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Driving into cyclists the Emma way

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Re: Re:

Stingray34 said:
winkybiker said:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36670145

Oh my.

I'm not exactly a happy chappy. It would be awful, but a somewhat 'organic' way to go; better than being cleaned up by some entitled chav in a Mondeo. Or a knob in an Audi/BMW.

I think there was someone killed by a mountain lion in California a few years ago. Crazy I guess it's all in the timing. Cyclists have become prey !
 
Re:

42x16ss said:
But the great thing about Australia is that if they did know they'd just try and find some other stupid excuse to treat you like ****.

I've even had some w@nker tell me to get off the road because my bike isn't roadworthy (no indicator, brake lights etc etc.) totally ignoring the fact that his ****box VS Commodore was a deathtrap rustbucket :rolleyes:
They're called bogans.

It was good that her boss saw fit to sack her.
 
Re: Re:

sienna said:
42x16ss said:
But the great thing about Australia is that if they did know they'd just try and find some other stupid excuse to treat you like ****.

I've even had some w@nker tell me to get off the road because my bike isn't roadworthy (no indicator, brake lights etc etc.) totally ignoring the fact that his ****box VS Commodore was a deathtrap rustbucket :rolleyes:
They're called bogans.

It was good that her boss saw fit to sack her.

Wait... what? How can a bike not have an indicator? Your arm is the indicator.
You... do have arms, right?
 
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Archibald said:

The most telling part of this is the dehumisation: "We hate pushbikes..." As if there isn't real people riding them, and "we're not allowed to kill them..." As if robots riding the bikes are some kind of community hardware, like a traffic light or sign, that is really disliked but there would be a penalty for destroying them.

That's psychopathic. Is Boganism inherently psychotic?
 
Now you see why I left Sydney.

BTW, that tunnel is the only viable direct route to take when heading from east to south, and they are not in the left lane because a little further ahead it exits to the M5 motorway. To continue straight to Brighton le Sands you need to be in the middle lane. When the tunnel was lengthened during construction of the extra airport runway, provision for cyclists was meant to be made, but that got canned during construction. So every morning groups ride through there. On weekend mornings there would be many hundreds of riders that ride through it.
 
Stingray34 said:
Archibald said:

The most telling part of this is the dehumisation: "We hate pushbikes..." As if there isn't real people riding them, and "we're not allowed to kill them..." As if robots riding the bikes are some kind of community hardware, like a traffic light or sign, that is really disliked but there would be a penalty for destroying them.

That's psychopathic. Is Boganism inherently psychotic?
Yes, Boganism is very much psychotic - just check the early morning behaviour in places like Kings Cross/Surfers Paradise/Fortitude Valley that makes lockout laws necessary. Scots may have turned the word "glass" into a verb, but Australians perfected it.

Bogans also assume that everyone thinks the same way they do and all their opinions are held by a "Silent Majority". Their attitudes towards topics like Racism, Cycling, Education, Government Benefits etc are usually indicative.
 
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42x16ss said:
Stingray34 said:
Archibald said:

The most telling part of this is the dehumisation: "We hate pushbikes..." As if there isn't real people riding them, and "we're not allowed to kill them..." As if robots riding the bikes are some kind of community hardware, like a traffic light or sign, that is really disliked but there would be a penalty for destroying them.

That's psychopathic. Is Boganism inherently psychotic?
Yes, Boganism is very much psychotic - just check the early morning behaviour in places like Kings Cross/Surfers Paradise/Fortitude Valley that makes lockout laws necessary. Scots may have turned the word "glass" into a verb, but Australians perfected it.

Bogans also assume that everyone thinks the same way they do and all their opinions are held by a "Silent Majority". Their attitudes towards topics like Racism, Cycling, Education, Government Benefits etc are usually indicative.

I cannot fault your analysis in any way. That's a pretty sad indictment on our nation. Not surprising, but sad.

Have you seen Cory Bernadi's new 'Conservative Club'? 50,000 online members apparently. And he's a cyclist! I was always disappointed Tony Abbott didn't speak-up for cyclist's welfare: I imagine that would have made him 'wedge-able' in the political sense. He is, after-all, an eminent candidate for an atomic wedgie!

As a further very sad aside: Stuart Kelly, the 18-year-old brother of fatal Kings Cross violence victim Tom Kelly, himself 18-years-old in 2012, has appeared to have committed suicide in Northern Sydney. It seems young Stuart had copped a lot of flack and peer-pressure for his family's support for the lock-out laws.
 
