wolfchild

I started daily bike commuting in 2007...It`s been my personal observation that the roads are more dangerous now than they were 15 years ago. It`s kind of strange because roads have improved, infrastructure has improved, we have some new bike routes which didn`t exist 15 years ago and yet it just feels more dangerous than ever before to ride in traffic. TBH I blame smart phones, social media and infotainment systems for it. Technology is driving people into insanity. Every single day I see drivers not having their lights on when driving in the dark, people can`t even remember to turn on their lights. Aggressive driving and road rage has also increased a lot in the last 15 or so years. It`s only going to get worse.

bbbean 

Everywhere. We just notice the bad ones. Nobody ever posts "200 drivers passed me on my ride today. None of them did anything stupid or dangerous". But if one of them got a little close, the post reads "OMG, they tried to murder me! Every driver has a black heart set on homicide!!!"

rsbob 

The only thing you left off your list was the volume of traffic has increased (at least here, dramatically - I won’t ride roads I used to ride regularly 15 years ago) hence the greater chance of the becoming a statistic. Regarding aggressive driving and road rage; it seems to me like there is more of a green light these days on that kind of behavior all through society. Just waiting for a cyclist to get shot.

Part of the “Where are the good….” Is that if one chooses to be prudent in their selection of places to ride, or can, there are less chances for issues. If you live in a big city, that’s another thing.

You probably remember my post this year about a van purposely coming across the line at me and another cyclist (which turned into a free-for-all on defending the van driver - and hence blaming me for being at the wrong place at the wrong time), but that was a once in 10 year occurrence. Yes there have been a couple of brush-bys but where I choose to ride, people by in large give cyclists room or wait to pass when the oncoming lane is clear.

Steve B.

Ive been driving for 50 years. I have noticed a deteriorating lack of driving skills as well as courtesy to fellow drivers in the past 15-20 years or so. Many fewer using turn signals, many more people speeding and generally cutting off other drivers, illegal u-turns when a turn is missed, turns from incorrect lane, coming to a complete stop on a road when an exit or turn is missed, just countless errors and poor skill that create dangerous driving conditions. Generally too many people trying to get where they are going in too much a hurry. The use of cell phones has greatly compounded the problems with inattentive drivers. I am of the opinion that as well, the quality of the instructors who teach drivers has become very poor. Not much can be done except to just be super aware. I am investing this year in dash cameras, having just had a fender bender (first collision in 30 years) by driver claiming it was my fault.

wolfchild

Traffic volume has definitely increased over the last few years. As the population grows the number of cars increases...I am also more selective as to which roads I choose to ride. Lucky for me I have options that allow me to choose less busy roads or slower traffic roads and also few different off road bike routes. I live in a very car-centric suburbs but it`s actually not too bad to be a cyclist around here if you have experience and know what you`re doing.

Koyote

Just a cautionary note from someone who's been driving almost as long: this post seems dangerously close to the "Damn kids today" variety, in which we lament how much better things were in the 'good old days.'

I'm not sure that there's data on driving skills and courtesy, but there is data on motor vehicle crash death rates -- and those have come down significantly in the past 50 years. Now, that could be due somewhat (or mostly) to safer vehicles -- my family's '65 Mustang was pretty fun, but it was a deathtrap by modern standards. There's probably a study on that -- wait, here's one which shows a pretty significant impact. So perhaps accident death rates are going down despite poorer driving skills, merely because our vehicles are safer. Interesting.

Steve B.

At my age being curmudgeonly is expected.

Reflector Guy

My Dad used to take it to an extreme. He'd stop in the middle of the block to wave pedestrians across, even when there was no crosswalk. The danger of course was that he'd get rear-ended by the car behind him.

Supposedly, he stopped once and offered a ride to a guy who was jogging. He thought the guy was late and running for the bus!

locolobo13 

Riding thru residential areas I rarely notice intersections without stop signs. It's the same with good drivers. It's hard to not notice the bad drivers. Which is good for our survival.

livedarklions

Are you still flogging that garbage Expedia survey? Neither the 97% or the 29% figure are meaningful, and all it is is a perfect example of the fundamental attribution error.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel4 View Post
Members of BF hate those kind of people. They call them nicetards.

No. it's "niceholes". The problem arises when they try to insist you need to go while they wait when they're actually obstructing your view of other traffic. It's a very dangerous situation if you do indeed go.

Jax Rhapsody

You must haven't seen those bad driving videos on youtube...

spelger

12" ginko? Must have been a bonzi.

dedhed

Probably a 30 foot tree. Yeah, 12". Look at the next one by the mailbox. Found a headlight at my other lot line on a 110' lot.
Trees were planted in 1982 when the road went from 2 lane & ditches to this.

Jimriides

We don’t notice them.

Oldguyonoldbike

I live in a college town of around 100,000 people about half an hour outside Oklahoma City -- well over a million people in the metro area. I have to say that drivers in my town and on the country roads where I ride are on the whole cautious and courteous. Of course there's the occasional exception. On the other hand, I do not ride in Oklahoma City except on a handful of bike paths that are separate from the roads. I find it hard to believe that people twenty miles away are significantly meaner, less disciplined or more stupid. However, Oklahoma City lacks the infrastructure, signage and general bike awareness of the college town where I live. Apart from the random distribution of a-holes pretty much anywhere, the built environment can make for bike-unfriendly drivers.

Before moving here I lived in Italy for 23 years. As a rule drivers there drive a lot faster in any given setting, but also show a much greater degree of situational awareness and car handling skills than the average American driver. That doesn't mean it's perfectly safe though. Two people I knew were hit and killed while riding near where I lived.