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Comment by Mithaldu | Hacker News Reader

As a european biker my theory on the aggressiveness in the debate about bikers in the USA is simply that, due to how traffic laws over there are structured, bikers are much more endangered and have to respond with much more aggressiveness.

As an example: In Germany a biker legally has to keep a minimum distance from parked cars. This often means riding in the middle of the lane, something which german bikers are not only, as in this minimum distance case, forced to, but generally allowed to in every case.

From what friends in the USA tell me, trying to do that is a very quick trip to a hospital.

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Doesn't explain London where I have regularly witnessed cyclists blasting through red lights at 30 mph at major junctions at the height of the rush hour.

I have also see them take short cuts through large groups of pedestrians at only slightly less speed.

I lived in London for 4 years and that is bullshit.

Sorry no I recently worked in proctor street next to Holborn tube you could see 2 or 3 idiot cyclists every day in 5 min just walking across the road to the local café.

Second person challenging your bullshit statement here...

I've lived in London for a total 10 years and I've seen non-boris bike cyclists in Central London regularly do this:

1. Go through red lights. 2. Go through pedestrian crossings at speed whilst pedestrians are actually crossing. 3. Cycle the wrong way on a road. 4. Cycle across crossings when the lights favour them. 5. Cycle on pavements (only young children should be allowed to do this). 6. Cycle in bus only lanes ignoring the bus behind them. 7. Weave in-between traffic. 8. Undertake.

I'm a pedestrian btw... not someone who drives in London, and without a doubt cyclists make more dangerous actions that a pedestrian has to be wary of than drivers.

Having to be aware of cars/trucks/buses doesn't excuse a cyclists responsibility to be aware of pedestrians first.

My understanding in the US is that riding on the sidewalks is illegal, and that cyclists must ride in the road to follow the law (I am not a cyclist).

I can only speak for my state (South Carolina) but that is absolutely true, but rarely enforced. I've had several accidents and near misses pulling out of my driveway and bumping into people biking down the sidewalk. They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around.

> They were always at fault, but at the same time the street they should have been riding on is a major thoroughfare downtown and has speeds of 25-35 MPH with no bike lane. You really cannot expect everyone to be able to bike anywhere near that fast, but then you wind up with folks going a few MPH on a bike and holding up traffic. It's just a terrible situation all around.

This is a major problem in Houston as well. I think cyclists are generally disliked here because the road system is just not at all designed to accommodate them. There are a lot of roads with 30-40 mph speeds, no bike lanes, and sidewalks that are very popular for walkers (plus it's illegal to ride a bike on them). A cyclist has the choice of either biking on the sidewalk, thereby endangering pedestrians, or biking on the road, thereby causing a small traffic jam and forcing all the cars to switch lanes.

Riding on sidewalks is legal in Seattle.

In my (smaller, 80k pop) city, we actually have paved bike paths separated from the road, however cyclists choose to ride in the street anyway.

this is highly variable. in philadelphia, it's illegal in center city where pedestrian density is highest, but legal elsehere in the city. this means cyclists starting their journey in a legal zone may tend to just continue what they're doing, especially as the zone change isn't marked.

> From what friends in the USA tell me, trying to do that is a very quick trip to a hospital.

It's still safer, but you might get someone who is less-informed yelling/honking at you. Then again, I don't bike in the 'burbs either.

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