Today’s Headlines

“Safety: This could be the big reveal.”

If he wanted to look at it that way, what has happened to New Jersey Transit could be interpreted as the “big reveal” for what has happened to all of New Jersey.

https://larrylittlefield.wordpress.com/2017/12/03/will-new-jerseys-phil-murphy-be-the-first-to-tell-the-truth-about-generation-greed/

Just as the decline of the NYC subway is an early reveal of the direction of New York City.

And Donald Trump’s election is a reveal of the reality of the decline of the United States.

Karen Koslowitz Wants NYC Cyclists to Be Registered and Licensed (Gotham Gazette)

For me, being an NYC cyclist has exposed to me the degree (to the extent I am able to detect it) that I’ve been significantly privliged in so many other aspects of life (and I say this as someone who graduated with 6 figure student debt with no parental assistance). I had not been previously accustomed to having the proverbial boot of power stomped on me (or similarly situated “me’s”)

In this case, this is just people, who don’t ever bike, and don’t like bikes, who wouldn’t dare actually accept feedback and/or input from people who bike (or would like to bike more), looking to exercise authority over people who do. That’s what this is about. We are powerful. You are weak. And you will know your role. And we know this is all a pretext since there are things like facts, studies, statistics, best practices etc . . . These are supposed “liberals” who believe the scientists on climate change (it will effect them), they believe the science on Vaccines (it could effect their family); but when it comes to bikes as a form of mobility — the authoritative science and experts suddenly become “activists” or “fakenews”

Same with the UES originated e-bike crackdown. We all know the safety stats. E-bikes are safe and a net benefit to our streetscape [like the madness of saying these guys are too dangerous on e-bikes but let’s have them drive cars instead reveals the paucity of their argument].

In fact, I’m already experiencing first hand the less safe aspect of forcing delivery people to substitute e-bikes for cars. The formerly always blocked Hoyt bike lane in Brooklyn, which the NYT documented as having more bike traffic then car traffic in the evening rush, has been actually not blocked very often at all. However yesterday, for the first time in months, I saw a minivan, parked on the sidewalk/bikelane outside The Mile End, with a bunch of seamless orders in the front seat. So yah. I’m not so special. The policies that are promulgated aren’t promulgated with my interests in mind. With my class in mind. With my safety or well being in mind (even though as a matter of public policy it should be). I realize this has been a reality for millions of less privileged people than I but only now that have I been able to truly experience what it’s like to be not privileged (in a limited but still important sense) has been a real eye opener (and a bummer).

I’m sure she isn’t proposing registering and licensing cyclist to make more of them ride. Is she proposing to pay for “bikers ed” in the schools, the way there was drivers ed in the schools for many years?

At least she didn’t say “insured.” New York is a no fault state. That means that if bicycles had to be insured, bicyclists would have to pay for all the injuries cause by them being run over by motor vehicles, even when the motor vehicles were at fault. That’s what that is about.

Yes. Further, many (most?) cop bars are run by ex-cops and get protection from cops.

The crazy thing is the other people in that car survived hitting a support pole with only minor injuries at over 100mph. Modern cars are kind of amazing, as long as you stay in them, that is, if you buckle up.

As for the speed: the williamsburg bridge is over a mile long… most any car could get to it’s max speed in well under that distance.

Max speed takes a lot longer than one mile for most cars. Clawing out those last few mph typically takes a few tens of seconds. I’d say 3 to 5 miles is what you need to reach true top speed.

You know, I wish we really did have both drivers-ed and biker-ed in schools. (driver’s ed hasnt been a thing in NYC for a long time now). People will interact better with each other on all sides if they know what it’s like to use all modes.

Those that only drive and can’t bike, or only bike and can’t drive, honestly really suck at understanding and anticipating the other’s actions.

Both skills should be treated like learning how to swim. You gotta do it.

I think a sane middle ground which might gain public support is to have GPS limit cars to the speed limit on local surface streets but not on highways. Four reasons for this. One, you can’t kill pedestrians or cyclists on highways. Two, most highway speed limits in the US are set far too low compared to Europe. Three, in most of the US people do the majority of a trip on highways. Speed limiting them on local streets won’t affect their travel time by much but it will result in much greater pedestrian/cyclist safety. Four, you might encourage some traffic to move from local streets to highways once local speed limits can’t be exceeded.

You are correct, let me revise a bit; any reasonably sized modern car with a reasonably sized engine, say a sedan with 2.4liter 4-banger, can reach a very high speed within 1 mile.

A camry can reach 100mph in about 26 sec.

I have no issues with this. We’ll get to this with the advent of self driving cars soon.

And if we assume the average speed during acceleration is 70 mph because the car will accelerate much more quickly in the beginning, 0 to 100 mph will take about a 1/2 mile. I’d say almost any car made these days can reach 100 mph in a mile.

My understanding is they’re typically designed to make surviving possible at about that speed or a little faster. Perhaps that’s because two cars heading towards each other under typical circumstances will collide at most at about that speed. For example, a car moving at 60mph hitting another moving in the opposite direction head on is the equivalent to a car hitting a stationary object at 120 mph.

Cars (legally) move faster on interstates, but typically there is a median in those cases.

driving in NYC has made me a better cyclist (despite doing it so rarely)
cycling would make most NYC drivers better drivers.
So I agree!

frequent driving in NYC also turns people into sociopaths because it is so infuriating. So maybe not too much driving for cyclists?

Pedestrians rarely pay attention to the traffic lights or crosswalks, and in general think they own the road. They also cause great danger to drivers and bikers through their wanton disregard of basic traffic law and by constantly looking at their phones — even while crossing the street! We shouldn’t build even one more sidewalk or pedestrian plaza until every pedestrian in New York follows the law every time. In the meantime, license, registration and insurance should be required for anyone who wants to walk in Manhattan.

It’s completely relevant – gov’t employees are hubris defined. They kill and maim wantonly.

3/4 ?

you being optimistic

Dangerous off-duty driving behavior of someone who might be entrusted with a fleet vehicle during working hours makes his or her job completely relevant.

Absolutely.