MoAlpha

Yeah, that's a classic.

ls01

beat me to it again

Bah Humbug

Yes, I'd always rather have a car ahead of me and pulling away, even if it means me slowing down a bunch briefly.

MoAlpha

Again, and not to be argumentative, I'm having trouble picturing how more advance warning that there's a motor vehicle behind me is going to help. I have the same issue with mirrors.

Unless I'm dodging rocks and potholes, I am comfortable looking over either shoulder and I haven't even found that to be useful in a passing situation other than to make the driver aware that I know (s)he's there.

WalksOn2Wheels

I am of the FIRM belief that there should be more financial and skill based barriers to owning a license to drive. It's treated as a right rather than a privilege. The fact that we have to continually engineer vehicles to make up for bad driving skills is pretty indicative of the real common denominator in most accidents.

I remember getting driver's ed via my HS and how much more importance was placed on backing up a vehicle rather than situational awareness and being aware of vulnerable road users. The whole process was and is a bit of a joke.

Velo Vol 

Yeah, I don't get how the cyclist knowing an auto is behind him makes said vehicle any less likely to hit him.

ksryder

LOL we are, even though we realize they play in KC MO.

I'm moving SUPER slowly this morning (and I don't even drink) but totally worth it because it's the first time since I've been born that my team has won the Superbowl.

Also I rode my bike yesterday for the first time in a month so I guess it was good luck so I should probably start riding regularly again now.

Bah Humbug

That gets into a whole thing of making it so that driving isn't a fundamental requirement of participating in the society and economy.

abshipp 

I could maybe get behind more rigorous skills testing, but all that increasing the already significant financial burden of car ownership will do is further disadvantage people that are already at a financial disadvantage in this country. Lord knows it's hard enough to be poor, no sense making it harder.

The unfortunate fact is that car ownership is essentially required in the majority of the country. Every single place I have lived having a car was necessary for every-day life, and that wasn't by accident. The modern United States was explicitly and intentionally planned and built with the assumption that people will own cars. It's maddening.

*edit* Bah Humbug beat me to it.

Velo Vol 

Disabling driver's side cell phone use would go a long ways to improving road safety.

LesterOfPuppets

If you're close to the ocean or they get rained on a lot or ridden through puddles a lot I'd probably repack HS annually.

On olde school headsets, I used to cut about an inch of tube and slip it over the cups upon reassembly phase of repack, to keep the wet out.

If all your forks are coil spring, I'd clean the wipers when dirty, give em a drop of triflow occasionally. Grease the springs when noisy.

MoAlpha

Agree completely, except that the post-boomer generations are less enamored of cars and the cities and inner suburbs are already changing in favor of other modes. The rest of the country is is always going to be dependent personally owned vehicles, but money and population are currently flowing into dense areas and the trend shows no signs of letting up.

LesterOfPuppets

Canadian air is moving in already!!! I'm so excited!

MoAlpha

I suspect the person who hit me with the left side of their vehicle was occupied with something other than driving.

seedsbelize 

Thanks. Now I know the good guys won.

Velo Vol 

Fixed.

Velo Vol 

Yikes. You were on the right edge of the right lane?

MoAlpha

Left side of the left lane of a four lane road and pretty hard to miss in broad daylight with a blinkie.

Bah Humbug

Last I saw, the post-boomer generations acquire cars at high rates once they can afford them. Not finding the data easily now, other than this:

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/10/...the-recession/

However, that is still a very small trend in the face of the country's layout, especially outside of a few urban cores.

seedsbelize 

The entire test, here in Yucatan, is being able to parallel park. But, here in Yucatan, we have very little traffic, relatively speaking. And the fast lane on the outer belt during rush hour is moving at around 50 mph.

seedsbelize 

Ignore the above. I am permitted to neither edit it nor delete it.

MoAlpha

We'll just have to keep on narrowing their economic prospects with shortsighted policies then.

seedsbelize 

Thanks for the maintenance tips. I am busy today and tomorrow, and was looking at a Wed.start, but now it looks like a touring cyclist is coming in for his Warm Shower on Wed. Last week I had nothing on my plate. this week I'm jambed (jammed?)

MoAlpha

Daughter just texted us a casual pic of herself with the president of Ireland. She's a pretty good networker and schmoozer.

WalksOn2Wheels

You're definitely both right. I'm not talking about making it impossible, just harder. Let's just scratch the financial bit and say there is a required re-test every 2 years and the test isn't easy. Maybe a driving test portion every third time, so 6 years. In Texas, I have a license that goes years and years without expiring and the only thing they check when you renew is your vision.

And yeah, the reason driving is considered a right rather than a privilege is exactly because car ownership is basically required to the point that it makes it nearly impossible to hold even the most basic job throughout most of this country.