On Monday, February 6, 2023 at 6:35:34 AM UTC-5, Roger Merriman wrote:
> Frank Krygowski <
frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> >
> > As I've been saying, for competent riders, panic braking should be a
> > very, very rare occurrence. The fixation with perfect brakes for panic
> > stops is more "Danger! Danger!" nonsense. It's far more sensible to
> > learn to anticipate problems so there is no panic.
> I don’t think anyone wanting better brakes was thinking of emergency stops.
Oh, we've definitely had those claims! Joerg said here many times that if not for his
excellent brakes he would have died or been severely injured many times.
> And yes they are notable by their rarity, even the example I used only
> happened a few times.
Agreed. If a person has frequent emergency stops, they are doing things very, very wrong.
> >
> >> I remember once several years ago when I had a driver come from behind
> >> me and make a right turn as I was starting across an intersection. I
> >> was on a bike trail running along and very close to the highway. Very
> >> close call, that.
> >
> > That's an absolutely classic right hook, an incident whose chances
> > increase with any segregated bike facility that puts a straight-ahead
> > cyclist to the right of a motorist that may turn right.
> Those will generally be controlled with more modern bike lanes, be that
> separate lights at junctions and so on. That’s not to say some old types
> might still be made but well the ideas in general have moved on.
This may be a difference in British vs. American bike facility practice. I've seen many
hundreds of bike lanes in the U.S. but I've yet to see one over here that has separate traffic
light phases for bikes and cars. The most common is still a bike lane to the right, with
straight-ahead cyclists at risk because of right turning vehicles.
Bike lanes striped within the last several years are more likely to have the last 50 feet
or so of bike lane stripe be dashed, rather than solid. That's intended to convey that
cyclists may move left to lane center to avoid right hooks, and that motorists should,
when clear, merge into the bike lane and turn right from a position close to the curb.
But IME, almost nobody knows that or does that.
Try to imagine another situation where road design encourages turning across the path of
a vehicle going straight. Can you imagine freeway exit ramps designed that way?
> >
> > And that hazard is one that's explained thoroughly in every legitimate
> > bicycling education program. Those programs teach cyclists to be aware
> > of that hazard, and how to avoid that hazard. Example:
> >
https://cyclingsavvy.org/2013/09/preventing-right-hooks-smart-moves-video/
> >
> > But of course, if a person mocks the very idea of learning these things,
> > that person will occasionally need panic braking, and possibly
> > hospitalization. It would be better for that person to ride only on
> > special separate bike trails far removed from traffic.
> >
> > It takes competence to ride on actual roads.
> >
> I’d argue that should be safe for a child etc to ride and cross roads in
> most places to be honest.
"Should be safe" should apply to children who have been taught proper riding techniques
for the roads upon which they ride. And kids should be guided onto only appropriate roads
for their level of competence. It will never be possible to turn wobbly, untrained 6-year-old
beginners loose on busy streets. That's true whether or not those streets have bike lane
markings or not. (Even Amsterdam trains its little kids in proper cycling.)
- Frank Krygowski