Actually, I was kidding. You just didn’t get it and you didn’t get the prior post either.

Regarding my driving mentioned, at the time as I remember it, I did slow down before doing anything dangerous — what scared me was how close it was before I realized what was happening which had been affected by thinking about something else which is never totally preventable — and the point of the post was that the nature of driving cars is dangerous; transportation systems based on cars are structurally violent; cars are way overpowered with not anywhere near enough controls to prevent tragedies caused by simple human error. And, there are certain psychological aspects of driving that increase the danger: The excessive power corrupts; speed acts as a natural stimulant skewing judgment.

And, regarding my driving cars, again, probably the most dangerous part is that I hardly ever do it, so that when I have to . . . .

Enough said.

http://www.wright.edu/~jeffrey.hiles/essays/listening/home.html

I should clarify that I mostly agree with Brownstoner’s advice, I just don’t like where it’s aimed.

You quote Jennifer explaining the benefits of her defensive driving, as if to somehow indict her. Then you… tell her to be a defensive driver? Meanwhile, Gecko is saying

> I find driving scary and dangerous and minimize it to only when necessary… rushing to catch a train 100 miles away… just going too fast near a school bus with children crossing the road…

Amusing the chewing-out of the experienced Jennifer when Gecko’s a self-proclaimed menace. Gecko: Get some more experience, before you hurt someone, yourself, or a cop sees you.

> Kaja, please don’t blame the victim. It could be you next time.

No, It wouldn’t be me, because I neither invite death on my bike, nor do I drive like a dick. Preventative measures work, see Jennifer’s ‘defensive driving’.

Pretty awful posting today, folks.

You on the other hand, have a serious personal problem that on its face appears to be quite rational. Namely, the belief that you will seriously injure a cyclist who has suddenly and irrationally popped up front of your car. If this only happened on rare ocassions, I would understand your concerns, but you state this is happening quite often. That may indicate that the problem is more internal to your driving and not the cyclist.

You stated that “when a man and his TWO KIDS cut in front of my car on bikes. They were all beginner cyclists, and it was only because of my defensive driving that I did not hit them.”

Sure, it’s possible that these three bicycles were just beamed down from the Starship Enterprise in front of you. Really, you are telling us that you did not see that there were three bicycles somewhere out in front of your car where they could potentially travel into a conflicting path with your car? Three (3) bicycles, not just one (1), that were on a potential conflict path?

Are you scanning the entire street ahead of you – left right and center – for potential dangers, or just looking straight ahead and not scanning to the side and not looking in your mirrors for what is behind you?

You say that you have driven for 15 years and managed not to have a problem, other than cyclists popping up like mushrooms in front of your car. Congratulations. I have been driving and cycling for 50 years, mostly avoided incidents, but I certainly have not had the frequency or severity of bicycle pop-ups you have.

It may be that you are over-sensitive to cyclists riding close you your car, but I think the problem is rather your inability to scan the road and street around you. You should have seen these cyclists near you long before they popped-up in front of you. They should not have surprised you and therefore should not have caused you grief.

I don’t think you should be taking a typical Defensive Driving course, but rather one of the beginner Racing Driver courses. You need to learn how to scan the road better for other traffic, and yes, bicycles and pedestrians are legitimate traffic on our roads, not just cars. You need to learn the real limits of handling your car, you will be surprised at what it can and cannot be made to do. You will be a lot more confident about sharing the roadway with cyclists, because you will see them earlier and be prepared to share the road with them.

Another course that would be very beneficial is the Effective Cycling course developed by the League of American Bicyclists. It’s stated aim is to provide you with the skills to safely operate a bicycle in street traffic, and it succeeds well in this. It also is one of the best driver’s education courses, because it focuses on the absolute minimum – you, on a bike, in traffic.

By the way, separate bike paths will not be the solution to your problems. With rare exceptions, barrier paths still have to cross the motor traffic lanes every block, or put it the other way, your car still has to cross bike path lanes every time you turn, and at every cross street. There will still be many conflict points between bikes and cars where the driver and cyclist both have to be fully alert to each other to safely share the space.

Don’t continue to fool yourself, you should not just steering a big car around with the assumption that everything should be getting out of your way. The roadway is a woven net, crisscrossing with different users all needing to share the road. Learn to look, learn to see and learn to drive much more comfortably and safely.

I’m posting in this thread because I propose, based on what I learned in defensive-driving courses, that emotional drivers are bad drivers, and that drivers are responsible for the accidents that they cause, but that drivers can be trained to become better drivers, and that they probably should if they plan to do a lot of driving in the five boroughs.

It’s understandable that sympathetic NYC motorists are starting to feel uneasy, and somewhat unfairly angry, as more and more people make use of the streets without motor vehicles. Advocating for more protected spaces for people, sometimes at the cost of space for cars, is a laudable means to improve the situation. Drive less and more slowly, walk and cycle more, and we can all breathe more easily.

I find driving scary and dangerous and minimize it to only when necessary.

Recalling a departure from a small town in the Adironacks rushing to catch a train 100 miles away in Albany, I was just going too fast near a school bus with children crossing the road to go home. Luckily, nothing happened (and I gave myself a severe lecture regarding speed and awareness of local conditions) but, again transportation systems based on automobiles is structurally violent because of the excessive amount size, weight, and power of these vehicles with minimum controls especially, in close proximity to human beings.

Power corrupts, even when you know it is a bad thing.

Speed is a natural stimulant often skewing judgment.

She described a dad with his kids moving at tangents to flowing traffic. That’s almost hilariously deadly cycling behavior, and it’s not the car’s fault. Jennifer was driving sufficiently slowly to stop.

I didn’t think it outlandish, the proposition that seasoned cyclists take their lane while we build-out protected tracks for newbies. Apparently I was wrong.

My point boiled down is this:

If drivers don’t have the skills to operate automobiles in city traffic, they should stop driving, stop threatening other road users’ lives, and take the train or bus instead. One of those skills is maintaining a calm and neutral disposition. If drivers find themselves feeling angry at road conditions or other road users, they probably aren’t very good drivers, and they should seek more training, or stop driving.

It sounds as though you’re not advocating for protected bike paths, but protected auto paths, where bad automobilists can be protected from the harmful consequences of their poor driving skills. We already have those; they’re called limited access highways.

Here is my point, restated and clarified: Most of the time, when a driver yells at a cyclist, the driver is being a jerk and not sharing the road. There are times, however, when a driver is reacting out of fear of running the cyclist over. Some of us cyclists are good riders, some are bad. The bad ones need protected bike paths.

For example: I was driving around a traffic circle the other day, when a man and his TWO KIDS cut in front of my car on bikes. They were all beginner cyclists, and it was only because of my defensive driving that I did not hit them. We need more protected bike paths, everywhere.

That’s it. Thanks.

I feel I am endangering the cyclist by trying to pass him, and I feel I am intimidating him by idling behind him for blocks and blocks. Granted, I never honk or yell at the person!

Let’s not get too philosophical here. The bike-car war over the road is a legitimate, logistical problem, and complaining about road-raging drivers on blogs is going to do nothing to stop them from raging. I don’t see any short-term solutions right now but it will be possible to share the road…eventually.

And, they slow each other down. If I’m going around a double parked car, and they have to go behind me to get around the double parked car, then is it me slowing them down or the double parked car?

Methinks there are just too many cars in the city.

Don’t get emotional. Driving somewhere is a neutral task like anything else. The goal is to arrive safely. Idiot drivers are a hazard, but don’t take them personally.