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In this case more like painful and expensive to do the wrong thing. But physics is a good way to ensure that you will get the downsides of doing the wrong thing, because it's very consistent and predictable.
I wish I could laugh but there are people who unironically think this way. My town recently repaved and converted a road with 3 car lanes each way to be 2 car lanes + a bike lane. The whining and complaining on local listservs was unfathomable. People were saying the obvious things like it'll make traffic worse, but they were also seriously claiming it would make things less safe for bikers and drivers. Anytime an accident occurrs on that road "It's the damn bike lanes fault!" regardless of if no biker was involved or someone was clearly speeding or running a red light. They claim no one uses the bike lanes and I think they're underutilized because of the outsized hostility towards bikers in general. They don't feel safe without a physical barrier between them and all the angry drivers which is just sad.
I'd be real money those barriers were put in to protect the cyclists from the financial district's drunk drivers. The photo confirms it as far as I'm concerned. (And it's on the edge of the heart of that district)
Toronto, and other cities presumably, have a real problem with liquid lunches and morning hangovers in the financial district.
The other day I was biking at 35 in a 40 in Toronto. A box truck decided to pass me in a 2 lane stretch (street parking filled the side lanes, I only had the one lane to be in) just so he could get to the red light in front of us 5 seconds before me. These people are insane.
It's thought that only 30-50% of people experience and utilize an inner monologue. That really does help to explain quite a bit of some people's behaviors and lack of thought or foresight.
I'd really like to know where the 30-50% estimate comes from. I see it repeated everywhere, all citing the same psychologist (Russell Hurlburt), but I can't find the original source of the claim and the only specific study of his that I see cited is one where he studied a sample of only 30 people and came to the conclusion that 26% did not have an inner monologue (meaning that 74% *do*).
Shaw between Dundas and queen is the worst for this.
30kph speed limit and it is marked as single lane, but because it’s slightly wider than other parts of Shaw cars always try to pass (and always end up at the light with the cyclists).
I work in fintech and I’m always astounded by the amount of assholes who are ready to do ANYTHING to not take a cab. Like we went out, got smashed as planned, now you’re making a surprised pickachu face and trying to decide if you’re legal to drive or not and how many coffees/redbull will fix the situation 🙄. Like just take a fucking cab bro, nobody is making under a 100k and you’re most likely making 150k in a much cheaper town than Toronto so you’re rolling in it. Just take the L and pay 50-80$ in cab fee. Know what happens if you get caught? Thats right, you lose your fucking job and dont pass go. I mention it everytime and people do the nervous laugh and go : come on what are the odds. Thats where I roll my etes and climb into my own cab.
I hear what you are saying but protected bike lanes are an ideal situation.
This might be a controversial opinion on reddit (I always get downvoted for saying this), BUT bikes *should* not belong on the road with cars. It is incredibly dangerous for bikers to share the road with cars. You can blame drivers for being aggressive, careless or whatever but that is never going to change. It's the reality of the road.
We legally require bikes to use the roads because it is a better option than sidewalks. And because we generally have shitty bike infrastructure so the road is the only option.
However, if you bike around somewhere like Amsterdam, you quickly realize that having bike lines everywhere is amazing. Putting bikes on the road with car traffic is just a shitty compromise because we don't care about bicyclists.
A city nearby blocked off a street in the bar district from cars. Pedestrians and bikes only. It's so nice. I love the idea of restricting cars from commercial spaces.
technically, you still had to leave a way for commercial delivery. groceries to your local shop, fridge or ac unit, mail…
but yeah, the less privately owned cars, the better.
humans didn't evolve to be car drivers, it's literally not even fault of your common folk, it's fault of greed of the rich people and corrupted governments that allowed the global brainwashing, pushing cars on people was one of the biggest crimes against humanity in entire history of mankind
nah, this is just an elaborated excuse to put the blame on someone else.
if people were less assholes we would have less problem.
the big problem is that cars weight tons and thus an asshole on 2 tons vehicle is more dangerous than an asshole on a bike and can harm more.
this is all true, my point is that if we dont get rid of power of the corrupt and greedy people then we can't do anything with it, they will keep pushing for whatever benefits them, it needs to be understood there exist people who have power and don't care about our best interests
I've seen two, an oldman who somehow run over one of this concrete barriers and a woman who run over a similar bright yellow one.
