Some interesting stuff here, including links to more studies showing similar results in different countries.
The summary is that the reason motorists break more laws is that speeding is so common.
I don’t think this is because motorists are all evil and cyclists are all saints. Probably, the reason motorists break speed limits is that it can be relatively difficult to keep cars below the speed limit. It’s all too easy to absentmindedly speed up. It’s also, perhaps becuase of this, widely seen as socially acceptable to break the speed limit (speaking anecdotally).
One interesting thing here, which may not surprise regular readers of Fuck Cars, is that better cycling infrastructure leads to less lawbreaking by cyclists. As is often the case, it’s the design of roads and cities that changes behaviour, not abstract appeals to road users to be sensible!
bikers need a driving license
edit: kinda offtopic, but cyclists are as annoying
I find distracted drivers annoying. Also the 10s of thousands of people vehicles kill every year annoying. The cars that drift into my bike lane and nearly kill me are annoying. Your stupid comment is annoying. Just fucking deal with your pathetic annoyance and let’s focus on the ones that actually harm people.
I find distracted drivers annoying.
This. Almost got hit by one the other night who swerved away at the last second (no sidewalk for me to bail to sadly). Having bright lights, wearing reflective clothing and riding cautiously can’t save you from drivers not paying attention
So, your comments here are kind of confusing. If I understand you right, you’re making a distinction between motorbikes (which as the name suggests have a motor) and pushbikes (AKA bicycles - the kind of thing you pedal). This study is about bicycles, not motorbikes.
As to licences, most jurisdictions do require motorcyclists to have a licence, either a full driving licence or a specialist motorbike licence (sometimes both).
Cyclists do not require a licence. While of course they do have the capacity to be ‘annoying’ (because they’re human beings), bicycles are both much simpler to pilot and much safer than either motorbikes or cars. In other words, while cyclists are annoying, motorists are dangerous. There’s a qualitative difference.
if cyclists dont have dedicated lanes somewhere, they need to have a license of some sort, ‘specialist’ cyclist, driving bicycle license, anything, to keep traffic in order
A common argument raised around here, is how will kids cycle to school if licenses are needed? Their parents are likely to drive them instead, creating more traffic, and the kids lose out on that exercise and freedom of mobility.
If their parents can’t drive them or afford to own a car it’s tough luck, that kid loses out on an education 🤷♂️
@zoe @frankPodmore Driving licences and traffic lights were invented because car drivers were too dangerous to safely mix with existing road traffic and we needed to restrain them. Bicycles have never been a significant danger to other road traffic. We don’t require licences for people to ride bicycles for the same reason we don’t require licences for pedestrians, it’s a ridiculous idea that would do nothing useful.
Over here in germany you can lose your drivers license if you violate traffic laws while riding your bike and that is probably sufficient.
also i hate bikers with modded akrapovic exhausts, thats just stupid (straight piped bikes also)…the whole brand and concept is stupid
exactly that was my point. some bikers dont handle their bikes as cars, they just keep slipping between lanes and hitting pedestrations covered by blind angles. that needs to stop
No one disagrees that rule breakers need to stop. But licensing doesn’t look like it’d help, considering drivers are licensed and break more rules than cyclists.