Posted on 12/02/2023 12:29:14 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
Welcome to The Bicycle Thread. A monthly PING List for bicycle enthusiasts to share experiences, information and ideas. đ´ââď¸đ
My wife and I got bicycles a year ago. We are avid hikers. The bikes have been wonderful. The old abandoned rr tracks are awesome. 700 miles in a year.
Since September, I have been on a stationary cycle with an IFit video screen, following professional trainers all over the world. What astonishes me is how many zombified pedestrians and car drivers who are so oblivious and get in the way. However, the pro trainers never complain and swiftly move around them. Meanwhile, I’m in my living room in the mountains of Colorado, yelling at the screen “MOVE IT, LADY! WAKE UP!!!”
Good fun.
I actually came across mention of these studies elsewhere but neglected to note the source, but went looking for them again when I decided to write this post I found this at (of all places) Wikipedia:
Safety(emphasis added)A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fact sheet published in March 2023 states that Stop as Yield and Red as Stop laws "showed added safety benefits for bicyclists in States where they were evaluated, and may positively affect the environment, traffic, and transportation". Acting Administrator Ann Carlson stated at a conference in October 2022 that "it increases [bicyclist] visibility to drivers and reduces their exposure. It also promotes safety in numbers by encouraging more people to bike which reduces cyclists overall risks.â
A 2009 study showed a 14.5% decrease in bicyclist injuries after the passage of the original Idaho Stop law (though did not otherwise tie the decrease to the law). A Delaware state-run study of the "Delaware Yield" law (allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs) concluded that it reduced injuries at stop-sign controlled intersections by 23%.
A study of rolling stops in Seattle determined that "results support the theoretical assertion that bicyclists are capable of making safe decisions regarding rolling stop", while a 2013 survey of stop as yield in Colorado localities where it is legal reported no increase in crashes. Another study done in Chicago showed that compliance with stop signs and stop lights by cyclists was low when cross-traffic was not present, but that most were still performing an Idaho Stop; and therefore "enforcing existing rules at these intersections would seem arbitrary and [capricious]".
Any momentum you can conserve from your "cruising speed" and use to cross an intersection more swiftly reduces your exposure and limits your risk of being squashed by an "I didn't see him" cager. Plus not coming to a complete stop and putting a foot down reduces the drama to those of us using clipless pedals.
And it would take several traffic tickets to add up to the cost of a single trip by ambulance to the ER (or the cost of a funeral). So when I approach an intersection I ask myself two questions:
1. If I shoot out there now, presuming all who approach are "reasonable" motorists, would I be leaving motorists so little room to react that they would feel compelled react to me? So much as lifting of the gas, even just a little. If no, then on to ...
2. Are any of the approaching vehicles close enough to the intersection that they could hit me, even if they floored the accelerator and tried to?
Two "No" answers mean I blow though the intersection with best possible speed.
Which, after all, is not only in my best interest, but the cager's as well, because they'd sooner not interact with a bicyclist if they didn't have to.
Food for thought:
"Why Bicyclists Hate Stop Signs" by UC Berkeley physics professor Joel Fajans and magazine writer and editor Melanie Curry (PDF, free to download)
Simple fix...two signs on same pole. One octagonal red with “STOP” and an icon of a car. One triangular, yellow, “YIELD” with an icon of a bike.
I often look for best buys on cheap bikes for people in the city who come for bike repair, and presently here are some, by the grace of God.:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kent-700c-Thruster-Fixie-Men-s-Bike-Black-Red/23810254
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kent-Bicycles-26-inch-Men-s-Seachange-Beach-Cruiser-Bike-Black/727575942
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-16-in-Snap-Boys-Kids-Bike-Green/194161579
Bicyclist Stop-as-Yield Fact Sheet (NTSB.GOV)
In 1982, Idaho was the first State to pass such a law, commonly known as the âIdaho Stop Law.â The law allows bicyclists to yield at stop signs and proceed when safe, rather than come to a complete stop. After Idaho adopted the law, bicyclist injuries from traffic crashes declined by 14.5% the following year. In 2017, Delaware adopted a similar, limited stop-as-yield law, known as the "Delaware Yield.â Traffic crashes involving bicyclists at stop sign intersections fell by 23% in the 30 months after the lawâs passage, compared to the previous 30 months....