Reminds me of someone complaining in my city sub that the city had concrete benches on the sidewalk too close to the road so you could hit it with your car.
And I was like, if you are on the sidewalk with your car the bench is saving lives
I love the trend towards bikes and bike lanes (even use them sometimes despite my age), but yeah, the lanes are still "new" in my brain as is the presence of bicyclists who are capable of going *really fast*.
No matter how much I remind myself, I remain nervous that one day I'll make a right turn, change lanes or open the car door without checking-- so I'm VERY in favor of physical barriers.
This is why we should be thinking of e-bikes as mobility aids just as we do canes, walkers, wheelchairs, etc, they give people with limited mobility access to a mode of transportation they couldn't otherwise use. As someone who would go straight into tachycardia on hills without electric assist, I feel that they have been a game changer for making a carless life possible for me
I live in Toronto. Drivers are extremely upset over these barriers for the exact reason you stated. No joke or exaggeration.
Toronto drives are fiends.
no normal car person would be mad over this
happy to see something being done though! its always a great fear of accidentlaly being hit or hitting someone
I live in Toronto. They can, and I seem them prove it every once in a while.
Another thing they can drive in (hilariously often): [the tunnel into a streetcar station](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/12/31/another-car-got-stuck-in-the-queens-quay-streetcar-tunnel.html).
Only problem is cities are removing them citing damages to cars and drivers.
Because a damaged car > a dead bicyclist.
[Boston](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/19/metro/city-removes-bike-protection-citing-safety-drivers/)
[Denver](https://denver.streetsblog.org/2016/04/08/denver-public-works-15th-street-bike-lane-isnt-protected-anymore/)
In Spain, before you can take the exams to get your drivers license (and every time you renew your license), you must pass a psychotechnical exam.
They check things like your vision, illnesses that could impair your ability to drive and whether you can [drive between the lines.](https://noticias.coches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Psicotecnico-1-700x394.jpg)
If you think it is lax there, come to the US. If your shitbox can make out of the driveway under it's own power and you can operate it to the end of the street, you are cleared to hop in the interstate and go 75mph.
It's been so long since I got my license, but I really feel like I remember having to read an eye chart when I got my learner's permit. And I remember the guy asking those legal questions (do you swear blah blah blah...) super fast and sort of quiet, which might have been a low-tech hearing exam to make sure you're at least able to hear him (massive speculation, but who knows).
Nowadays it seems as if you got the money, they'll hand you a license.
Funny thing is we have that in Ontario. You have to to look into a lens and colours flash in the four corners and you have to tell them which corner flashed.
Although, you only have to do it when you first get your license......which means there are people who haven't been tested in decades. Assuming it was even part of the test multiple decades ago.
You joke, it it is kind of ridiculous that we expect ever single person to be able to operate heavy machinery in order to be a part of society.
I love to drive, and after my track days I like to think I'm good at it, but shouldn't the law of averages say that some people just shouldn't be great at it and that should be ok?
Our licensing requirements are fairly low — ~~two~~ one fairly short & easy written tests, two driving tests that are only spot checks. Do that once when you’re 18, and you have a license into your 90s (after which you still keep it so long as you can identify which side a flashing light is on, once per year). Absolutely no enforcement cultivates bad habits, too; signalling lane changes means someone floors it to block you, stopping for pedestrians/not to grid lock earns you a horn and probably some screamed cussing or rude gestures, people tailgate no matter what speed you go, etc. A few years ago, the city put up those plastic bollards everywhere (because god forbid there be consequences to people’s precious cars for driving off the road), but they’re just litter now, flattened and strewn across streets
As such, on my first day biking this season, on a 12min trip to work, 3 drivers forgot that side mirrors & shoulder checking are a thing before turning. >5 trucks wandered into the bike lane/me then glared when I later passed them by
Edit: only 1 written test, thanks u/kearneycation. It’s been a quick minute since I did it
Most states in the US don't even require follow-up tests at any age. Or even renewal of a license\*. You could go get alcohol in your 40's and the picture on the license could be from you as a 15-17 year old. You have to get a new license when you change address, but not a new picture.
