How do we change driver attitudes?

"Nicko71" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
: In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
: and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
: situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
: attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??
:
: 🙁

Get more people to ride on the roads... Easier said than done.

Pete

Nicko71 said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

🙁

hmmm, what about, return abuse, proper car horn on your bike, spikes
on bar ends, and a detachable metal bar for confrontations? <g>

Arpit said:

Nicko71 said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

🙁

hmmm, what about, return abuse, proper car horn on your bike, spikes
on bar ends, and a detachable metal bar for confrontations? <g>

LOL, hows that going to make'em more "friendly"??

make wider roads.
"Nicko71" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

🙁

--

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Originally posted by Nicko71

Quoted message said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, >honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. >Sometimes you end up in
a situation where a confrontation >occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to >make them more bike friendly??

Some areas of Brisbane seem to be worse (number of bad drivers) than
others. e.g. South side is worse than North side generally. Maybe
something to do with a disproportionate number of Sydney drivers on the
South side or something.

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The option of raising awareness and education would be a nice way to go
but always takes too long as you have to wait for a whole generation of
bad attitudes to die off. Perhaps mandatory driver re-education for
interstate people might work.

Personally I would prefer a police state on the roads. Two police cars
on each block coming down hard on anyone displaying antisocial road
behaviour. That would be nice.

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On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 03:09:39 +0800, "Andy G" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

make wider roads.

How on earth would that help? Wider roads (with more lanes) only
induce even more traffic.. And any sydneysider who'se looked at road
usage in Melbourne knows that wider roads (with wider lanes) turn
drivers into morons that can't drive straight or even stay within
their ample lanes, who indidentally would barely last two hours on
Sydney roads..

PC

: How on earth would that help? Wider roads (with more lanes) only
: induce even more traffic.. And any sydneysider who'se looked at road
: usage in Melbourne knows that wider roads (with wider lanes) turn
: drivers into morons that can't drive straight or even stay within
: their ample lanes, who indidentally would barely last two hours on
: Sydney roads..
:

Mate this is so true. You make the lane wider and the driver wants to
still drive in the gutter. I cannot believe how many people drive across
the unbroken lines on the roads. They must not have been very good at
colouring in when they were kids. Being a cyclist makes you a much better
driver and you notice how bad some drivers are.

Personally I think an advertising campaign may help. Saturation that is.
Not just for cycling but road rules in general. Some people dont even know
basic road rules. I would also love to have to sit a knowledge test once
say every 5 years. A lot of people would fail that one.

Pete

John Doe said:

Personally I think an advertising campaign may help. Saturation that is.
Not just for cycling but road rules in general. Some people dont even know
basic road rules. I would also love to have to sit a knowledge test once
say every 5 years. A lot of people would fail that one.

Given how cheap it is to test motorists these days with touch screen
theoretical exams, perhaps it would be worthwhile pushing for a
re-test with every license renewal (and abolish license renewals
greater than 5 years).. Put in lots of questions about what motorists
should do when confronted with minor delays (cyclists, double parked
car, truck turning etc) and see how many refuse to wait..

Lots of licenses would be cut up there :-)

PC

: Lots of licenses would be cut up there :-)

You are not wrong there. I see some woeful driving with people that
obviously have no idea.

Pete

Pc said:

John Doe said:

Personally I think an advertising campaign may help. Saturation that
is. Not just for cycling but road rules in general. Some people dont
even know basic road rules. I would also love to have to sit a
knowledge test once say every 5 years. A lot of people would fail
that one.

Given how cheap it is to test motorists these days with touch screen
theoretical exams, perhaps it would be worthwhile pushing for a re-test
with every license renewal (and abolish license renewals greater than 5
years).. Put in lots of questions about what motorists should do when
confronted with minor delays (cyclists, double parked car, truck turning
etc) and see how many refuse to wait..
Lots of licenses would be cut up there :-)
PC

Heh, I would love to see see this happen and honestly I cannot believe
why this can't be implemented right now! Oh wait, the government will be
up for re-election soon. They would never be so stupid.

