Many people hate this change, by the way. It scares them that an attitude they used to be able to joke about in a positive way is now something they have to hide. It makes them angry that they have to invest effort and attention for the benefit of people they feel opposed to. It's easy for progressives to simply see it as "progress" and not realize that it leaves a lot of people feeling like losers.
They may also associate cycling with children, and get mad in the same way that they'd get mad if they caught their own kids playing mumblety peg with the chainsaw. The kids don't deserve to get injured, but you're mad at them nonetheless.
But once people gain a reasonable level of comfort riding a bike on roads, they're still scared of hitting a cyclist while driving a car, but less likely to think the cyclist is being inherently stupid by riding on the road.
Speaking from personal experience, as a driver I absolutely hate cyclists. Weaving through traffic at speeds slower than the vehicles they cut off, no indication of intended lane changes, running of compulsory stops, shortcuts across footpaths only to pull out in front of vehicles that have right-of-way. I've seen them push their bikes through red lights, to avoid the "but you rode through a red light so you're in the wrong" legal consequence they might face if hit. There was one group of adults and children who overtook me on the side I was indicating and moving to turn, once. That's most illegal here, and I nearly hit them. (They blamed me, but the police blamed them when I phoned the complaint in. "If you ever see that again, have your passenger phone us and you follow them, so we can have a chat with them about safe road use.")
Then there are the times I was a pedestrian. I've been crossing the road at a controlled intersection at one particular location for several years, and in that time I've nearly been hit by a car once. I'm nearly hit by cyclists running red lights there at least once a month, usually a lot more often than that.
One particularly stupid individual on a bike was doing about 45mph on the footpath, cutting blind corners very closely. Nearly hit me three days in a row, and if he had I would have been hospitalized just because of the speed he was doing - stupid little %@#! went on Facebook and started bitching about how a pedestrian had been in his way, I later heard, even though he was riding illegally.
Another one - who should be nominated for an honorary Darwin Award - was trying to squeeze between two parked buses. Had my friend (the driver) not noticed, the cyclist would have been crushed to death.
Why do I hate them? Unpredictability. Many of them are car drivers (weather extremes in my town make year-round cycling a rather miserable affair) who know they shouldn't be doing these things, but they don't care because how will anybody track them down if they don't have plates?
I'm not going suggesting that all cyclists are like this by any means, nor am I going to get into drivers because that would be off topic. I'm simply trying to add a little perspective as to why drivers may dislike cyclists. I am very much in favor of physically separated spaces for cyclists (although how controlled intersections would work is a topic I leave for civil engineers and law enforcement).
Everything from not checking for pedestrians (or cyclists) when turning, not indicating when turning, using a mobile phone whilst driving, trying to squeeze their giant SUV into tiny gaps, changing lanes every 20 metres because they think it will get them "ahead".
There aren't rare occurrences - but things that are illegal - yet the majority of drivers do them (in Sydney), because being an aggressive driver is seen as "normal".
I've even asked friends - one of which has had two accidents related to mobile phone use - why do you talk on the phone? Apparently they consider it a badge of bridge that they're "good enough drivers that they can text and drive"...
And let's be realistic - unless you have a deathwish, most cyclist aren't going to take needless risks. When was the last time you saw a cyclist try and text and ride? Unlike a car, you don't have airbags, or slabs of metal, or crumple zones.
Yet drivers have all of those, and so yes, they do act with more impunity.
Also - when was the last time you saw the headline "Cyclist maims SUV driver in brutal collision"?
However, I absolutely agree with you that unpredicatbility is very bad.
In fact, that's exactly why cyclists ride on the road, and don't weave in/out on footpaths. You pick a straight line, and a constant speed, and stick to it, ignoring all the loutish drivers who beep at you for not riding on the footpath.
I see it damn near every day here in Japan. Often with an umbrella in the other hand... Also lots of people biking wearing earbuds. Different culture though, I guess. The roads people bike on here are probably a lot slower than in Sydney though, and most biking is on mixed-use sidewalks.
A major difference between the US and the netherlands is the infrastructure. Dutch infrastructure makes it possible for people to do that without it being an incredible lethal endevour.