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It's so simple, it's virtually dumb: our problems as a 'minority' - or cyclists in the predominantly English-speaking Western world - reduce down to a community apprehension of 'otherness' - much like refugees taking up 'white-men's asphalt.'

This idea of 'otherness' is so dumb. Who is truly other?

People make different choices, have different interests, ethnic backgrounds. So what? We are all the same in the sense we were born to mothers that loved us on a beautiful big blue marble water world.

Although the singer was apparently right-wing, I've always loved the guy for this song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E-L4POgIAA

Gotta love the guitar of James Burton!
 
Stingray34 said:
It's so simple, it's virtually dumb: our problems as a 'minority' - or cyclists in the predominantly English-speaking Western world - reduce down to a community apprehension of 'otherness' - much like refugees taking up 'white-men's asphalt.'

This idea of 'otherness' is so dumb. Who is truly other?

People make different choices, have different interests, ethnic backgrounds. So what? We are all the same in the sense we were born to mothers that loved us on a beautiful big blue marble water world....
I don't think it's that simple. People prefer to ignore the dangers they willingly expose themselves to. Aeroplane pilots do this all the time, compartmentalising, they just don't let the practise make them jaded towards their fellows. Motorists do. Cars have become so phenomenally safe, there is little sense left of the danger one exposes oneself to in driving them. And the majority of "cagers" are blithely (and willfully) ignorant to the fact that not everyone they share the roadway with enjoys the same protections. Part of the reason they have no empathy for the dangers they expose cyclists to (and that would be both motor-cyclists and bi-cyclists) is because they prefer to ignore the fact that there is anyone -- least of all themselves -- under threat of danger of any sort.

The evidence of that is the respect they pay to lorries and coaches, which are every bit as "other" as cyclists are. The difference is, the sheer mass of their vehicle brings home the threat of danger of a collision with them. So they also inspire fear. Cagers by and large only respect what they also fear.
 
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StyrbjornSterki said:
Stingray34 said:
It's so simple, it's virtually dumb: our problems as a 'minority' - or cyclists in the predominantly English-speaking Western world - reduce down to a community apprehension of 'otherness' - much like refugees taking up 'white-men's asphalt.'

This idea of 'otherness' is so dumb. Who is truly other?

People make different choices, have different interests, ethnic backgrounds. So what? We are all the same in the sense we were born to mothers that loved us on a beautiful big blue marble water world....
I don't think it's that simple. People prefer to ignore the dangers they willingly expose themselves to. Aeroplane pilots do this all the time, compartmentalising, they just don't let the practise make them jaded towards their fellows. Motorists do. Cars have become so phenomenally safe, there is little sense left of the danger one exposes oneself to in driving them. And the majority of "cagers" are blithely (and willfully) ignorant to the fact that not everyone they share the roadway with enjoys the same protections. Part of the reason they have no empathy for the dangers they expose cyclists to (and that would be both motor-cyclists and bi-cyclists) is because they prefer to ignore the fact that there is anyone -- least of all themselves -- under threat of danger of any sort.

The evidence of that is the respect they pay to lorries and coaches, which are every bit as "other" as cyclists are. The difference is, the sheer mass of their vehicle brings home the threat of danger of a collision with them. So they also inspire fear. Cagers by and large only respect what they also fear.

I agree with you. It is a fear-based world view that leads to perceptions of 'otherness.' That others will hurt us because they're different is a schizophrenic belief because we already know that the people most likely to hurt, maim and murder us are people close to us, people we trust.
 
My turn this time... gotta love the sydney motorists...
Idiot just changes lanes with no prior warning collecting me in the process (I was already in that lane), then just stops leaving him across the lane at a 45 degree angle and me against the side of his/her car...
I shout at him/her expecting them to either get out or at least open a passenger side window to call out/check if I'm okay.
Nope, just drives off

No way they couldn't have known I was there considering we'd both been in the same batch of traffic for the past few blocks...
 
Re:

Archibald said:
My turn this time... gotta love the sydney motorists...
Idiot just changes lanes with no prior warning collecting me in the process (I was already in that lane), then just stops leaving him across the lane at a 45 degree angle and me against the side of his/her car...
I shout at him/her expecting them to either get out or at least open a passenger side window to call out/check if I'm okay.
Nope, just drives off

No way they couldn't have known I was there considering we'd both been in the same batch of traffic for the past few blocks...
Did you bash on the window?
 
Stingray34 said:

The fact is she should not have been on the road at all :"Judge Parsons said Maher's criminal history – which include a string of driving offences, convictions for assault, theft and deception offences – and her history of drugs meant her prospects for rehabilitation were limited."

