Comment on Is America Really That Bad?
NumbersCanBeFun@kbin.social 10 months ago
The only reason I didn’t get financially destroyed by the accident I was in, was just because the driver who struck me off my bicycle was 100% at fault and there was no denying it. You can try to say I served in front of you but at the end of the day you struck a bicyclist from behind on the road.
Anyways, because of laws on how much you can sue for I was capped out. So I didn’t get a ton of money but thankfully they also were forced to cover all my medical expenses along with the payout, which would have easily bankrupted me even with really good insurance if I had to pay that back.
STUPIDVIPGUY@sopuli.xyz 10 months ago
And America can’t be bothered to build safe bike lanes. I refuse to ride my bike on the road. Anyone who doesn’t like me riding on the sidewalk can fuck off
RemembertheApollo@kbin.social 10 months ago
The problem is you’d have to tear up a shitton of infrastructure to do it because built-up areas have no room to extend road widths safely to accommodate bike lanes. The driver behind that problem (pun intended) is the car culture and lack of public transportation. They can’t get rid of car lanes to hand them over to walking/biking dedicated areas because there’s too many cars and people that rely upon them to get around. There would never be enough people that would vote for or support such a project. Rural areas DGAF and are too poor to build bicycle infrastructure.
It’s not that we can’T be bothered, it’s the usual problem of Americans not wanting to pay for anything that they don’t use themselves or that might inconvenience them even though it’s good to get cars off the roads and keep people safe.
XGC75@kbin.social 10 months ago
It's disingenuous to say rural areas are too poor to install public transportation. It's that there's too much to install (too much space) for any given user. Just economics of rural areas. It doesn't make sense unless we can significantly reduce the capital investment and running costs of public transport.
Nemo@midwest.social 10 months ago
But riding on the sidewalk is less safe! Not just for pedestrians, for YOU, the cyclist. There are more hazards and less visibility.
STUPIDVIPGUY@sopuli.xyz 10 months ago
Baseless statement, elaborate
It’s not more dangerous for pedestrians because I am aware and respectful of them.
So tell me how it’s more dangerous for me to be on a further-removed pathway, protected by a curb and other objects like light posts.
Nemo@midwest.social 10 months ago
Not baseless, data-driven. This isn’t, like, my opinion, and this is the reason it’s illegal for adults to ride on sidewalks in many municipalities.
There are more obstacles on the sidewalk, and sidewalk is more prone to be uneven. Most bicycle accidents aren’t bike vs. car, but now vs. environment: unexpected bumps or drops, debris, obstacles like poles and tree branches.
But the real problem is visibility. People step out onto sidewalks not expecting a speeding cyclist, risking collisions. But more importantly for your safety, motorists aren’t expecting you there, either. So when you are going across intersections, they cannot see you –because you’re in the wrong place, and because as you point out, there are streetlights and sign poles and other objects between you– and may turn into you .
ihavenopeopleskills@kbin.social 10 months ago
I will give you that. The DC area is incredibly cyclable / walkable and it's nice, considering how scarce and expensive parking is.