Busting the myth of the "scofflaw cyclist" Danish Road Directorate studies reveal that while 66% of motorists routinely break road traffic laws only 5% of cyclists do so. Law breaking by cyclists is higher where there is no cycle-specific infrastructure.

Some interesting stuff here, including links to more studies showing similar results in different countries.

The summary is that the reason motorists break more laws is that speeding is so common.

I don’t think this is because motorists are all evil and cyclists are all saints. Probably, the reason motorists break speed limits is that it can be relatively difficult to keep cars below the speed limit. It’s all too easy to absentmindedly speed up. It’s also, perhaps becuase of this, widely seen as socially acceptable to break the speed limit (speaking anecdotally).

One interesting thing here, which may not surprise regular readers of Fuck Cars, is that better cycling infrastructure leads to less lawbreaking by cyclists. As is often the case, it’s the design of roads and cities that changes behaviour, not abstract appeals to road users to be sensible!

  • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca
    2·
    1 year ago

    So, it appears that when giving everyone equal infrastructure, motorists are still awful at getting around.

    The reason Dutch cyclists don’t break laws is that there’s little reason to. Their traffic signals work for cyclists, their paths work for cyclists, there’s no reason to speed, etc.

    Compare that to most cities in North America, and “breaking the law” for a cyclist means not wanting to wait 10 minutes at the same red light because there aren’t any cars to trigger a change to green. Or riding on sidewalks because nobody feels safe on roads with semi-trucks and pickup trucks refusing to give them any space.

    When motorists break the law, it’s because they are impatient or just don’t know how to drive. When cyclists do it, it’s to either be safe or because the infrastructure is so poor that it makes normal cycling behaviour seem like a crime.

    • frankPodmore@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      There’s also a level of absurdity to cycling laws. E.g., in the UK if I:

      • Approach a red light
      • Dismount
      • Wheel my bike just over the stop line
      • Remount and cycle away

      That’s legal. But! If I:

      • Approach a red light
      • Stay on my bike
      • Cycle very slowly over the stop line
      • Continue to cycle away

      That’s a crime.

      The ‘Stop on red’ rule was obviously designed for cars and then slapped onto bicycles, a category of vehicle for which it makes very little sense.

      • EinfachUnersetzlich@lemm.ee
        0·
        1 year ago

        As a UK cyclist I can see that stopping at a red light definitely does make sense. I don’t want to hit pedestrians and other road users who have been given a green light to cross my path.

        • frankPodmore@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
          0·
          1 year ago

          You’re no more dangerous cycling at 3kph than you are wheeling your bike at 3kph, but one of those things is illegal if you do it over a stop line, regardless of anything else you do once you’re over the stop line. That’s the absurdity.

  • potpotato@artemis.camp
    0·
    1 year ago

    it can be relatively difficult to keep your car under the speed limit

    Hard disagree. This is like saying it’s difficult to stay off you phone while driving — it’s just a shitty habit that can be corrected.

  • zoe @infosec.pub
    0·
    1 year ago

    bikers need a driving license

    edit: kinda offtopic, but cyclists are as annoying

      • zoe @infosec.pub
        01·
        1 year ago

        also i hate bikers with modded akrapovic exhausts, thats just stupid (straight piped bikes also)…the whole brand and concept is stupid