You Should Know

I've seen a few other factors that might contribute to increased pedestrian/cyclist deaths on our roads:

1. e-Bikes. e-Bikes are mostly a goddamn mistake. The ones that don't make the bike go any faster than you yourself can pedal it, just make pushing the pedals easier? Those are fine. Anything else should be classified as a moped, and I don't know why they aren't. People are riding them at 20+ miles per hour on sidewalks and getting backed into out of blind driveways that weren't designed with traffic that speed on the sidewalk. Plus you've just got more people on 2-wheelers mixing with car traffic, which is a game they lost at the character select screen.

2. Half-assed attempts by DMVs to add bike lanes and walking paths. All the squawking about walkable cities this and fuck cars that you bots have been bitching about has been heard. In my area, where new housing developments or shopping centers are going in, the DOT now requires bike lanes and sidewalks in such places. They connect to nowhere because the main roads aren't all being modified to add such features, not until they need major modifications themselves. So you'll see bikes and pedestrians on highways they didn't used to appear on.

Another problem I've seen is the mixing of bike lanes and turn lanes. Our roads have long been built such that any lane that is allowed to turn right does not have lanes that can go straight to their right. So if you have the right of way to turn right, by green circle or green right arrow signal, it is logically safe for the driver to proceed. Until they added bike lanes to the extreme outside next to the curb. We didn't add signals for these bike lanes, they're supposed to follow the same signals as cars. So. You're sitting at a red light with your right turn signal on. It turns solid green. You go. The cyclist overtaking you in the bike lane also saw the light turn green, he tries to go straight, he is crushed to death under your right rear tire. This didn't used to be a problem, it is now.

3. Walkers and bikers be out here going full retard. My neighborhood is a grid system full of stop signs. There are two North-South streets a couple blocks apart where all the stop signs are crossing, so these are main thoroughfares through town. Cars go the posted speed limit of 35 along there. Between these two streets is another that has stop signs on most blocks. Cars don't tend to travel down that road because they constantly have to stop. Guess where everyone decides to walk and bike? EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE ROAD WITH NO CAR TRAFFIC. People go out of their way to play in traffic. I guess you can't earn a living by getting a job anymore, so you've got to get your pelvis crushed to have your day in court.