• Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    without realizing that to a pedestrian, you on your bike are just as deadly as a car.

    Statistically, that’s not true. A car at any speed can kill a pedestrian or cyclist. For a cyclist to kill a pedestrian, which is exceedingly rare, it would take a lot of speed and bad luck to result in a fatality. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of a cyclist killing a pedestrian at a stop sign.

    But to be clear, I don’t advocate for cyclists blowing through stops when there are pedestrians around, since that’s obviously not obeying the right of way. I aim to be a defensive and respectful rider when I’m on my bike.

    But I would still like to see more enforcement of stop rules being applied to motorists (and not cyclists on empty roads), since they really are responsible for the vast majority of catastrophic injury and death for pedestrians and cyclists.

    At the same time, we can’t ignore that far too many pedestrians put themselves at risk, so everyone has some personal responsibility here.

    • Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      Everyone keeps talking about how bikes can’t hurt pedestrians, meanwhile my wife’s aunt has permanent brain damage cause she got hit by a cyclist.

      • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m really sorry to hear that.

        Bikes CAN hurt pedestrians, but it’s statistically rare compared to injuries/death caused by cars. E-bikes increase the risk significantly, though.

        It also illustrates that proper infrastructure is needed, since an accident like that shouldn’t even happen. In some areas around here, we have split trails, which separate (by several meters and bushes) cyclists and pedestrians.

        However, there are often pedestrians strolling on the cyclist side, or cyclists on the pedestrian side, and that’s just dangerous for everyone. I honestly don’t know why simple routes are so difficult for some people to follow.