Quote:
Originally Posted by Dartguard
Actually I think I can string an intelligent argument together and if that amounts to "behavior" then so be it. The cycling community can not handle folks that express an alternate opinion that is my case based on many decades of life experience. I feel very strongly about all bikes especially Motorcycles after a very tragic accident that happened to some inlaws back in the nineties .A young person pulled a 60 MPH wheelie that T boned my inlaws. They were under direct supervision of up state NY Motorcycle cops turning right at 3 miles per hour to marshal in a farmers field for a bike convention North of Albany. Mr flew 65 feet and went into Cardiac arrest. Mrs took the brunt of the contact and shattered her entire left leg. Both were in Comas from June 9 -Aug 15 of that Summer. They wolk up in a London Ontario Hospital on different floors 45 minutes apart. The doctors wanted to pull both plugs three times between June and August. The children would not agree. Mr has since passed on but Mrs is still in Ontario living as best she can with more metal than flesh in her left leg. Its kinda funny seeing her go through Airport security.
So sure jump on a bike. The odds are against you and society DOES NOT owe you a safe corridor. Make the proper Adult decision and buy a car.
Everyone eventually gets into an accident. Improve your odds and buy a car.
P.S. its going to be interesting with the recent narrowing of a section of Caldwell road . The Tim Hortons will be jamming up traffic and causing Chaos
as folks try to go through the drive through for the morning coffee. The tuesday morning Garbage trucks were already a pain in the butt. More frustration to come care of the city. Bikes will be safe and happy though, all twelve of them in a community of about 25,000.
|
I'm very sorry to hear about this tragedy and it does help to explain your emotional response. Often times trauma does lead to strong emotional reactions like that so I do understand. That being said, feelings, no matter how strong, don't make false beliefs suddenly become correct. Saying no one "owes" anyone a safe corridor isn't really true because it's one of the government's core roles to create safe conditions for its citizens. It wouldn't be any more valid to say no one owes you safe tap water so don't risk contamination by buying bottled.
Decisions about how to ensure basic safety simply come down to what works best, and there isn't enough room, infrastructure and other resources for everyone to use a car for all their transportation needs, particularly as a city grows. One of the key reasons the city is promoting active transportation is because it can't afford to build and maintain enough auto-infrastructure for everyone to drive at the rate they currently are. And even if there was, a person shouldn't be obligated to spend a huge amount of money and resources for the simple privilege of getting around in their daily life because of how poorly our communities are designed. And of course, the biggest source of danger to cyclists is motor vehicles (which are also the biggest source of danger to one another). It doesn't make sense to focus on the people at risk from danger rather than the source.
It's also absolutely untrue that bikes are inherently less safe than cars regardless of individual anecdotes. In fact, even without additional infrastructure, cyclists have better health outcomes than motorists overall due to the benefits of incorporating exercise into one's daily life despite the risk of accidents (which is much lower than with motorcycles). The fact is, the #1 thing that makes cycling safer is greater numbers of cyclists since it makes them more visible and causes other road users to anticipate them and drive more responsibly.
If you're interesting in putting together an intelligent argument, you'll make an effort to look past individual emotions and anecdotes, regardless of how personal and traumatic, and consider all the evidence. That can be a hard thing to do, but when you live in a society with other people, sometimes it's necessary. Especially given the much broader array of challenges our society faces beyond the individual risk of accidents.
Threaded Mode