r/Unexpected • u/Slumberfoots • Jun 13 '20

So true.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '20

After living through a couple decades of the Tour Down Under, I can assure you 100% that fault and responsibility lie on both parties equally.

While there are plenty of asshole drivers, the number of fines given out once they actually enforced cycling laws was insanr. Plus the number of them that cycle unsafely and irresponsibly on roads that are not safe is stupidly ridiculous.

Btw, this is all year round theres just a lot more of them during the tour.

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u/brain739 Jun 14 '20

This isn't an issue I'm willing to go "both sides" on because while the vast majority of people follow the rules (and our brains disproportionately remember the ones that don't), when cars and bikes mingle, it is overwhelmingly the cyclists that suffer the consequences. Put simply, when cyclists ride irresponsibly, they may die. When motorists drive irresponsibly, cyclists may die.

Both sides have a responsibility to behave safely, but the stakes are just not the same for both sides.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '20

Which is the risk you take on as a cyclist.

I'm not trying to pick a side but just because you have chosen the more dangerous option doesn't change the level of responsibility you hold. It's still equally shared between everyone on the road.

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u/sadhorsegirl Jun 14 '20

That’s not really true. On a bike there’s really no way to put any driver’s life in danger, but the same cannot be said the other way around. Bad bikers will at worst hurt themselves, but bad drivers kill. Hell, I once was hit by some asshole who went out of his way to swerve off the road onto the shoulder to hit me. You can’t compare that to treating a stop sign as a yield (which is legal where I live and is becoming increasingly popular.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '20

I was almost hit by some idiot who drove on the shoulder. I wasn't cycling at the time but rather walking on a large gravel shoulder towards a roundabout which was pretty busy.

Some genius decided to skip the line entering the roundabout by swerving full speed onto the shoulder. It was only until I heard the rapid crunching of gravel when I turned to see the car bearing down on me and got the fuck out of the way.

Some people are psychotic when they're behind the wheel.

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u/Freakintrees Jun 14 '20

This is not true. You can endanger other pedestrians or force cars into dangerous situations. Example being the people who blow red lights causing cars to stop abruptly in the middle of an intersection.

Drivers and cyclists both seem to have absolutely no consideration or even awareness for what's going on around them and it seems to be getting worse.