Living Car Free - Car free etiquette

Since I've just recently lost the use of a car (even though I rarely ever used the one in our driveway...), my friends and colleagues have all suddenly started offering rides and expressed concerns about me all of a sudden.

I normally explain that I haven't really used a car much in the last several years and tell them... thanks... but I don't need a ride.

On the other hand, I ask a colleague to drive me to the police station to get my wrecked bike (result of an recent accident... long story...). There was just about no other way to get over there without renting a car for a day or paying $50 in taxis. There's unfortunately no Zip Car in Des Moines.

Do you have any stories about handling offers of a ride and requesting the same?

I don't mind getting rides. I offer to pay for gas. Most people decline, so I'll buy them a little treat or something. Years ago, before I rode a bike,one co-worker gave me a ride home all the time. She would not accept anything , even though she went out of her way for me. Finally I just left a $10 bill (gas was a lot cheaper then) kinda stuffed in the car seat when she wasn't looking. When she tried to give it back the next day, I said it must have blown in the window. She wouldn't believe me, so I asked her to please donate it to her church or favorite charity.

Now I'd really like to hear about your accident, if you care to share.

I rarely ask for rides, but like you, I get a lot of offers for them, as people find that walking or riding home in inclement weather is a bit odd and uncomfortable. I don't think they mind that I turn them down; they just want to show that they care.

If I do need a ride, it is such a rare occasion that I don't mind asking. I usually limit myself to people that I generally help in other ways, such as work colleagues.

I think if you ask for help too often you become might become a pain.:innocent:

We were living car light as were our neighbors we had an informal agreement that if an emergency cropped up and one car or the other was gone we would take care of one another. Our spouses worked opposite shifts so it was unusual for both houses to not have a car at home. At one point when car free, I had a very good neighbor that would give me a ride if I asked, I took care of doing the oil changes on her car for her and helped her check fluid levels and tire pressures. Fair swap in my book. Good neighbors can go a long ways towards making everyone's life go smoother.

Gerv, hope you are okay and able to ride after the accident!

Aaron :)

Now I'd really like to hear about your accident, if you care to share.



Gerv, hope you are okay and able to ride after the accident!


Ok... the accident... I was at an intersection at the pedestrian crosswalk attempting to get to the bike path (wide sidewalk) on the other side. I broke a rule I almost always obey... when at a pedestrian sidewalk, walk the bike across, don't ride... As I started to ride, the lady stopped at the red light decided at that moment to turn right and hit me. I was tossed off the bike, landed on my head. Ambulance showed up and carried me off to emergency.

However, no broken bones, just many, many bruises. That was 10 days ago and I've been back riding to work since Monday. Her insurance will pay for the busted bike and also the medical bills.

Weirdly, although this event seems to have been judged her fault, I have a real sense that I could have avoided it, knowing what I know about right hooks... However, a momentary lapse in judgment and bang!

Glad you're OK gerv. Bruises can hurt more than a broken bone, but you don't get as much sympathy for them. :(

What happened to the bike?

PS. Right on red is a ****ed up carcentric rule. Many pedestrian injuries and fatalities come from idiots not looking carefuly before they save a couple seconds.

Glad you're OK gerv. Bruises can hurt more than a broken bone, but you don't get as much sympathy for them. :(

What happened to the bike?

PS. Right on red is a ****ed up carcentric rule. Many pedestrian injuries and fatalities come from idiots not looking carefuly before they save a couple seconds.

Totally. As a driver in a busy city I am always freaked out to take a right on a red! There is just so much stuff to look out for I probably look like a meth addict or something, whipping my head about furiously before finally, cautiously, taking my right.

Anyway, glad you're OK gerv!

What happened to the bike?

I can't figure out where the bike took the hit, but the rear stays are 5mm off center now, the BB is loose, the front wheel is out of true, fenders messed up, front derailleur somewhat compressed.

I can't figure out where the bike took the hit, but the rear stays are 5mm off center now, the BB is loose, the front wheel is out of true, fenders messed up, front derailleur somewhat compressed.

That doesn't sound good.

I can't figure out where the bike took the hit, but the rear stays are 5mm off center now, the BB is loose, the front wheel is out of true, fenders messed up, front derailleur somewhat compressed.

If it was a car it would be totaled. But since it's a bike it will live to ride again.




Maybe....

RTOR was shoved down our throats in the name of easing pollution from idling cars waiting to turn. In reality I believe it was a poor attempt to throughput more traffic per hour. Regardless it is deadly for pedestrians and cyclists. I had a couple of near misses this week while in Charleston, WV. In the downtown area the crosswalks are set back from the intersections about 1/2 a car length, then they have landscaping and such at them. Twice I had to step and fetch due to someone rolling a RTOR at speed while I was in the crosswalk... Poorly designed infrastructure and no care for pedestrians. I was interested to note that there aren't very many pedestrians in that town, at least not that I observed.

Aaron :)

I was interested to note that there aren't very many pedestrians in that town, at least not that I observed.

Aaron :)

Most of them deceased. :)

[Note] This thread has gone way OT. I'm going to start another thread on accidents and I'm going to restate the original question

Do you have any stories about accepting car rides? What about when you are really stuck?

If I do need a ride, it is such a rare occasion that I don't mind asking. I usually limit myself to people that I generally help in other ways, such as work colleagues.


I think this is the key to accepting rides. If you also help colleagues, friends and family in other way... for example, I helped one colleague spec out a bicycle wheel purchase... for another I did a small repair. I think this is better than offering money.

I can't remember the last time I was 'stuck' and needed a ride. (Unless you count the ambulance in 10-08....)

I ride where I need to go, or take the bus if the weather's too nasty. The last 'failed' commute was in '03, had to walk the last 2 miles due to a loose crankarm and no tools. No rides were offered or needed.

We get a ton of offers for rides, they come on a daily basis. Perhaps because we have kids that we're hauling around? I don't know. We generally politely decline, but tell them we'll let them know if the need arises. Anyway, we've only needed rides twice in the last year. Once because I was sick and not feeling up to making the 10 mile ride to a necessary appointment. A neighbor was going that way anyway, so she saved me the cab fare. The other was making a trip to the airport on a Sunday. Public transit doesn't run on Sundays, so we asked my aunt for a ride. We offered to buy her lunch and pay for gas, but she wouldn't have any of it.

A friend from church left us his vehicle when he was out of town last week. We didn't have any need for the vehicle, so we only used it once while we had it, to make a day trip to the Oregon coast (about 60 miles from here). Our policy on borrowing cars is that we return them in better shape than we got them. Always with a full tank, cleaned inside and out, get the oil changed if it's getting near that point, etc.

Do you have any stories about accepting car rides? What about when you are really stuck?

I never, ever, accept rides, except when I do. In general, I do not accept rides. When I became car-free several years ago, I promised myself that I would not inconvenience others because of my choice. In practice, though, it's sometimes more of an inconvenience to others if I don't accept a ride. In those instances, I suck it up and jump in the car.