But isn’t your conclusion way more dangerous than actually driving the deadly metal-box yourself? Being a pedestrian or, even worse, cyclist, you’re a highly vulnerable squishy flesh-thingy surrounded by deadly murder-boxes.
Perhaps but it’s counter productive to just get bigger and bigger vehicles in order to be “safer” and crush everything else around. It’s a race to the bottom to which I do not wish to participate. At least where I live we are “lucky” enough to have multiple abandoned railways in the countryside that have been turned into bike trails, so I generally use these. I can cycle to my parents’ using two bike trails, without cars, for 140 km. Otherwise I specifically moved in a city with good bike and transit infrastructure (Montreal) so that I don’t need to drive a giant lethal metal box that pollutes and takes space.
Anyway because I think cars are insane and avoid them at all costs, my chances of dying while I’m inside one are lower than someone using one daily. It’s also one less deadly machine on the road. I’m not getting in a car to go to the grocery store or to go run errands. I’m not getting in a car every day to go to work. When I cycle it’s usually on dedicated infrastructure, on in bike lanes.
From my point of view, even if I have to mix with cars sometimes while cycling, even if I fear for my life and wish people driving cars would be more careful while passing, it’s usually an exception, and I feel much safer at 20 km/h on “my” dedicated bike path than sitting in a car surrounded by other cars and trucks.
OK sure, if you have the infrastructure for bikes, it’s the better choice most of the time.
Here we totally do not have those. Some streets have a bike-lane, but only for a short while and the street would be the least place I’d like to drive.
As you said, people aren’t that careful with cyclists and I’d be highly vulnerable.
Dedicated bike-lanes that are NOT on a “normal” road, I’ve yet to see there (that are more than just some alibi)
In the city it’s actually even more feasible for bikes than rural. Simply because traffic is mostly standing still or extremely slow. But rural is a nightmare. People drive like total arses. It’s mostly 100kmh limit on bad visibility curvy narrow roads and locals rarely even stay below that max speed. Even at night. It’s dangerous to drive a car there, let alone a bike. We have a house in a nice forest far away from people, but we’d shit our pants in a bike there. Locals are thinking that the road belongs to them alone. Usually it’s “ok”, as you rarely ever see other people, but when you do, they, too, drive like maniacs and then you meet on said narrow road in a tight curve at night…
Our neighbors, the dutch, have it waaaaaaay better. A bike would be really really useful there. Lanes all the time, people respect bikes and are more careful, if they even meet. That’s awesome. We are in bike-midage…
Perhaps but it’s counter productive to just get bigger and bigger vehicles in order to be “safer” and crush everything else around. It’s a race to the bottom to which I do not wish to participate. At least where I live we are “lucky” enough to have multiple abandoned railways in the countryside that have been turned into bike trails, so I generally use these. I can cycle to my parents’ using two bike trails, without cars, for 140 km. Otherwise I specifically moved in a city with good bike and transit infrastructure (Montreal) so that I don’t need to drive a giant lethal metal box that pollutes and takes space.
Anyway because I think cars are insane and avoid them at all costs, my chances of dying while I’m inside one are lower than someone using one daily. It’s also one less deadly machine on the road. I’m not getting in a car to go to the grocery store or to go run errands. I’m not getting in a car every day to go to work. When I cycle it’s usually on dedicated infrastructure, on in bike lanes.
From my point of view, even if I have to mix with cars sometimes while cycling, even if I fear for my life and wish people driving cars would be more careful while passing, it’s usually an exception, and I feel much safer at 20 km/h on “my” dedicated bike path than sitting in a car surrounded by other cars and trucks.
OK sure, if you have the infrastructure for bikes, it’s the better choice most of the time. Here we totally do not have those. Some streets have a bike-lane, but only for a short while and the street would be the least place I’d like to drive. As you said, people aren’t that careful with cyclists and I’d be highly vulnerable. Dedicated bike-lanes that are NOT on a “normal” road, I’ve yet to see there (that are more than just some alibi)
In the city it’s actually even more feasible for bikes than rural. Simply because traffic is mostly standing still or extremely slow. But rural is a nightmare. People drive like total arses. It’s mostly 100kmh limit on bad visibility curvy narrow roads and locals rarely even stay below that max speed. Even at night. It’s dangerous to drive a car there, let alone a bike. We have a house in a nice forest far away from people, but we’d shit our pants in a bike there. Locals are thinking that the road belongs to them alone. Usually it’s “ok”, as you rarely ever see other people, but when you do, they, too, drive like maniacs and then you meet on said narrow road in a tight curve at night…
Our neighbors, the dutch, have it waaaaaaay better. A bike would be really really useful there. Lanes all the time, people respect bikes and are more careful, if they even meet. That’s awesome. We are in bike-midage…
Exactly. If we “arm up”, everyone would be driving these despicable large land ships like in the USA.