Originally Posted by alcanoe

And there's something wrong with that? Cheap oil means lower cost of living for all of us and more vibrant economies which lifts all boats including the poor of the third world.

Don't forget, people drive SUVs because of the government mandated CAFE requirements which were applied to large automobiles and station wagons but not to SUVs. The sales of large automobiles/SWs were replaced with SUVs which got poorer gas milage than the vehicles they replaced.

Your governement at work. A lot of folks need/want large cars. It's a matter of choice as Robert Foster pointed out. I like choice and prefer the governement stay out of selecting favorites and limiting my options.

When the governement gets out of the way, we can exploit that 100 years of identified shale/gas/oil/coal reservs (at present usage rates) we have in the US. Then there's Canada. We have made dramatic reductions in the use of energy per unit of GDP since the Carter years as well.

The glass is more than half full.

Al

Originally Posted by dahut

Yeah, I know. Before the media coverage ceased, it was still a grey area.
Police statements at the time indicated that he had alight, but they could not determine if he had it on.
Huh? How can you not determine that? What... did he turn it off before he succumbed?
Certainly the driver didn't see it, making it ineffective if it was on.
With the impact coming from the rear, it strongly suggests that the doctor had nothing showing backwards.

There is morning work-traffic on this road, but in the pre-dawn darkness traffic is generally light. Friends who live over there say they see cyclists all the time along there, and suggest that even a modicum of rearward lighting or reflective devices should have been seen, were they in use. The driver never saw him on a clear stretch of open, unencumbered road? Taken together, it is most likely he wasn't running with visibility aids.... which are vastly different than forward facing head lights.

The police have not pressed charges as far as I know, ruling it an unfortunate accident.

Admittedly, Ive made a leap of faith here based on bigger picture. I suppose I should apologize for that.
As it stands now, nothing new has been reported since August.

Originally Posted by Wogster

Bicycles don't need number plates, what is needed is a requirement to carry government issued photo-id with your address, such as a drivers licence. They could add a bicycle class licence, which requires you to write a test of basic rules of the road, unless you already have a drivers licence. This must be carried while riding and a police officer who sees you doing something illegal, can pull you over and demand your licence.

Originally Posted by larwyn

I believe the numbers of bicycle riders is increasing here. I say this because others are noticing and I have heard them talking about it. One thing that is often mentioned is riders wearing helmets. No, not the safety concerns of wearing helmets, but the fact that if you see someone on a bicycle approaching a red light/stop sign and that person is wearing a helmet, chances are he is going to run the light/stop sign. So yes, people are paying attention and bicyclists do have the opportunity to make a good impression, if they were to choose to do so.

Originally Posted by alcanoe

Good ideas. That would be like the NRA and us gun owners who support strong enforcement of laws for those using a gun in a crime. The NRA petitioned legislatures for tough laws and tough enforcement.

Unless stopped at the scene of the infraction, catching the cyclist does seem to be an issue. However, I wonder how useful plates are in apprehending drivers or if it's done by just a description of the vehicle.

Al

Originally Posted by contango

You've missed the point of what I was saying. I know bikes don't need number plates, which is part of why cyclists can flout so many traffic laws with impunity. If a police officer tries to pull over a cyclist what is going to happen? A responsible cyclist who thought they might get away with taking a shortcut will most likely pull over and comply, an irresponsible cyclist (i.e. the ones who are a problem) will simply refuse to pull over. What's the police officer going to do then? Certainly in an urban setting the cyclist can use paths, roads, trails, parks, just about anything to get away from the police. A police officer in a car can't follow through many of those places, a police officer on foot can't go fast enough to catch the cyclist.

If some form of number plate were required (ignoring for now the practicalities of such a requirement) then a scofflaw cyclist would have to remove their number plate to evade the police. While it might not prevent them from doing so it would potentially make the final "rap sheet" when they were caught sufficiently severe they'd think twice about doing it.

Originally Posted by contango

Interesting you should say that. In my home town (London, England) it seems the people who wear helmets are least likely to run red lights and flout the rules of the road.

When I stop at a red light and another cyclist blows past me and goes through the red without even slowing, 9 times out of 10 they aren't wearing a helmet.

