you are on the wrong side of the street". His reason for going the wrong way (wrong side of the street) "...I want to make a safe left turn". Unforunately, his claim is totally ridiculous. His claim of making a safer left turn that is.
There was one bicycle study that John Forrester did, and he said "riding the wrong way has so many failure modes and is so obviously dangerous that I did not count those cyclists". He is a major figure in my own thought process for safer biking.
Unforunately, I have issues being a silent bike safety ambassador. I will work on being silent, (only speaking up when I am actually threatened) because all the horrible habits of people riding on sidewalks, the wrong way in the bike lane (woodstock218 is more exposed to this one), riding in crosswalks can be intrepreted as making all cyclists look bad. This reminds of another conversation I had the other day that had implications about how to spend one's time and energy (I do waste energy; at the same time the other implication of overwhelming others wills is something to think about).
There should be a license requirement for cycling as much as any other- but not so much because of the pedestrians you can mow down, and the property damage, but for the cyclists own sake. Like helmet fitting. I've seen quite a few people expose themselves to even more risk by wearing an ill-fitting helmet. The ear straps hanging at their jawline, the rakish angle of the tilted helmet, with the buckle inches from their throat. If they get a strap, that helmet will not help them at all. And their brain damage will not be as easily curable as properly adjusting their helmet.
Several weeks ago, I was in a bike crash where the properly fitted helmet helped me retain consciousness as my head struck the ground with enough force to crack the inner foam portion. If the helment had been loose, my ear, rather than the helmet would have received the full force of the blow.
Licenses are required for autos, motorcycles, other vehicles, but not bicycling. It's mostly because the amount of damage that the bicycle can cause is significantly less- there is no license for being a pedestrian, either (though it may help a bit).