Bicycle Austin forum

BikesDontBelongOnRoads

Member

Registered: 2009-04-08

Posts: 1

Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

Bikes should be banned from all Texas roads.  In today's world, with massively large vehicles on the road, bikes are equivalent to toys.  Children should ride bicycles on sidewalks, playgrounds and back yards; adults need to get off the roads and out of the way.

Bicycles (and motorcycles) are to automobiles like like oil is to water . . . 

Two separate cyclists did stupid things in years past in front of my car (a sedan and not a gas-hog SUV) and they both ended up in the hospital.  If they had been off the roads, where they belonged, and not pulled out in front of my vehicle, neither of them would have had to undergone all those surgeries.

I felt bad about both of their injuries, but they gave me no time to react.

And if they had been in a automobile, their irresponsible actions would have ended up in a fender bender, not a life-threatening accident.

Get the toys off the road. 

They simply don't belong there.

dougmc

Administrator

Registered: 2008-06-01

Posts: 631

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

A good troll has a certain amount of ... subtlety.
Troll fail.

mesgdesign

Member

From: Austin

Registered: 2009-04-09

Posts: 1

Website

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

I agree, they aren't compatible. I guess we're just gonna have to come take your car away.

tomwald

Moderator

From: 78722

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 290

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

Considering the hundreds of thousands of people in Austin who on occasion use a bicycle, I think you'll need a more thorough argument.  The reality is that bicycles are much more practical than other options for many people.  Many people simply cannot drive a car (1/3-2/3 of people).

Keep in mind that we would also need to severely curtail or eliminate walking and numerous other common activities to bring about the car-only utopia you are suggesting.  Make a thorough plan for how you would propose eliminate public walking and then present it to us.

You mention "toy" a couple of times, so I would like to note that most people who buy cars will spend most of their money on a car just for appearances and for cool extras above and beyond the practical need they fulfilling with a car.  In addition, many people have found that spending money on cars is usually an excessive/wasteful use of financial and other resources.  Why buy a sledgehammer when a manual hammer will do?  It's traditionally un-American to promote such waste without added utility and that's why we've seen and will continue to see a decline in automobile use as more people see how their household and taxpayer money is used to provide a wasteful solution to the need of mobility.  I don't think it's really fair to ask your fellow citizens to waste their own money just because you choose to drive a car.  Indeed bicycles can be toys -- just as much as cars can be -- but for tens of millions of people in the US, bicycles provide an essential and practical means of transportation.

Ironically, despite the shield of armor surrounding _most_ motor vehicles, bicyclists fare about as well as motorists & their passengers regarding injuries and fatalities.  Your situation seems to represent a strange coincidence of collisions and should not be extrapolated to drive public policy.

Perhaps an ongoing, in-person public dialogue about your ideas would be helpful?  You seem to think that your views are very important and that you would like to see them taken seriously.  If you're interested, I can help arrange such a forum.  It would help if you could articulate your point(s) a little more, so I recommend coming prepared.  Note that you can contact me via my e-mail address which is given here (to the left) on the web forum.

chuckthomas

Member

From: North Austin (Rundberg)

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 80

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

So what is your solution to oil dependence, obesity, congestion, pollution, road rage and mounting road maintenance costs?  You really need to wake up.

pueblonative

Member

Registered: 2009-04-11

Posts: 5

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

Smells like a troll looks like a troll is a troll.

roadhouse

Member

Registered: 2009-10-15

Posts: 2

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

doesn't sound like a troll at all, sounds like someone who just knows nothing of bikes and how people who ride think. the op may just be venting about his/her personal experiences with riders and that's fine and dandy, but a troll? nah,  that'd be the easy way out.

my two cents.

pgraff99

Member

Registered: 2009-10-16

Posts: 1

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

Wow, should I dignify this post with a response.  Acutally, I guess we all understand the mentality since we're mostly all drivers as well as riders.  But it all depends on your perspective/prejudice/outlook -- whether your driving or riding a bike.  Consider the example of a bass fisherman and a waterskier in a quiet cove on Lake Travis.  The skier loves the glassy water in the cove and the fisherman likes the fishability of the area.  Each could say "You don't belong, get the heck out of here".  Both pay taxes that help maintain the lake.  The ski boat is bigger and faster.  The bass boat is smaller and less obtrusive.  The ski boat scares away the fish; the bass boat get in the way of the skier.  Not really convenient for either.

Who's the lake made for?  Both.

Motorists mostly hate riders on the road because they are sometimes a little inconvenienced.  Life is not  always convenient, but that's no excuse to act like a savage.

Help us out.  I just started a new advocacy and I'm trying to get the word out.  http://www.politeandright.org

Thanks for listening.
-Paul

InvisibleRobot

Member

From: south east austin

Registered: 2010-02-25

Posts: 11

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

in a sideways manner i understand the original posters irritation and agree that there are some bike riders and motorcycle riders that are horrible, discourteous and unsafe, but this is much more true of cars since an auto screwing around on the road such as some kids "swanging-going across all lanes of traffic back and forth like a drunk" has the potential for multiple fatalities including themselves and others while a cyclist is more likely to kill themselves only if theyre weaving or running lights.
Ideally if traffic laws were followed and cars respected cyclists and vice versa there would not be an issue like the poster speaks of

kenblueswell76

Member

Registered: 2010-03-28

Posts: 1

Re: Modern Vehicles and Bikes Are NOT Compatible

get the cars off the road!!!