Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> The reason these behaviors are frustrating to drivers is that bicycles are hard to overtake.

It's a lot easier to see around a bicycle compared to other slower vehicles with bigger profiles. Also, since you're driving at a lower speed before and during the overtake, you're going to require less distance overall to complete the maneuver.

> They’re unpredictable

If they're following the rules of the road, then they're not unpredictable.

> and fragile compared to a car,

So are motorcyclists, for example.

> so the driver has to give them a wide berth

Four (or more) wheeled vehicles, by their nature, make it difficult to judge their precise extent from the driver's seat (the passenger side going more difficult compared to the driver's side). Roads typically have lines that help drivers laterally position their vehicles such that they have sufficient distance between the edge of the road and other vehicles traveling in the same direction.

Commonly, when overtaking another vehicle, one will completely change lanes before doing so (regardless of the vehicle type). The same rule should also apply to overtaking a cyclist.

> Bicycles, however, are the only ones that will re-overtake while the car is standing in a queue

I've seen people on motorcycles and other motor driven two wheel vehicles do the same.

> The obvious solution here is separate infrastructure for cars and bicycles as they have such different acceleration profiles that there will inevitably be problems putting them in the same space.

The same could argued for HGVs, but we do drive on the same roads they do without any issues despite the fact that their acceleration is much less compared to a typical car.

Unless the separate infrastructure is truly separate (i.e. grade separated), then these types of facilities cause more problems at intersections where they put cyclists on the wrong side of turning vehicles or even on the wrong side of the road relative to the direction of traffic).



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: