SHORT TRIPS? FAST WARM UPS? MPG?

[Isaac Zachary]

Where I live, riding bikes on the sidewalk (when there is a sidewalk) is illegal. So you have to ride on the street or highway along with the cars usually. There are some bike paths, but not a whole lot of them. Then you have the SUV/Pickup frenzy with everyone not caring who or what they run over. Off the top of my head, I can think of 5 different pedestrians or bicyclists that were ran over near my house in the past 16 years. All 5 were hit by a pickup or SUV. 3 of them died and two survived. And yet I still took my bike today, a little over 4 miles round trip.

[freebeard]

Where I live, riding bikes on the sidewalk (when there is a sidewalk) is illegal.

Are wheel chairs also illegal? {Grinds my gears]

Bikes are speed-matched to pedestrians more so than cars. Grocery stores have no standing if they charge 10 cents for a paper bag with sketchy handles.

[Isaac Zachary]

One thing I forgot to say though is that at least two of the cyclists that got ran over were in the wrong. So you could say it wasn't the SUV or Pickup driver's fault. I remember once I had to slam on the brakes when I was driving a full sized bus just to avoid running over a cyclist that ran a red light... in front of my bus.

[Autobahnschleicher]

Originally Posted by Phase

it was cold and clearly you havent seen how crazy oregon drivers drive. especially with legal weed and all drugs decriminilized, including meth, cocaine, and heroine. there are bike deaths almost every day here in the state. id rather jog on a side walk than ride a bike on public american roads

Isn't driving on drugs still illegal?
Doesn't the police do anything about that?

Either way, for such short trips I don't usualy get the car out unless there is a good reason for me to do so.

[Autobahnschleicher]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Bikes are speed-matched to pedestrians more so than cars.

Not realy, a pedestrian moves at 3-5 km/h typicly.
A cyclist moves at 15-30 km/h in flat land typicly, with the increasingly popular E-bikes going 25 km/h.
That's 3-10x the speed.

In residential areas or cities, cars go 30-50 km/h.
Meaning they are 1-3,3 times as fast as cyclists.

In addition to that, visibility on sidewalks is notoriously bad, making it less safe to cross roads or driveways there.
The safest place to ride on a road without dedicated cycling infrastructure is in the middle of the lane.
This gets you out of the door-zone, increases visibility and prevents close passing.

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher

Isn't driving on drugs still illegal?
Doesn't the police do anything about that?

Hah!

I was recently in Detroit. There, many vehicles smell strongly of weed, or have visible smoke rolling out of the windows while people are driving. Perhaps 1 in 10 vehicles simply does not have a license/registration plate on the car. Around 1 in 3 drivers in the area does not have the legally required insurance.

I would wager the police let these things go, because:
1) They risk their lives by stopping someone for a traffic citation, and
2) There is so much crime that they have to prioritize other things.

[Autobahnschleicher]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Hah!

I was recently in Detroit. There, many vehicles smell strongly of weed, or have visible smoke rolling out of the windows while people are driving. Perhaps 1 in 10 vehicles simply does not have a license/registration plate on the car. Around 1 in 3 drivers in the area does not have the legally required insurance.

I would wager the police let these things go, because:
1) They risk their lives by stopping someone for a traffic citation, and
2) There is so much crime that they have to prioritize other things.

Isn't the police over there already equiped with military style equipment?
Also given the amount of fatalaties, it would seem like action needs to be taken.
Plus the fines for the drivers would likely be quite the revenue source for the city as well...

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher

Isn't the police over there already equiped with military style equipment?
Also given the amount of fatalaties, it would seem like action needs to be taken.
Plus the fines for the drivers would likely be quite the revenue source for the city as well...

Certainly, but they get in trouble when they opt to "shoot first, ask questions later". Many American citizens are also equipped with military style equipment and believe "laws" are for other people.

Parts of the US are close to lawless.

[Autobahnschleicher]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Certainly, but they get in trouble when they opt to "shoot first, ask questions later". Many American citizens are also equipped with military style equipment and believe "laws" are for other people.

Parts of the US are close to lawless.

Not to be rude or political, but why are seemingly so many people over there batsh*t insane?

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher

Not to be rude or political, but why are seemingly so many people over there batsh*t insane?

I haven't figured that out myself.

I'd guess it has to do with the long cultural history we have that an individual's wants and beliefs supersede the collective agreement. That, and there isn't a whole lot of trust in the government, which is often seen as a separate ruling class.

I believe we're getting off into the weeds though. Things are as they are, for better or for worse. Point being, it's sometimes dangerous to cycle, and enforcement of laws is spotty.