This judge seems more aware of the devastation that is causes to families and the sentence is a suitable one that fits the crime unlike many others that prefer the velvet glove approach and give the benefit of the doubt to drivers even when their behavior has been appalling. Here is someone that has gone out of his way safety wise to make it easy for the drivers to see him and still it wasn't enough. The fact is the woman should not have held a licence at all with her driving record but of course with such people it does not mean she would not have driven anyway as quite a few people it seems get caught without licences after accidents. Enough to make it a concern for road users.
 
This guy is a full blown ***....

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/trucker-cyclist-death-ottawa-morning-1.3757977

Ron Barr, president of the Greater Ottawa Truckers Association, was a guest on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday.
"Any time we hear charges like that, it's pretty drastic for our industry. ... So just to make a mistake and do a right-hand turn, and to have those kind of charges levied, it's pretty heavy damage," Barr said.

"I believe it's devastating for our industry because one of our members made a mistake that day. I think it's devastating for the family of the dead girl, paramedics, just everybody. It was just a tragic, tragic day for everybody. And nobody wants to go to work, Robyn, and ... be the cause of somebody not going home. It's just one of those things."
Barr said he believes bikes should not have been made equal to trucks on the road, and bikes should not have the right of way over trucks turning right at every intersection.
"What amazes me is that the bikes have precedence over trucks or vehicles. They have those green boxes right at the front of the light. So what I would like to see is that whatever corners that are used to turn right are dealt with a little bit better," he said, adding he would like another stop sign for cyclists far back from the intersection.
"Because let's face it: I never believed that a bike should be equal to a truck. The tie goes to the truck every time, so we've got to use some provisions to make sure they're back, and that trucks have the right of way when they're going to turn right at certain designated corners."
After being told by Bresnahan that some people might find his comments "disturbing," Barr said, "so be it."
"If I'm not at the table discussing with the bikers, we cannot be relegated to second or third class on the road. There's no question about that. We need to move the city. Without a truck, nothing moves. That's all."
 
Re:

Irondan said:
This guy is a full blown *....

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/trucker-cyclist-death-ottawa-morning-1.3757977

Ron Barr, president of the Greater Ottawa Truckers Association, was a guest on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday.
"Any time we hear charges like that, it's pretty drastic for our industry. ... So just to make a mistake and do a right-hand turn, and to have those kind of charges levied, it's pretty heavy damage," Barr said.

"I believe it's devastating for our industry because one of our members made a mistake that day. I think it's devastating for the family of the dead girl, paramedics, just everybody. It was just a tragic, tragic day for everybody. And nobody wants to go to work, Robyn, and ... be the cause of somebody not going home. It's just one of those things."
Barr said he believes bikes should not have been made equal to trucks on the road, and bikes should not have the right of way over trucks turning right at every intersection.
"What amazes me is that the bikes have precedence over trucks or vehicles. They have those green boxes right at the front of the light. So what I would like to see is that whatever corners that are used to turn right are dealt with a little bit better," he said, adding he would like another stop sign for cyclists far back from the intersection.
"Because let's face it: I never believed that a bike should be equal to a truck. The tie goes to the truck every time, so we've got to use some provisions to make sure they're back, and that trucks have the right of way when they're going to turn right at certain designated corners."
After being told by Bresnahan that some people might find his comments "disturbing," Barr said, "so be it."
"If I'm not at the table discussing with the bikers, we cannot be relegated to second or third class on the road. There's no question about that. We need to move the city. Without a truck, nothing moves. That's all."

He is honest and the fact that he is shows what the average cyclist has to contend with on the road. I guess if it was his son or daughter being killed on a bike he might possibly view things differently. Possibly.
 
He's the President of the "Greater Ottawa Truckers Association", the mouthpiece of thousands of truckers in Canada. It's scary that his words echo the thoughts and feelings of professional truck drivers in such a large area.

I wouldn't ride my bike on the roads in Ottawa, not with that attitude towards cyclists... :(
 
Re:

Irondan said:
He's the President of the "Greater Ottawa Truckers Association", the mouthpiece of thousands of truckers in Canada. It's scary that his words echo the thoughts and feelings of professional truck drivers in such a large area.

I wouldn't ride my bike on the roads in Ottawa, not with that attitude towards cyclists... :(
substitute the word 'truck' with 'car' in his quote and you've pretty much got the attitude of the bulk of the North American/Australian/British motorist right there...
 

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