markhr

Preaching to the choir here but if any of you get the chance to watch (and friends and family) "The woman who stops traffic" do so as it's an excellent insight in just how much of a death grip the average motorist has on their steering wheel.

Basically, it's a about a conflict resolution/management consultant who is asked to try and un-jam three completely grid locked towns. Very interesting and a little frustrating to watch (Lots of "I'd drive less if there was less traffic" comments ).

https://www.channel4.com/lifestyle/gr...stops_traffic/

The TV program is available free online here - https://www.channel4.com/4od/index.html

edit: Doh! the real title is "the woman who stops traffic"

JeffS

only in the UK/Ireland

markhr

I'd guessed as much but, given my lack of technical IT knowledge, can't you use a proxy server in the UK to watch the show? If that's even possible.

gazer

There are a few minutes viewable from the main website.

I'd be flabbergasted if she's successful.

gazer

Oh, and the only way I see success is by riding right past the cars stuck in traffic every morning - and waving! Convince them with smiles and speed that they're just idiots stuck in their cages.

harleyfrog

And it won't work with Linux.

markhr

Well if anyone can find it anywhere else on "teh interwebz" please post the links.

edit: that is links that are useful to people outside UK/NI

mattm

you could use the Tor super-proxy to find a proxy in the UK - see https://tor.eff.org

maddyfish

That's what I do, on my commute I pass about 35-50 cars a day, only 4-6 pass me. I wave and keep on going, I also wave at the gas stations.

wahoonc

I was thinking about "passing" cars today...I was waiting on a looong left turn light that leads to a road that leads to the road that leads to my office The road is 5+ lanes wide at that point and you can see for over a mile down the road. Cars as far as the eye can see....but no way to pass them unless you ride on the sidewalk. What is really ignorant to me, is the abandoned rail line that would make an awesome MUP/Cycleway from the one small town to the next, plus it runs across the back side of probably half a dozen smaller industrial/office "parks". The small towns have become bedroom communities for the larger city that they surround. A classic case of Piss Poor Planning and the Kar is King syndrome. I would be willing to bet that the backup at that light exceeds 2 miles and takes at least 15-20 minutes to clear thru.

Glad I only go to the office about once a month

Aaron

caloso

If you pass 100 cars on your commute, I bet 1 driver might think "Hey, maybe I should try riding my bike to work." The other 99 probably say "****ing biker! Get off the road!"

gmule

That is how I got my start. That and I needed to lose some weight. Now I am happy on both accounts

maddyfish

What do you ride, a Rhodes car? https://www.rhoadescar.com/lobby.htm
Split them! That is the beauty of a bike, it is not a car, those long lines of traffic are for car drivers, not for you. A bike is so much more than a car, split them!

Chris L

I pass a lot more cars than that each day, but I generally keep a low profile about it. Just imagine what would happen if all of those people followed your lead, got out of their cars and started riding to work. Imagine what it would do to your commute, suddenly having to compete with 35-50 bikes for the space of the road that you currently occupy, while the 4-6 still on the road zoom by in the traffic lanes. That doesn't quite fit with my vision of a cycling utopia.

Personally, I'd be happy if they just stay in their cars and sit in the gridlock forever.

wahoonc

Lane splitting is not considered legal in NC, also on that particular stretch of road the lanes are not wide enough for lane sharing, people are always weaving from one side to the other of the lane in an attempt to see ahead of them. If I had to ride that road regularly I would definitely consider being a side walk rider, what also bites is that there are no alternate routes, that I am aware of. When they widened that road they closed off and removed at least 2 of the parallel roads. The road comes from an area of "lollypop" subdivisions....glad I don't live in that area.

Aaron

maddyfish

I am not even sure lane splitting is legal here, I know for motorcycles it isn't, but my local police lt. instructed me to do it at all intersections. ( I don't do it at all intersections, just selected ones).
I guess I think of it like this, it is legal for a car to share a lane with you to pass you, so the opposite must be true as well.

Mauriceloridans

You have persuaded me! From now on I can filter without feeling guiltier.

wahoonc

I do filter in a lot of situations, but a 2 mile back up? BTW that is typical for this particular stretch of road. I also know that people will be irate if they have to keep passing you...

As a general rule I avoid riding in that type of traffic if there is an alternate time or route to take.

Aaron

markhr

Did any of you filtration experts get the 4OD site to work outside the UK, either by proxy or some other means?

ItsJustMe

I normally don't filter, but a couple of years ago there was construction on the expressway here, and the 2 lane rural road that people were using as a bypass (and is my only real way to get from here to there) started having 5 miles of stopped cars on it. In the time it took me to cover that 5 miles, I doubt the cars I was passing went even 1 mile. I think I could have walked as fast as they were going. I normally go even faster on that road but having to squeeze by in the 10 inches of pavement that dropped off to gravel made me go quite a bit slower.

harleyfrog

^^^^^^^^^^ How can you tell it's spring in Michigan? The orange construction barrels are out.

caloso

Awesome. It's like taking the red pill, isn't it?

Chris L

If you're not sure, the simple answer is to download a copy of your local legislation and read it. Don't take the word of a motorist or someone spouting on an Internet forum, or even a police officer (who is just as likely to be ignorant of the law as anybody else). Go straight to the source.

I know that in my state, there is no law prohibiting lane-splitting at all. In fact, it's perfectly legal even for car drivers if they manage to get into a situation where it actually becomes practical.

HardyWeinberg

NYT article on people ditching their mortgages to afford their cars:

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/us/29walks.html

randomgear

She really did this! In February? Damn, I'm impressed.
I suppose once you get them riding in winter, the rest of the year is easy.

Hey, and she's coming to Boston!
Ohh, thats Boston, Lincolnshire, not Boston, Massachusetts, and she already did.
Sounds like her approach to advocacy really works.
I think we could use more people like her.