katjakircher.bsky.social
Research Leader at VTI, Sweden. Sustainable transport, active travel. Cycling long and short distances.
eng/swe/ger
194 posts
3,051 followers
156 following
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Sorry, that looks horrendous.
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Antagligen inte Tyskland efter imorgon đŹ
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Yeah - though while in most cases of harassment I've experienced so far, there was at least that type of "explanation" (not that I condone the behaviour), but this guy just saw me in the oncoming lane, that's it.
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Totally agree. We sold our car 5y ago and I actively avoid being inside of cars. But this also makes car-centrism very tangible. Still, I'm out there riding almost every day, for fun, transport and training, and I wouldn't want to be without it, though it could be so much better without cars.
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And in the great scheme of things I'm still a very privileged person, so it hurts to consider how life must be for less privileged people - especially with the future looking bleak all around.
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Thanks so much, it's so kind of all of you to reach out. The thing is, this is just one basically random example of completely unprovoked sh*t behaviour from drivers. Each single one I can deal with, but the omnipresence and frequency makes it tough to bear. One loses hope in humanity a bit.
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I've biked in the NL a few times and what hit me most was the interconnectedness and functionality of the infrastructure. Almost as if cycling was taken seriously and not just treated as an afterthought at best. Though to be honest, in my vision for the world, there are no private cars at all.
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Ja, vad ska man sÀga ... Du Àr ju en av dem som verkligen har fÄtt betala ett högt pris för att vissa ska kunna ta för sig helt hÀmningslöst. Alla dessa ackumulerade orÀttvisor kan verkligen bryta ner en.
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Allt blir svÄrare nÀr man har barn med sig, i alla fall om de Àr smÄ. Kunde hata hur utsatt jag kÀnde mig nÀr jag rörde mig ute med barnen nÀr de var smÄ. Men i princip har du naturligtvis rÀtt.
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Wasn't fast enough this time, unfortunately, but yeah, it can have a better effect than shaking one's fist.
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So sorry to hear. And yes, I agree wholeheartedly. How can this be so normalised? I wonder whether it is specific to car-centrism or whether power turns people into monsters in general? Very sad either way.
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I'm sure nothing would happen to him. Tried another time when another driver had crowded me off the road and the company didn't care a bit. And in a way he's mostly a symptom of the society we accept as normal ...
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Ja, typ samma sak. Helt grÀnslöst. Har haft nÄgon taxiförare som hotade att köra pÄ mig pÄ cykelbanan, som ett annat exempel. Men det Àr sÄ normaliserat alltihop att folk nÀstan kÀnner sig obekvÀma nÀr man tar upp det som problem.
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Thanks for the compassion! I sometimes carry cameras (typically only rearward) and measuring equipment to log overtaking (doing some research in the field). I'm not even sure I care about shaming the particular driver - it's more like, is that what our society sees as normal? So depressing.
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Yes, it's quite amazing. Defs not the first time stuff like this has happened to me, and each single occasion doesn't affect me much by itself, but there are times when I get sensitive to the accumulative effect. Attrition or something ...
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Thank you! It's mostly just bizarre what being in a motor vehicle brings out in people (at least that's how I interpret it).
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Du fÄr Äterkomma dÄ och berÀtta hur det gick!
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Jag lovar att det inte blir bĂ€ttre med stigande Ă„lder och utflugna barn, om det nu Ă€r till nĂ„gon tröst đ
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Yeah, I totally get that bike lanes are enablers in many cases and places, probably wherever there are cars, which basically is everywhere. I'm not arguing against bike lanes, I'm just sad about the inevitable discursive consequences.
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Whole plate was covered in snow, otherwise I would have tried to memorise. And didn't have any rearward facing camera with me today (I sometimes do, but it was so cold today, so didn't think the battery would last anyway.) So yeah, free ride for him (only saw that it was a man).
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Why is it that power is so seductive? How much do I violate others without noticing? How can we change society to make this happen less? In traffic it should be comparatively easy if we want to make a change. Revoke the licence for each violation of someone's integrity for a start.
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It also teaches me that I am obviously very privileged in all other aspects of life. I rarely get humiliated or violated for who or what I am - maybe sometimes as a woman, but overall, not much. So it makes me check my privileges, but it also makes me wonder.
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What gets to me most is the humiliation, the powerlessness, the point that they make so clearly - I'm nothing to them, and I'm nothing to society in this respect. Authorities don't care, police doesn't care, courts don't care. Just shut up and accept your place. Time and again.
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It's all great with bike lanes, and I get that they fulfil a purpose, but it also hurts to realise how they cement car dominance and how they symbolise giving in and accepting that streets belong to cars by default. Less reason to get rid of cars once bike lanes are in place in a way.
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Not only large vehicles, though they are even worse than others. Noise, particles, excessive use of space, inherent violence potential - to name a few - are issues with any car.
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Cyniskt i en normal vÀrld, normalt i bilsamhÀllet.
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Ja, sÄ viktigt.
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Om vi bara skulle orka göra likadant hÀr i Sverige!
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Especially if "vision zero" explicitly recognises active road users and their needs over and above motor vehicle users. The EU collision matrix speaks a clear language: road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
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However, we have to keep in mind that solving the distraction issue won't necessarily make life great for cyclists and other people outside of vehicles. The main goal should always be to reduce the potential for road violence. Fewer cars, slower cars, smaller cars, restricted access for cars, etc.
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Attitude issues like punish passes or other hostile behaviour cannot be treated with any measures against distraction. Not looking over the shoulder before turning are often linked to wrong mental models, maybe negligence, not necessarily distraction. I'm not defending distracted driving at all.
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While I also only recently started to see some benefits of indoor cycling for training, I still ride outdoors a lot. Based in Sweden, so less traffic, but also here enough hostile drivers. I'm wondering, though, whether _distraction_ is the real problem, or rather attitude and wrong mental models.
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Sehr niedlich đ
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Det har jag ocksÄ funderat över. För Tyskland hoppas jag sÄ mycket att det vÀcker tillrÀckligt mÄnga nu inför valet. Men lika nödvÀndigt i Sverige.
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It's not trivial at all. Considering how hard it seems to be to even move the steering wheel enough to overtake cyclists appropriately, constructions like those are really disruptive, and they are literally everywhere.
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Sorry - and yes, that's the sad reality. I do both, road and trails, but for peace of mind the trail is the place to go. I'm lucky enough to have some nice roads nearby, but yeah, it's obvious every single time how you're at the mercy of other people.
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There is almost nothing you can do as a cyclist and almost everything you can do as a motorist. Also, laws can be changed, the way laws are interpreted and applied can be changed, the discourse can be changed, technology and infrastructure can help. There's so much that could be done.
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Ingen aning, nÀr jag bara gÄr pÄ min bekantskapskrets sÄ cyklar nÀstan alla som trÀnar Àven i vardagen. EnkÀten pekar Ät samma hÄll (men vi frÄgade dÄ enbart om landsvÀg). Vore intressant att kolla i mer detalj. Men mÄnga trÀnar inomhus nu.
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Det har jag inte sett nÄgra data pÄ - i en representativ undersökning som vi gjorde var det inte sÄ vanligt att man enbart cyklar för trÀning. Skulle gÀrna vilja ta del av din referens om möjligt. Men jag menade att miljön hemma skulle kunna vara inbjudande Àven för trÀning och nöjescykling.
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Absolut - och det fina med att "cykla med tÄg" Àr ju ocksÄ att man kan kliva av pÄ en plats och cykla för att sedan kliva pÄ tÄget igen nÄgon annanstans.