There is something about bicyclists, and especially skaters, that leads to active hostility from drivers.
On at least two occasions, I've had cars purposely try to hit me when I was skating. I know it was on purpose because in one case the driver said "you're not a vehicle" as he came within inches of hitting me, and in another case the driver, completely unprovoked, began cursing loudly and tried to run me off the road.
You might argue that the first one didn't actively "want" to hit me, but he certainly wouldn't have cared if he did.
> Cars and bikes don't mix except when cars are going bicycle speed.
I wouldn't want to get hit by a car going 15 mph. Or even 1 mph. So I would say cars and bikes don't really mix at all, especially since many drivers are either actively hostile to bikers and skaters, or indifferent about hitting them.
> I wouldn't want to get hit by a car going 15 mph.
Agreed, f=ma and the car has 10x the mass of you and your bike.
I meant that if they are moving at the same rate then accidents are much less likely. Even when it's just cars and no bikes, if most cars are moving at 80 km/h then a car moving at 20 km/h creates much higher risk of accidents.
It takes a lot more than just separating the trafic in different lanes. The whole climate is getting harsher between humans. We are experts of dehumanisation of our fellow humans.
The "you're not a vehicle" stuff is pretty amusing considering that bikes are, actually, legally classified as vehicles in the US and you can get ticketed while riding one. (I have also been yelled at for the same reason.)
On at least two occasions, I've had cars purposely try to hit me when I was skating. I know it was on purpose because in one case the driver said "you're not a vehicle" as he came within inches of hitting me, and in another case the driver, completely unprovoked, began cursing loudly and tried to run me off the road.
You might argue that the first one didn't actively "want" to hit me, but he certainly wouldn't have cared if he did.
> Cars and bikes don't mix except when cars are going bicycle speed.
I wouldn't want to get hit by a car going 15 mph. Or even 1 mph. So I would say cars and bikes don't really mix at all, especially since many drivers are either actively hostile to bikers and skaters, or indifferent about hitting them.