...Benefits: Safety, Environmental, and Transportation ImpactThe benefits of bicycling extend beyond personal and physical, to environmental benefits that can lead to healthier, quieter, cleaner, and safer streets. Fewer motor vehicles on the road equate to less congestion and lower emission outputs.
Bicyclist stop-as-yield laws allow cyclists to mitigate risk to their advantage, increase their visibility to drivers and reduce exposure. Bicyclists have greater incentive to yield, as they are at high risk for injury at intersections. One study cites research showing that pedestrians and bicyclists exert more care and attention before crossing red signals than green. A naturalistic study of bicyclists in Floridaâs Tampa Bay area found that bicyclists highly complied with general traffic rules (88.1% in the daytime, 87.5% at night). In contrast, drivers were mostly noncompliant with the law on yielding to bicyclistsâ right-of-way.
Additionally, there is no evidence showing bicyclist stop-as-yield laws have increased bike conflicts with other bikes or pedestrians. Roadway collisions between bicyclists with other cyclists or pedestrians are uncommon, as found in an Australian study. When bicyclists can maintain a safe but precautionary momentum through an intersection, it allows continuous traffic flow.
Finally, bicyclist stop-as-yield laws decriminalize a riding behavior, possibly encouraging more ridership.
More bicyclists on the roadway traveling together increases their visibility and attention by motorists, a concept referred to as âSafety in Numbersâ (SIN). Studies of SIN show motorists drive more cautiously, and bicyclists are safer on roads when traveling with a higher volume of bicyclists. Research by Meggs (2010)suggests that removing stops may reduce injury risk by half through SIN alone.
(emphasis added)
I AM NOT a scofflaw on a bicycle, I am an old man who wants to cycle until a very old age. This is cold, hard logic. That fact it serves to my benefit only sweetens the deal. A clear case of serendipity, not bicyclist bias.
I often look for best buys on cheap bikes for people in the city who come for bike repair, and presently here are some, by the grace of God.:That is really great. On Thursdays I often go to Church to help hand-out food and clothing aid to needy people. Last Thursday I filled in for a guy who fell off his bicycle and broke three fingers.
That day our daughter twisted her ankle at school. So yesterday I took her to the specialist doctor for that (turns-out she is OK) while we were waiting in walked the broken fingers guy!
Thank God for your help others with food, but is "That is really great" a remark against riding bikes, criticizing my help in providing good prices for basic ones?
I praise your good deeds helping people find bicycles they can afford my FRiend.
I appreciate your posts and like to read experiences. Thank you very much for the links and keep up your great work!
Unfortunately there is snow and ice where I live in Germany and I don’t have tires for that. Maybe I’ll get them next month.
Have a Blessed Sunday.
An Utrecht detour gone wrong.Thank you for your posts in the thread. There is a lot that can be learned by a little reflection.
Winter is coming here also, and yes, that is not bike weather!
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
The Bicycle Thief has been heralded as one of the best movies of all time by voices from the New Yorker to the Los Angeles Times. The drama tells the story of Antonio, an impoverished man in post-war Italy who requires a bicycle to do his job, but has his stolen the same day he buys it. He sets out in streets of Rome with his son to track down the thief and retrieve his bike.
As cyclists, we hear a lot of sounds when riding. Usually. the noises come from chirping birds, the wind rustling leaves or your bikeâs tires rolling over the trail on your favorite trail. But sometimes the noises sound bad and come from your bike. And those noises can range from annoying to anxiety-inducing as you ponder the cause.
It all started in 2019, when Bjartmar LeĂłsson started to see a rise in bike theft in ReykjavĂk. Rather than accepting that once a bicycle was stolen it had disappeared forever, the bus driver and self-confessed âbike nerdâ decided to start tracking them down and returning them to their rightful owners.Four years and, he estimates, hundreds of salvaged bikes later, the 44-year-old has developed a reputation in the Icelandic capital among cyclists and potential bike thieves. Known as the ReykjavĂk âbike whispererâ, people across his home city turn to him for help to find their missing bicycles, tools and even cars. Often, he says, bike thieves hand over bikes without being asked and some former bike thieves have started to help him.
âItâs like a little snowball that got really big really fast,â says LeĂłsson, whose other nicknames include âthe bike copâ, âbike priestâ and âbicycle Jesusâ.
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