What do you think? This could be anything related to biking - organized rides, bike lanes, interaction with cars, interaction with other cyclists, population of cyclists, etc.
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That's a tough question -- there have been a lot of changes. Personally, and this is entirely subjective, I think that somehow during Covid drivers became even more angry and hostile. Not just against other drivers, but against cyclists as well. There is enormous opposition to speed and turn cameras and any other project that threatens to slow cars down. In my area, stop signs seem to have become a mere suggestion to many drivers. Speeds on the Archer International Speedway are up, especially after they removed the one helpful speed camera near me. Even though I'm a keep-to-the-right cyclist, give hand signals, and do everything I can to get along and go along, more cars than ten years ago seem to pass dangerously close or creep up from behind and and loudly blow their horns. It's kind of like Republicans and Democrats. Now, many other things that have happened are positives, but this would be my response. YMMV. Maybe it's just because I'm ten years older, too.
I agree with Jim's comment 100%. I see red light running every day now. It was much less common 10 years ago. Speeding, road rage and distracted driving are all up by a lot. I need to be a lot more vigilant now.
I see two things. One good. One bad. The good is that more and more local governments are seeing bicycling as part of the cocktail of road usage and are building more bike lanes and more protected bike lanes. They often understand the concept of making roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists by dampening the ability of motor vehicles to reach higher speeds. This good is tempered by a reality that most governments have a "cars first" orientation and they can be bullied by nimbys and those who want to make sure they can still make their commute by car in a certain amount of time. Still an overall good.
The bad is more and more drivers are distracted, upset, uncaring and/or unaware. I have seen this from my bike seat, from my drivers seat and from the street corner as I am standing by. The quality of drivers has diminished in recent years. Distraction is a large part of it but there are also drivers who sort out their own mental health challenges from the driver's seat and there are too many who feel a need to win an encounter when thousands of others are on the road and just trying to get home. All these issues apply to all users, not just drivers. Today I was riding 14 mph on Elston Ave. when a young gentleman on an electric scooter whizzed by at the speed limit of 30 mph. I could not help wondering how far he would fly if he hit a pothole or an imperfection in the pavement. I hope he got where he is going in one piece.
The driving for sure
For me e bikes 3 yrs ago when Foxtrot was around they had 4 class 2 e bikes for us to do deliveries with and it changed me took an e Divvy a couple times then decided to get one
I live in the burbs now, but was in the city over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised to see so many young kids riding with their parents on main streets. It made me so happy. I don’t remember seeing kids riding as much on main streets 10 years ago.
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