Raise the Hammer

Seancb, that's where kevlahan's bike boxes come in. I've also seen something I like in the Meadowlands (to my dismay) the bike lane is left of the right turn lane...as it should be.

I don't have a double standard when it comes to cycling on the roadway. From a driver's perspective he gets pissed off if after having just passed said cyclist he must do so again. I'd much rather stay behind you until there's a safe opportunity and pass PROPERLY than have to pass you three or four times in a km because you pass a line of cars everytime you get to a stoplight. That'd be some of what contributes to a drivers aversion to cyclists.

Also, you keep talking about empirical evidence...yet when someone else uses empirical evidence you tell them off. The only reason's vehicles kill others is because of inattentiveness on the part of drivers not because they're inherently more dangerous. A car in the right hands is just as safe in fact probably more so than a cycle. I'd like to see evidence supporting the fact that cyclists get killed while both vehicles are following the rules of the road. The fact is you probably won't find them. My point is this...you claim that vehicles kill people and therefore they're responsible for the problem when it's equally possible that unpredictable moves on the part of cyclists cause the very accident that kills them. Granted if you're in your bike lane and I hit you, that's my fault...but then again, if I'm paying attention I wouldn't be in your bike lane would I? It's not the cars that kill the people it's the stupid drivers in the cars that kill people. Just like it's the stupid cyclists that piss drivers off on the road and cause the very aversion you're now trying to overcome.

You're incorrect however about the mileage thing. I'm not talking individually. We're talking MODES of transport not types...i.e. car/bus/truck vs cycle - motor powered wheels versus human powered wheels (I sure hope you don't walk on the road). Also I'm not talking about a person.....I'm talking vehicles. So think a bus not the people on the bus. If it wasn so inaccurate, there wouldn't have been any studies on it...

As far as jumping out of planes...sure. Statistics show that's it the safest way to travel...DOWN! Unfortunately you can't skydive UP. And if I'm comparing heights...I wouldn't think that skydiving would be safe to change the light on the outside porch...no time for the chute to open. Also...fatalities due to ladder falls anyone?

As an aside, someone here was saying that people on the sidewalk are afraid of cyclists but that's better than getting killed by a car... Neither is good and that argument is idiocy. Rules are rules. Sidewalks are for WALKING! hence the name.

My solution? Include a multiuse path in every urban arterial and collector cross section separated by a boulevard. A multiuse path would be separate from the road much like the one along the Welland Canal. It works there...why not here? Put bike lanes everywhere else.