I was about 15 driving on a highway ramp and kinda over-correcting and reacting to that, when my brother said “John, highway engineers design these curves in such a was as to enable you to choose your course and maintain it on a ramp.”
“Dummy”, he then said.
Interesting we all intuitively understand that "teach road safety" means "teach kids to watch out for cars" and not "insist that drivers actually watch for people outside of cars, even if that obliged them to slow down."
Yes, and create safe infrastructure while educating kids. Teach kids how the built environment is designed, include their voices in design discussions, and incorporate their ideas into transportation projects. This supports better infrastructure. #SafeStreets4All #SchoolStreets
Along the way, include transportation content in school, including how best to navigate the transportation network using all modes of travel. Bike education in school, walk audits, transit scavenger hunts. #BikeBus #WalkingSchoolBus
Maybe you need to tag your post as being USAcentric...I can assure you that across Europe things are set up very differently. Here's how things are organised in a more civilised less car obsessed society
LOL The UK is certainly not civilised when it comes to road safety / crime. It is car obsessed and one of the worst countries for self entitled, illegal driving with the least regard for vulnerable road users.
Sadly, living in the UK I can confirm that these new guidelines have made no difference at all. Many motorists still treat cyclists and pedestrians with contempt. Most of our roads are designed to prioritise cars, this needs to change before behaviour will improve.
I'm old enought to have been taught road safety AND seen safer road layouts & junctions introduced, considering the claims you make in your Bio I'd have thought you'd understand both are required
IMO teaching road safety is required because we **don't have enough** safe road design.
I bike commuted 15 years in Boston & suburbs, rode months on safer roads in Europe. And here in Charlotte NC the road design is so bad I won't ride the roads, can't take wife riding, keep kids off the pavement.
It's about old understanding of safety vs new.
Vision Zero places responsibility on designers and operators of the transport system.
It's a transport system that focuses on humans. It acknowledges that people make mistakes and human bodies are vulnerable to high-impact forces in event of a crash.
I totally agree that continuous design improvements is a critical factor to improve road safety - hence why the Cyber Truck will never be allowed on UK roads. The design is not safe to prefestrians. But that does not mean that safety should not be taught to critical to drivers and pedestrians!
I’m glad you’re still in advocacy mode. Everything has started to feel so trivial in the face of existential annexation but we probably should continue on with our day to day, right? That’s the healthy thing to do I’m sure!
💯💯💯 on the feeling trivial. It’s been such a rollercoaster and I found myself getting so angry and it was lasting days that I honestly needed to turn off for a bit and redirect attention.
A good driver requires none of that. Or speed limits or little signs everywhere. All of that, is so people who are bad drivers can still drive to work. 99% of people shouldn't be allowed to use a can opener.
For those that say do both - sure but if we have to pick one WHICH IS ALL WE CURRENTLY DO - let’s do the one that forces adult drivers to be safe by design rather than hoping kids remember to be perfect - hope is not a strategy.
Yes, a more nuanced discussion needed. Agree that no matter how much education is provided, if kids aren't safe, and parents are uncomfortable letting their kids walk/bike to destinations due to unsafe infrastructure, then we need to start with infrastructure. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146524004691
If you don’t think teaching road safety is already screamed into kids from the day they’re born into our auto dominated world, you might want to watch a parent walk with their kid for 30 seconds - driver based fear instructions are a constant interruption, constant.
i don’t really share things to please the status quo or the experts in the room - really don’t care. Just a frustrated parent that sees an imbalance that has robbed youth of their mobility and independence.
even a simple meme highlighting our ridiculous current approach to road safety is enough to get people defending the status quo - when we start creating safe environments then sure lets celebrate personal safety campaigns but until then just realize all those efforts are BS and insincere.
My ongoing aggravation, well past peeve that, whenever there's an incident, I see police quoted in the papers, placing the onus on pedestrians without also reminding motorists of their responsibilities and *delicate cough* relevant traffic laws.
Maybe we should FORCE drivers to see people — starting with driver’s ed (as you often suggest!) and extending into speed limits, crosswalks, and eliminating the limits in pedestrian injury cash payouts.
It's a false choice. The problem with this binary is that it completely absolves drivers of any responsibility. First, it'll take probably 50 years to redesign all the streets. If not 100. So, in the mean time we should do both.
Nope, maybe 10. North America is lucky enough to still have maps and photos of our cities from the 1910s-1940s, by the tail of the great depression roads had bloated and tram systems had been gutted for Detroits profit.
I am simply thinking of the timelines for road restructuring. And, I'm not a politician, just a biker advocating for the things you seem to be. I had been advocating for the reworking of Lake St (2blks from my house) since 2013. The road re-work commenced in 2022 and finished in 2024. It took 11yrs
The system extends beyond infrastructure and into vehicle design, law, regulation,enforcement, taxation, legal penalties for vehicle related offences and subsidies for active travellers.
Non commercial use of SUVs and vehicles that do 0-60 in <10 seconds can be binned to start.
Comments
“Dummy”, he then said.
https://etsc.eu/uk-puts-vulnerable-road-users-first-in-new-highway-code/
I bike commuted 15 years in Boston & suburbs, rode months on safer roads in Europe. And here in Charlotte NC the road design is so bad I won't ride the roads, can't take wife riding, keep kids off the pavement.
Vision Zero places responsibility on designers and operators of the transport system.
It's a transport system that focuses on humans. It acknowledges that people make mistakes and human bodies are vulnerable to high-impact forces in event of a crash.
I just made a video about how jaywalking and crosswalks were brought to LA by a car dealer. Kind of makes sense why they don’t work…
Also didn't he hire some random grade school teacher to write his proposal for "why pedestrian bad car good, buy my shit"?
PPE and "teaching road safety" are the least effective. Removing the danger is the most effective.
As great as this gold standard in safety is maybe we could try and aim a little higher.
Maybe we should FORCE drivers to see people — starting with driver’s ed (as you often suggest!) and extending into speed limits, crosswalks, and eliminating the limits in pedestrian injury cash payouts.
Narrow the damn lanes.
We know how to build bike lanes. We know how to narrow streets. We know how to widen sidewalks.
Just fucking do it and stop making excuses.
Non commercial use of SUVs and vehicles that do 0-60 in <10 seconds can be binned to start.