Originally Posted by
Helmet Head
The only data I have is every study that attempts to show cycling with bike lanes is safer fails.
A bike lane stripe hinders safety in the following manner.
1) Induces a false sense of security (if you think you're safer when you're not then you're probably less safe).
2) guides through cyclists to go straight in space that is to the right of right turning motorists
3) guides cyclists to ride in door zones
4) makes presence of a cyclist up ahead in the road less relevant to motorists, thus cyclist is more likely to be overlooked. Since a cyclist who is noticed is more likely to inhibit a driver from choosing to attend to a distraction than is a cyclist up ahead who is overlooked, and a motorist is more likely to drift when he is attending to a distraction, a cyclist in a bike lane is more likely to be drifted into than is a cyclist who is in the same position but in the same lane as the motorist because there is no bl stripe. I wish there was a study on this, but it would be hard to do.
Cars and bikes don't have rights. Vehicle drivers and cyclists have rights. The comparison is not between cars and bikes, but between motorists and cyclists. Do you think truck drivers have more rights than Honda Civic drivers because insistent on equal rights for something like a Mack truck vs. a Civic is pretty silly?
So you're saying we should ride on the sidewalk? What's your point?
I'm still waiting for data to support no bike lanes.... not valid to answer a question with a question.
What is a false sense of security? Anyone who rides the roads today better have a sense of anxiety and be prepared for anything.
I completely disagree with the notion that drivers are more alert to the presence of a cyclist in the absense of a bike lane. Bad drivers are bad drivers no matter what the road configuration.
We'd probably all be better off advocating the elimination of mobile phone technology and improving methods for screening unqualified or incompetent drivers drivers than spending any time on lane issues.
Give me a break... do you really think my reference to car and bicycle was not in reference to drivers? Until the world fills up with AGVs, almost all vehicles have some operator so why waste energy on a comment comparing Honda to Mack?
Ride wherever it's safe. On second thought is it ever safe? How about ride in a fashion that fits conditions. In my world, that does NOT include things like 'taking the lane' just to prove we have the same rights. It does mean follow the rules of the road while on the road. It does mean occasionally riding on a sidewalk while respecting the rights of pedestrians since, while on a sidewalk, we generally fall under the definition of pedestrian.