Originally Posted by larwyn

I thought so too, but it proves true almost every time. Those riding in jeans and t-shirt without a helmet will generally stop and wait, while those dressed as if they were running the TDF will, 9 times out of 10, ignore the light or stop sign, especially if they are turning right. I'm old, ride an old Raleigh 3 speed and generally whether wearing a helmet or not I look forward to the next stop sign so I can stop and rest a bit. Traffic signals are so unpredictable as they might turn green before I'm ready to go.

Originally Posted by Wogster

The United States implemented CAFE rules, a big complex expensive paper-work laden bureaucracy that had a hole big enough for a Cadillac Escalade to get through, many other countries used the opposite approach, they simply slapped an excise tax on fuel. Gasoline is 1/3rd more expensive in Canada, the difference is the tax, and that is why Canadians buy smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles then Americans do. Shale isn't being done, because the extraction cost is so high. The Tar Sands in Canada didn't make economic sense until oil surpassed $45/barrel, because that is the extraction cost, shale hasn't yet reached the extraction cost, your not going to like your SUV when it does.

Originally Posted by Wogster

The primary reason for a cyclists licence, or a requirement that a cyclist carry a drivers licence, is that when they do get caught disregarding the rules of the road, the police officer has the proper name and address for the ticket. As for pedestrians, I think it would be impractical, and I would think people on sidewalk bicycles should be exempt.

Originally Posted by alcanoe

As long as the market place sets the cost and I have a choice, I'll be happy. When the government distorts the market to control my behavior, then it ticks me off. I have had three SUV's. I now have a pick-up and a compact SUV.

I haul a lot of stuff and I do it often. The government won't help me with my stuff when they artificially inflate prices as in EuroLand. There, they can't afford a lot of stuff to begin with. We won't either if the government continues micromanaging our lives.

Euroland is apparantly coming apart at the seams. They'll have even less stuff to haul

Those who like high energy prices should consider moving. EuroLand needs immigrants.

Al

Originally Posted by alcanoe

As long as the market place sets the cost and I have a choice, I'll be happy. When the government distorts the market to control my behavior, then it ticks me off. I have had three SUV's. I now have a pick-up and a compact SUV.

I haul a lot of stuff and I do it often. The government won't help me with my stuff when they artificially inflate prices as in EuroLand. There, they can't afford a lot of stuff to begin with. We won't either if the government continues micromanaging our lives.

Euroland is apparantly coming apart at the seams. They'll have even less stuff to haul

Those who like high energy prices should consider moving. EuroLand needs immigrants.

Al

Originally Posted by alcanoe

Euroland is apparantly coming apart at the seams. They'll have even less stuff to haul


Al

Originally Posted by gear

I couldn't possibly speak with any authority on how things are going in Europe because I only get over there every other year or so, you'd need to be there much more often than that to make a valid assessment. But I do live in the US and it sure seems like things have been better on a financial level than they are now. I'm not sure the unregulated market place thing is going so good.

Originally Posted by UberGeek

I have a friend in the Netherlands. He says it's "dire times", because their unemployment figures are at 5%, and politicos in the conservative party there are trying to suggest austerity measures, such as reducing vacation stipends.

Originally Posted by AzTallRider

Here is a recent article on Arizona's plans to improve bicycle safety. In 2009, 25 cyclists died, and we had the 4th highest bicycle fatality rate in the nation. Among the interesting findings from the study the state paid to have performed:

- Half involved a bike or motorist failing to yield, with cars twice as often to blame as bikes.
- Half occurred when a car was turning right.
- Half occurred when a bike traveled counter to traffic.
- A third involved a bicycle on a sidewalk.
- Less than a quarter happened at night or dusk.

There is data provided on which intersections and roads are most dangerous, and the common factor seems to be proximity to a freeway (frontage roads, on-off ramps and such).

Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...#ixzz1YWktXg5J

Originally Posted by UberGeek

You must hate the US oil and food markets then. The federal government mucks around in the pricing for those markets to a great extent.

Example: True costs for a gallon of gasoline should be about $10. Lettuce should be about $3 a head.

Originally Posted by gear

I couldn't possibly speak with any authority on how things are going in Europe because I only get over there every other year or so, you'd need to be there much more often than that to make a valid assessment. But I do live in the US and it sure seems like things have been better on a financial level than they are now. I'm not sure the unregulated market place thing is going so good.

Originally Posted by Wogster

They just rebuilt a section of road, East if here, in building this section of road, they made it 2m wider, they haven't put the lines on it yet, but from what it looks, the outer metre on each side, will be a bike lane. This is the cheapest way to add a bike lane.