05-06-2018, 02:02 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-06-2018, 02:04 PM by danbrotherston.)
(05-06-2018, 11:30 AM)tomh009 Wrote:(05-06-2018, 11:19 AM)clasher Wrote: I think this region is full of terrible drivers that are just rude to anyone on the road. Just the other day I saw a big-rig wave a car through, then he looked at me and waved me through the intersection of Bridge and Woolwich during rush hour when it's pretty tough to cross, so it's not all shitheads out there behind the wheel.
Based on my personal experience, I really think the vast majority of drivers (and bicyclists) in the region are decent and courteous, but as always there are some bad apples mixed in, and of course those are the ones we remember.
You're absolutely right that the majority of drivers are courteous and helpful. But even courteous drivers can create problems.
Some seriously large percentage of drivers (anywhere from 20-80% depending on the study) drive distracted. They don't think they're doing anything dangerous, but they are, and they're still putting everyone's lives in danger. Those are still "courteous helpful drivers". The same goes for speeding (heck, I speed plenty when driving), not signaling, etc.
Some drivers are even helpful to a fault. As a cyclist, it is extremely dangerous and frustraing when drivers stop in the middle of an intersection or road to try and let me turn left or to cross when I don't have the right of way...I don't know if they're slowing down for another reason, or if traffic will go around them (or just in the other lane), yet these drivers are doing their very best to be courteous and helpful yet in doing so are creating a more dangerous situation.
Humans are never going to be perfect, which is why it's a bad idea to design a system which assumes we can be perfect.
The second issue, is, as you pointed out, one of perception. We're naturally inclined to place greater weight on bad interactions. It makes sense evolutionarily: you only get to die once. On our ride the other day, my partner and I were bullied by a driver who felt that we shouldn't be turning left off of the road we were on. This really spooked us, and we spent some time at the side of the road calming down. While there, at least 5 different drivers pulled over and asked if we needed any help. One even offered us a ride. Yet, the story here is still that one driver who bullied us off the road. And after all, it only takes one bad driver to end a life.
Which really just goes back to the first point. Our transportation system should not be designed with humans being a single point of failure.
Certainly, as Canard points out, it does help when people use all modes of transportation, this, I think, is a small contributor to why cycling in the Netherlands is so safe, it would be nice if there were components of drivers ed which required vehicle drivers to use other modes.