Comment on Is America Really That Bad?
Nemo@midwest.social 1 year agoBut riding on the sidewalk is less safe! Not just for pedestrians, for YOU, the cyclist. There are more hazards and less visibility.
Comment on Is America Really That Bad?
Nemo@midwest.social 1 year agoBut 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 1 year 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 1 year 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 .
STUPIDVIPGUY@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
so the only case these apply are when the cyclist isn’t paying attention to their surroundings… which is the real reason it’s dangerous, and when you eliminate that, I would rather have bikes passing next to people than cars passing next to bikes, because the latter is actually deadly when someone does make a mistake
Nemo@midwest.social 1 year ago
You can’t anticipate someone stopping out of a storefront or doorway, though, especially not at speed. This is not something you can eliminate.