Originally Posted by
closetbiker
I’m talking about the general population.
In (over) 35 years of advocacy in cycling, at times it seems little has changed.
Sure, there have been some gains in recognition of local governments in the importance of and investment in, infrastructure but amongst the majority view of the people of the city, not much has changed.
I still get cut off and buzzed as I always have and if someone knows I ride a bike, they have to unload with their complaints.
Geez Louise, even when I showed someone complaining to me how cyclists don’t pay for the roads, a statement from the responsible city manager managing the costs of the bike lanes saying that it’s property taxes that pay for the roads, he still didn’t believe me!
Will they, or can they, ever learn that people riding bikes is a good thing for everyone?
No, "THEY" will never learn... new drivers are added to the motorist pool daily; those new drivers all come with different levels of training, different notions of rules/laws, and different mindsets. Few if any new motorists understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to cyclists. Older motorists often have no idea of rule/law changes have have long held poor habits... Cyclists represent a rare, less than 2% of road user situation, so motorists often just ignore any information about cyclists and tend to go with "roads are made for cars," and "more power" mentality.
Sorry, reality bites... until society grasps that "Cyclists Matter," we will constantly be at the bottom of the road use hierarchy. We see ads daily in media about how the motor vehicle is "the ultimate driving machine" etc, but when was the last time a bicycle was shown in media as a way to "save the planet."