How Do We Change Driver's "Indifference"? This Impacts Us All

We've all seen this - texting while driving, driving while distracted, and rolling through a stop sign. Sure, we as cyclists are under scrutiny for stop signs and lights (an argument for another day) but let's be honest, the impact of a car/SUV/truck is much worse.

CINCINNATI — Ninety percent of American drivers admit to risky driving practices, such as drowsy or drugged driving, running red lights, or texting while driving, according to new data released by AAA Thursday.

Ninety. Percent.

And it’s not just that they admit it, AAA said. It’s also that they don’t really care.

“It’s not that most drivers don’t know the difference between right and wrong, safe or unsafe,” AAA spokesperson Cheryl Parker said. “But there is a culture of widespread indifference, leading more and more people to pay a deadly price.

How do we change this?

Full article:

http://www.wcpo.com/traffic/aaa-study-finds-widespread-indifference...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by JeffB on February 26, 2016 at 4:31pm

"If you aren't Johnny-on-the-spot when the light changes, you can count on someone behind you honking. Nobody cuts anyone else any slack. By honking, they are saying, in effect, "Get outta my way! I have more important places to be than stuck behind some cretin like you!"

Maybe they're just being impatient, but maybe what their honk is actually saying is "Stop looking at your phone and realize the light has changed" (IOW, pay attention at all times). Texting while stopped (and not parked) is not much better than texting while driving. Slack should not be cut in such cases.

(I say this with the assumption that you were speaking of drivers honking at other drivers, and not at you on your bike)

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on February 26, 2016 at 4:59pm

It's certainly the case some of the time; I'm sure we've all seen the inattentive driver looking at the phone and not realizing the light turned green. However, I also see the 4th or 5th or 10th driver back honking the moment they see the light turn green, which is sheer impatience - they can't see what's happening at the front, nor should they expect to move the moment the light turns as it takes a moment for each car to begin moving from a stop.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 26, 2016 at 5:13pm

Most often, the honk is just a second or two after the light changes, sometimes not even that long. I realize people do fail to notice the light change when they are staring at the small screen. Hmmm... Maybe an app that detects the light change and beeps at you is called for...

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Permalink Reply by MJ E. on March 3, 2016 at 3:20pm

I've noticed it too, to get people off their phone (or to get me from staring at the chapstick in the center console and wondering how long its been there.)

In one scenario last winter people were honking for a while for traffic that wasn't moving through an intersection (Racine, Lincoln and Diversey) I was using the "bike lane" south on Racine, trying to figure out what had blocked it up for multiple lights to find a dude passed out in the drivers seat. I know it was cold, but no one did anything but honk. The noise was not helping and no one seemed to care till they saw me throw down my bike to try and help.

In short, I believe that there is a bit of a lack of humanity in the attitude "I NEED to get there and I'll just honk till I get my way."

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Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on February 26, 2016 at 4:31pm

It all got started by creating the crime of Jaywalking.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26073797

In order to move traffic faster, laws were passed to ban entering the roadway except at crosswalks.

Then driver's weren't blamed for avoiding obstacles (pedestrians) in their path.

Soon, bicyclists were just another obstacle.

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Permalink Reply by Brian aka "Lord Helmut" on April 6, 2017 at 3:43pm

Pedestrians are usually hit just outside of a crosswalk, at least in some places. Drivers do not anticipate a pedestrian just as their completing their turn and after clearing the crosswalk. I saw a rear end collision because the first car stopped for jaywalking pedestrians (just outside the crosswalk) and the driver behind, wasn't expecting a car to stop right as they were turning.

As an advocate for pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle safety as well as proper following distance and driver attention, of course laws are generally good.

If you do something stupid on a bicycle, motorcycle or as a pedestrian, and are breaking the law, you'll look very bad getting injured, your property damaged, being liable to the damage of others' property while also getting a ticket.

How many pedestrians wear armored riding gear, motorcycle helmets or even a bicycle helmet? About zero. It pays to be safe.

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on February 26, 2016 at 9:11pm

On my way home from the fish fry tonight, I had two close calls with drivers running full-on reds. One was going south on Kedzie at Belmont and I saw him slow as he approached the just-turned red. I was getting started headed east on Belmont, anticipating the green, when he gunned it and raced through. The other was going north on California at Roscoe as I approached from the west. I was pleased with my timing as my light turned green just as I was nearing the stop line and he just barreled through, almost as if he didn't even realize there was a light there.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 1, 2016 at 9:27am

Traffic in the Loop, especially at rush hour, seems to be turning increasingly into a game of chicken. It's almost like some of the drivers are daring each other: "how many of us can run *this* red light before cross traffic starts moving?"

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on March 1, 2016 at 12:53pm

Noticed the same thing on the left turns. Cars that are 2-3 behind the white line proceeding through on a solid red. The bad thing is that the traffic with the green light then gets ticked off about being held up, and runs the red.... and on and on.