Few years ago, when I lived in Cambridge, I saw someone cycling with their phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other (i.e. no hands on the handlebars). Some cyclists certainly do take stupid risks.
> "Cyclist maims SUV driver in brutal collision"?
May not happen often, but it can.
You cited a single example of somebody using their phone on a bike, several years ago - and yes, I agree, that was a pretty silly risk (and I hope that person is OK, and didn't do it again).
How often do you see a driver of a car using their phone?
I see it several times every single day in Sydney. I'm pretty sure most people would be lying if they told me they didn't see it either.
Heck, if you want stats - sure, here's the CDC and NHTSA's info on distracted driving:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/in...
Car drivers often don't like to be confronted with how bad a driver they are - but the statistics don't lie. We as humans are shockingly bad at driving (and I drive as well, and I'm well aware of my limitations).
And regarding your SUV vs bike example, may not happen often? I think that's stretching the rules of incredulity. I'm not going to make any assumptions about your background (e.g. you may not have a technical background). - and I don't have a physics background either - but I believe the basic equation is:
F = m * a
So you take a 2,000 kg SUV.
And a 8 kg bicycle, combined with a 65 kg person = 73 kg.
Even if they were travelling with the same acceleration (doubtful) - the SUV would impart around 30 times the force on the cyclist versus the other way.
Often. I've also seen a cyclist using a laptop while riding. Yes on the street.
I'm a pretty good cyclist, I commute every day, but even I would probably struggle to use a laptop whilst riding...
I mean, a bike has two wheels, if you stop holding the handlebars, you kinda...topple over?
On the flipside - cars make it pretty easy to use your phone (or heck, laptop, as you say).
I see drivers using their phones several times every single day in Sydney. I'm pretty sure most people would be lying if they told me they didn't see it either.
The CDC and NHTSA's has webpages devoted to this trend:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/in...
We're talking several thousand deaths and several hundred thousand injuries every year in the US.
the trick to driving without using your hands on the handlebars is to simply keep enough speed to not fall over. This way you can steer a bit by moving your weight left or right from your saddle.
Somebody has to have thought of putting up a video camera and measuring the prevalence of law / safety violations among cyclists, but to the best of my knowledge nobody has bothered with this, instead hoping that anecdotes and "studies" will somehow shed light on the situation.
Speaking as a cyclist, if cyclists are regularly behaving as recklessly as you describe, I'd be the first to join in protesting and embarrassing them.
What I've noticed is that the crimes of both motorists and cyclists are crimes of convenience and opportunity. For instance it would be hard for a car to squeeze between two buses, but likewise, nearly impossible for a cyclist to ride as far above the speed limit as every car that goes past my house. At least, my own legs aren't that good. ;-)
Try it, see what it's like from the other side, it might change your thinking a little.
The big difference is cars kill people, bikes usually don't. If a driver is careless around a cyclist, the cyclist dies. If a cyclist is careless around a car, the cyclist dies.
I get the point you're trying to make, but if you read that out of context, it sounds a lot like an apt comparison to what parts of society have been going through with racism (or sexism, or...). It may leave a lot of people "feeling like losers" but to put it bluntly, when a group of people are flat out wrong, such 'side effects' can happen, and I'm not sure that's such a bad thing...
https://www.bikelaw.com/2011/10/s-c-driver-convicted-of-felo...
"Throughout the country, cycling deaths are regularly dismissed by law enforcement as mere traffic ‘accidents.’ But often they are not accidental, the needless fatalities are tragic consequences of reckless driving and lawless drivers."
Just last week, a vehicle appeared to slow down for me to cross the road, and just as I began to proceed, he gunned his engine and forced me to make a panic stop.
Also, I've had things thrown at me on more than one occasion.
Yes, violence by motorists against cyclists is a thing. Even if it's just a threat or a joke, it's still assault.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1015448839242164...
I do a lot of long-distance biking in Asia during my vacations and I consistently feel much safer there than in the US (I've done more cycling in China, but also Japan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Taiwan, and other places). A big part of this has to do with the fact that there are just so many people on bikes, tricycles, and other low-speed vehicles that it's hard for drivers to not notice. And nobody will ever curse at you for riding a bicycle. It's an extremely normal thing to do for the masses.