What would also be interesting is if the testing was not only
knowledge-based (I won't say skills-based because clearly it isn't) but
some sort of psychology test became part of it. You should have to prove
that you are mentally fit for license.

Of course in this country a license is a right and not a
privilege, right?

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John Doe said:

Personally I think an advertising campaign may help. Saturation that is.
Not just for cycling but road rules in general. Some people dont even
know basic road rules. I would also love to have to sit a knowledge test
once say every 5 years. A lot of people would fail that one.
Pete

Thats also a good idea.

I remember a few years ago the motorbike campaign - 'look left, look
right, look bike'. Surely with the number of cyclists increasing (or
so it would seem), especially at this time of year when more people
begin commuting to/from work, it would pay to do something similar
with bicycles.

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"PC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 03:09:39 +0800, "Andy G" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

make wider roads.

How on earth would that help?

lane markings, only 1m wider will give that bit more room.
recognition (via law & publicity) that cyclists are legitimate and different
vehicles with their own characteristics.

also less pandering to the car lobby.
actually not building roads to encourage 'flow' but better public transport
may help.

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 10:41:29 +0800, "Andy G" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

make wider roads.

How on earth would that help?

lane markings, only 1m wider will give that bit more room.
recognition (via law & publicity) that cyclists are legitimate and different
vehicles with their own characteristics.

also less pandering to the car lobby.
actually not building roads to encourage 'flow' but better public transport
may help.

Actual experience proves otherwise.. Wider roads do far more harm
than good..

PC

Nicko71 said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

Where are you riding, and at what times?

I'm lucky enough to do 99% of my riding on bikeways and quiet bikelanes
(riverside and bits of St Lucia), although I don't have the guts to ride
Sir Fred Schonell Drive in rush hour. So many people just 'swipe' past and
don't move at all.

-- Carlo

: lane markings, only 1m wider will give that bit more room.
: recognition (via law & publicity) that cyclists are legitimate and
different
: vehicles with their own characteristics.
:
: also less pandering to the car lobby.
: actually not building roads to encourage 'flow' but better public
transport
: may help.

There are a few bicycle lanes around where I live that are marked with
parallel unbroken lines. However people still drive all over the cycle
lane... using it to get a better line so they can maintain higher speeds
around corners. I have seen one guy almost smash into a telegraph pole in
one spot where the cycle lane goes around on its left but the car lane
continues straight. I couldnt believe it.

Although if the road is wider then I guess we have a better chance of not
being abused because people can feel safe about going around without
crossing the centre or slowing down. The main reason I believe people get
angry is that they have to slow from 60 to 40 for 10metres. This has no
effect on their overall trip time but its the fact they have to slow down.
I have some anecdotal discussions that back this up.

Lane widening is not really feasible in the heavier urban areas where lanes
are already too skinny for cars due to space restriction. You should see
the 3 lanes of the pacific highway through the north of Sydney. Anyone
living and or riding in the area will know what I am talking about.
Especially if you add a couple of Semi's which is quite common.

Pete

Nicko71 <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

🙁

I recall somewhat better conditions in Brisbane. Maybe it depends
where and when you ride... The worst aspect of riding in Brisbane was
that *[censored]* swooping bird that lives on the roundabout at the
junction of East-West Arterial road and the motorway. That little
[censored] just won't quit!

Ritch

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 23:14:04 +0800, [email hidden] (Gary K)

Quoted message said:

Arpit said:

Nicko71 said:

In Brisbane, riding bikes is a major hazard. I get abused, honked at,
and have near misses nearly every time I ride. Sometimes you end up in a
situation where a confrontation occurs. What can we do to change the
attitudes of motorists to make them more bike friendly??

🙁

hmmm, what about, return abuse, proper car horn on your bike, spikes
on bar ends, and a detachable metal bar for confrontations? <g>

LOL, hows that going to make'em more "friendly"??

fear :p