Originally Posted by
UniChris
The reality of existing car free settings casts doubt on that belief.
Consider for example how less predictable and aware of surroundings pedestrians become where there's no threat of death by automobile.
And going the other way, cyclists become the not infrequently inconsiderate and too-fast-for conditions threat, exactly recreating driver behavior in miniature.
It's true that current traffic laws are "autonormative" but even without cars, efficient cycling at a user volume displacing even a fraction of car trips wouldn't be safe without some sort of norms and shared expectations of how "traffic" works - just see all the MUP conflict threads and realize that's pretty much driven by the recreational traffic volume, not people actually trying to go anywhere for a purpose.
I think this was in some ways demonstrated in some cities during lockdown. But let's face it, that was a new situation.
What about areas where pedestrians and cyclists regularly "engage," such as Amsterdam, or Copenhagen. Certainly some "traffic normals" have evolved in those places... Just what is the death/injury rate for peds in those areas? And even if there are a few collisions... mass and speed dictate that the "survivability rate," over that of an automobile collision, will be higher for those involved.