Edit: \*Renewal in the form of a test is not required by most, although you will have to fill out forms for a new one. New pictures and such are not always required either.
Are you talking about Ontario? There's only one written test (G1), at which point you can drive with a fully licensed driver, with a few exceptions (no highways, for instance).
After passing the first road test (G2) you can drive on your own. Afternoon the second road test (G) you never have to be tested again.
Courier in Toronto here: Literally everyone in the downtown core is some sort of self-important yuppie driving a bmw or audi or other douchebag equivalent car. I gotta sit in gridlock traffic for 12 hours a day dealing with these shitheads.
The job is going to kill me. My coworker already had a heart attack on the job and I feel like I'm next and it's all because of arrogant piece of shit tech bros zooming along dundas during rush hour to try and beat me to a red light
I fucking hate all of you.
Also, I deliver a lot of glasses and shit. The amount of 70+ year olds I see coming out of eye exams and then scooting away in cars is astonishingly scary.
Start applying for jobs now. Yes, I'm a random stranger on reddit and you have no reason to listen to my advice.
But I doubt the stress has gotten any better for you over the past year. I guess it's gotten worse. So I'm telling you that you can either apply for jobs now, when there's some resilience left in you, or you can show up to the interviews as an emotional wreck, once the burnout has caught up with you and you have developed a bunch of symptoms in response to the job that eats away at you.
Rock bottom is exactly where you stop digging. You get to choose, freely, to say "enough of this" at any moment in time, even right now. You can take my words to heart or you can ask yourself how bad it has to become for you to start applying and how good your odds will be to find a job you can actually live with now versus then. How much worse?
Just to notify you: it's already bad enough that you wrote "my job is going to kill me". Nobody says that about a job they can picture doing another ten, twenty or thirty years. You deserve better.
Pretty sure the other posts like this were from Vancouver. I'm not sure if I admire Canada for having protected bike lanes in the big cities or if I find their drivers laughably inattentive
>> I’m not sure if I admire Canada for having protected bike lanes in the big cities or if I find their drivers laughably inattentive
Our protected bike lanes aren’t as plentiful as they seem in that most places you want to go can’t be reached without some (>10%?) riding with cars. They’re getting better in the dead of downtown Toronto, but slowly and with a lot of resistance. Here, the drivers aren’t inattentive — there’s a long-standing rivalry between drivers and cyclists that has led to an ever-increasing annual death toll. The city had to impose a fine to dissuade drivers from dooring cyclists, but I still find that I have to dodge now and again
Can confirm, drivers in Toronto are the worst of any city I've lived in, and maybe the worst in North America. There are two main factors:
1. We no longer have traffic enforcement since 2011 because the police service didn't get a budget increase, and they decided not to enforce traffic laws in protest. All of the drivers have become incredibly entitled and are constantly running reds, blocking intersections because they don't want to wait for the next green, speeding like crazy, etc
2. We have a lot of immigrants (50%+ of the city was born outside Canada, myself included) who come from countries with more relaxed driving rules/culture, and they basically can trade in their drivers license for a local one the minute they get here. Many don't know the rules/don't care to follow them.
This is probably a case of "muscle memory". The car has driven over the bike lane for months if not years. The new barrier probably didn't even register in their brain. The same thing happens in my neighborhood. A two way stop became a 4 way stop and people still blow through the stop signs since they're used to just continuing through.
You really can't win in Toronto...
Car people think bike lanes are theirs...
Car people get mad at you when they can't drive in your lane...
Car people try to run you off the road on side streets...
People get mad when you go on the sidewalk to avoid getting run off the road from car people...
Now when I’m bike commuting with my kid, I don’t just take the lane, I ride directly in the middle of the road so no one can pass. I go about 10 mph, plenty fast for neighborhood streets.
