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Re: How many of you own bicycles and make use of them? [message #445199 is a reply to message #445187] Wed, 23 March 2011 07:30 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
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EvilWhiteDragon wrote on Wed, 23 March 2011 05:32

Well, if you have less cars on the roads, they are less often involved in traffic jams, so the air gets cleaner.


I can see why you might think that. But it isn't the case in practice.
10 Cars with no bicycles getting in their way will travel more quickly and spend more time in higher gears. They get to where they are going quicker, so spend less time on the road (polluting for a shorter amount of time), and they travel efficiently (meaning while they are travelling they pollute less).

5 cars stuck behind 5 bicycles are limited to travelling at the speed of the bicycle most of the time (as it is often too dangerous too over-take, or impossible due to shitty sized roads). Those 5 cars will be on the road for twice the amount of time, so they might as well be 10 cars, and they will be crawling along in low gears, polluting the environment even more.

If you had 10 bicycles, then yeah sure... But that isn't going to happen.

Check this out. He might be seen as a nut, but he was convincing enough to stop San Francisco going all "green" with bicycles.

EvilWhiteDragon wrote on Wed, 23 March 2011 05:32


Another argument is that it's easier to fit a lot of bicycles on the road than a lot of cars, and that the road safety for cyclists and pedestrians increases with less cars on the road. A cyclist crashing into another cyclist or pedestrian will have less severe injuries than when a car crashes into a cyclist or pedestrian.



Yeah, I guess you could fit more on the road than cars. Although you can fit more people on a bus than a bike. Plus with busses the state purchases them, so just introduce new greener busses.

Safer with cyclists? Hmm... Our mayor introduced free cycles for the city (or pay if you use them for over x amount of time).
So now instead of safety savvy cyclists with hi-vis jackets and helmets, we now have business men in suits with no hi-vis jackets and no safety helmet cycling to their station/meeting/whatever, or worse still, tourists who have no idea where they are going around London's complicated one-way system. They're a menace. There's no law requiring you to wear a helmet either, so it's not even illegal.

I'm not saying it doesn't work well in other countries, but it's a joke in my city. They should just improve public transport.
To be fair, they have invested in some greener busses, but they also fucked up by re-introducing the dangerous bendy bus, only to have it taken back out of service again. However, the greener busses where then flown around the world to show how awesome they are, epic fail.

EvilWhiteDragon wrote on Wed, 23 March 2011 05:32


Edit:
I got to mention that I know of only two countries in which bicycling feels rather safe: Denmark and the Netherlands. Motorists in these countries are used to people on bicycles and are more aware of the potential dangers I think.

[/quote]

Sure as hell isn't in London.


[Updated on: Wed, 23 March 2011 07:41]

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