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Category Archives: traffic

Of Perception, Reality, and Desire

Here are two things you should go read right now: If you want to stop having this debate… Cyclists Aren’t ‘Special,’ And They Shouldn’t Play By their Own Rules I’m not going to comment directly on these except to say that each is important in its own way. Instead, I want to use these as [...]

Posted 14 May 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle culture § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § ecology § i am traffic § policy § safety ‡ Comments (22) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

I Like To Watch And Listen

Every now and then I like to go to YouTube and watch traffic crash videos. You’ll find plenty of them because many people in Russia (and a few other countries out that way) run dash cams — I assume for insurance reasons. The following video is typical: You can also find many videos showing pedestrians [...]

Posted 08 May 2013 † Andy Cline § bicycle safety § safety ‡ Comments (42) ° Tagged: , , ,

Enjoy The Death Zone

Bicycle infrastructure that violates the rules of safe movement is unsafe by definition. It doesn’t matter how much pretty green paint or fancy yellow reflectors you use. Take a look this from Boston University: Never mind for a moment that what we see here is a door-zone bicycle lane. Take a look at that green [...]

Posted 26 April 2013 † Andy Cline § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § safety ‡ Comments (27) ° Tagged: , ,

The Bizzaro World of Courtesy

Yes, you do live in an episode of the Twilight Zone. Submitted for your approval, a world where the people who operate large, dangerous machines — automobiles — are given every courtesy, and,  in their mishaps with people who prefer to walk or ride a bicycle, are given the benefit of the “doubt.” The street [...]

Posted 12 April 2013 † Andy Cline § ecology § safety § walking ‡ Comments (13) ° Tagged: , , ,

More Stories We Tell About Bicycling

Here is the response (click for large image): And here is the video: Savvy Cyclist — Bill Edmonds from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo. Yep. We’re a bunch of nefarious traffic cyclists out to stop progress for everyone. Because, yeah, no one would ever mislead you about bicycle infrastructure. Right? Something New On Cherry from acline [...]

Posted 28 March 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle education § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § cyclingsavvy § i am traffic § policy § safety ‡ Comments (7) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Quotes We Narrate By

Regarding my earlier post today and the beginning of Keri Caffrey’s series entitled The Stories We Tell, here are the essential plots of two very different narratives of bicycling in the United States today: The Stories of the Unsuccessful Bicyclist I’m a second class citizen. I’m at the mercy of others. Most motorists are careless [...]

Posted 19 March 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle education § bicycle safety § ecology § i am traffic ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: , , , ,

On Narrative and Reality

Long-time Carbon Trace readers know that I occasionally enjoy mixing my academic passion for rhetoric with my transportation passion for bicycling. This is not a stretch because, as with most academic disciplines, the whole point is to understand the world — all of it — in terms of a particular subject, e.g. politics, history, or [...]

Posted 19 March 2013 † Andy Cline § bicycle education § i am traffic ‡ Comments Off ° Tagged: , , , ,

Culture, Daydreams, and Hypothesis

I drove my bicycle to the grocery this morning. That is a very odd statement. The statement is odd because I’m admitting doing something out of the cultural norm in the United States. It is also odd because I am deliberately appropriating language used and understood by motorists to refer to what they do with [...]

Posted 12 March 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle education § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § cyclingsavvy § ecology § safety ‡ Comments (40) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

Don’t Be Mad At Me

I know nothing about psychology beyond the introductory class I took in college in the 1970s. That said, and given the discussion in my post yesterday about the psychology of motorist anger, I want to propose this: People, in general, do not like being the focus of anger. I believe, with nothing more than anecdotal [...]

Posted 14 February 2013 † Andy Cline § bicycle safety § ecology ‡ Comments (12) ° Tagged: , , ,

Of Motorist Rage and the Free-Rider Bicyclist

The BBC published an interesting column yesterday about the psychology of motorist rage toward bicyclists. The upshot is that, apparently, motorists are upset most because bicyclists are free-riders in traffic: they do not pay for the system, and many do not follow the rules. Here’s the money quote: So now we can see why there is [...]

Posted 13 February 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle education § ecology § news § policy ‡ Comments (10) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

I Am Traffic Website is Live

Another step forward: I Am Traffic on the web. Go ahead — click it! Technorati Tags: bicycle advocacy, bicycle education, bicycle safety, cycling, i am traffic

Posted 22 January 2013 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle education § news ‡ Comments (5) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Of Goals and Point of View

Long-time Carbon Trace reader Robert (also a professional bicycle advocate and educator) asked this question in the comments to my post on the recent deadly right-hook crash in Boston: Do you think that bicycle facilities can be designed in such a way as to eliminate the dangers and delays? My short answer: No. He was [...]

Posted 08 December 2012 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § cyclingsavvy § safety ‡ Comments (88) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

OMG! So Rude! (Not)

Not only is this video good for a chuckle, you might learn something about who or what actually holds up motorists: A Brief Adventure in Perspective from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo. Technorati Tags: bicycle video, cycling, traffic

Posted 07 December 2012 † Andy Cline § bicycle video ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , ,

Where The Danger Is

So you’re riding along in bicycle lane thinking you’re safe because, well, isn’t that what we’re led to believe? Isn’t that why bicycle lanes are painted in the first place? They are not painted to solve any traffic problem that exists, i.e. help the orderly and safe flow of traffic according the well-establish rules of [...]

Posted 06 December 2012 † Andy Cline § bicycle crash § bicycle infrastructure § bicycle safety § news § safety ‡ Comments (25) ° Tagged: , , , ,

The Perils of Texting

So how did this young lady end up impeding my way across Grand at National?   Well, she was so busy texting while driving that she over-shot the stop. She continued to text through the light and into the left turn. You can clearly see her texting in the picture. She only looked up — [...]

Posted 05 December 2012 † Andy Cline § safety § walking ‡ Comments (12) ° Tagged: , ,