• Black History MonthEnglish
    -6•3 days ago

    They’ve done studies with motorcycles and a big problem we need to overcome is: For some reason our brains ignore people on bikes sometimes. It sounds silly but it’s a real thing I promise. I support anything anti car related, but any Bike lane shouldn’t come within 50 ft of a road cars use. The mainstream trend of all cars bad lends too much ammunition to the pro car crowd. It’s not pretty or satisfying but it’s true. It’s a nash equilibrium and there’s only so much we can do.

    Edit: Just putting this here for google. Working towards a car free world is going to be a ton of work. Our efforts here are focused on appeasing the car centrists. I want independent bike lanes away from heavy machinery and toxic exhaust chemicals. I want the cars we do have to use, relegated to roads where their bulk and fumes aren’t affecting anyone. Picking a fight with anyone not towing the party line is stupid, and should be below this community.

    • ZoeEnglish
      17•4 days ago

      “Mainstream trend of all cars bad” which mainstream is that? Because last I checked Australia, Canada, the US and the UK are all still extremely car centric. This also completely ignores the fact that it is car centrism that causes the disregard for pedestrians and people on bikes. Finland and Denmark certainly don’t seem to have an abundance of poeple developing bike blindness and they have mixed traffic zones all over the place.

      • Black History MonthEnglish
        0•3 days ago

        Your logic is pretty silly. By that same beat we must really like work and paying taxes. I dont know any ‘car centrists’ in my daily, but maybe you do.

    • @[email protected]English
      15•4 days ago

      No evidence for my claim, however I think a lot of the not noticing bikes while driving is just an expectations thing. People expect large metal boxes with 4+ wheels barreling down the place. They don’t expect something smaller, with fewer wheels, and in some cases completely silent. Because they don’t expect it, they don’t process it.

      What’s this mean? Well, for one it means we don’t simply “ignore” people on bikes. That’s a facet of our limited attention and expectations. It also means this trend can be changed. If we condition people to expect and look out for bikes/motorcycles, people will probably be FAR less likely to not see them.

      • [email protected]OPEnglish
        14•4 days ago

        You are absolutelt right. There is at least a study that proved that drivers who also use bicycles are better at noticing stuff. The rationale would be that if you are also a cyclist you know thst the road is not only used by cars.

        If you are interested I can problably find that study.

      • @FireRetardantEnglish
        7•4 days ago

        Having infrastructure like a bike lane can help with this. If you see a bike lane, it is reasonable to assume a bike may be using it. This can help keep you looking for bikes at intersections.

      • Black History MonthEnglish
        2•3 days ago

        People below you just continue the circlejerk, but I’ll address you directly. Yes, if we throw a ton of effort at training drivers to also use bikes, and expect this effect to hold as strong outside a study environment - it could work. People really do just ignore bikers though. Even bikers did it.

    • @vzqEnglish
      7•4 days ago

      I CAN’T HELP IT UR HONOR! MY BRAIN JUST DOESN’T SEE BIKES! IT’S SIMPLE BIOLOGY REALLY!

      • @[email protected]English
        2•3 days ago

        Your honor I was suffering from car-fluenza which my highly paid personal doctor will testify is a real medical condition.

    • @[email protected]English
      3•3 days ago

      The reaosn people.ignore.bikes is because they’re off in the shoulder. Ive had much more space given to me by cars when I take the lane (riding where the car’s left tire runs in the road).

      Bicyclests would be safer if they took motorcycle courses and learned how to ride to be seen.