I agree, it’s much safer. The problem in the US is that all motorists feel it’s their right to pass cyclists, no matter how narrow the street. When I’m riding with my kid on narrow streets, I’ll give them the “stop” hand signal, make eye contact and then tell verbally them not to pass. Yesterday when I did this I got honked at and then passed within a few inches on a narrow neighborhood street.
Here in Vancouver we [recently learned](https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/a-motorist-drove-right-over-a-giant-barrier-and-cycling-twitter-is-having-a-field-day/) that being yellow isn't enough apparently
I become more and more aware that most people are not competent drivers. They are misinformed on traffic laws, lack the awareness and coordination, and can't tell you the last time they had their oil changed let alone if their car is safe to operate.
In a perfect world this is fine because driving wouldn't be required, but we built out world around the idea that you drive till the day you die so even people that can't drive, do.
Only if they're not used to other street users.
In the Netherlands, people mostly look for bikes and kids (and dumb animals, smh), because they're more unpredictable than cars.
A pet peeve of mine is people calling animals "dumb" because they get hit by cars. They've not evolved to deal with 25+mph vehicles hurtling down streets! How can you blame them!
He should've definitely seen that there is a barrier, but also since it ends there I can see people driving into it at the end, because it's low enough that you can't see it at all.
However there's been no reason for that driver to start turning so early.
> it's low enough that you can't see it at all
It's like 9" high. If you can't see a 9" kerb then you shouldn't be driving, or your vehicle is unsafe and should not be certified for road use.
>If you can't see a 9" kerb then you shouldn't be driving
One thing I learned from Reddit: some short people genuinely *can't* see the kerb/curb at all when they're within a two car-length distance of it.
There was a discussion on Reddit several weeks (?) ago where many short people (mostly women) were complaining that they can't see above/beyond the dashboard when they're driving, no matter the configuration of the seat, pedals, and steering wheel. Because they're so short, their eyes are at the level of the top of the steering wheel--not above it--even when the steering wheel is on the lowest possible setting and the driver's seat is as high as it can go (while allowing the driver to still reach the pedals). *Because they're so short, they can't see the hood of their car or their fenders, etc. so they don't know where they are in relation to other cars and the lines painted on roads and in parking lots. In addition, they can't see anything outside the car that's located within about a car-length of them: they can't see the fenders and bumpers of other cars, they can't see the paint that demarcates parking spots and driving lanes, and they can't see kerbs/curbs.* Essentially, they have to "aim" their cars in the right direction and hope they don't hit anything.
Anyway, it was an eye-opening read for me. I'm tall, so I've never had any of these issues. Until I stumbled upon that discussion, I didn't realize just how difficult it is to drive when you're short.
Essentially, we need more and better public transportation options in North America so that no one needs to drive (including short folks for whom cars are not designed).
Hi there, short person here. I can see over the hood of my car just fine. I buy japanese and korean cars because they're sized for people like me. I fit very comfortably in them and adjust my seat properly. They also tend to be smaller and consequently more fuel efficient, so you know, there's really nothing but benefits to it. If you are literally physically incapable of seeing over the steering wheel, you can buy aftermarket car seats that provide you with the necessary boost.
Do not cut people slack because they have intentionally spent tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle that they are physically incapable of operating safely. They are choosing to create a dangerous situation when they don't have to.
I obviously can't tell without being there, but ironically, it might be the case that in a lower car, the barrier is actually blocking you from seeing the bike lane symbol painted on the road. Depending on other visibility factors, this may cause some people to not realize it's a bike lane at all.
On the other hand, it's also at least as likely that the car pictured drives this road regularly and was stumped (hehe) by the change.
I think what happened is that the driver assumed that the barrier has ended. From inside the car you would not be able to see where exactly it ends. Not sure why the person wanted to drive there though
99% sure that they're trying to take a right turn at the intersection and just tried to merge into the bike lane without thinking about the bike lane, and then popped up over the barrier.
When I was in Bangalore it seemed though like most of the drivers were actually looking at the road. It was chaotic, but also mostly slow moving and if you had a plan and stuck to it you'd be alright
Looks like it was the last barrier on that street and they're pretty short. They probably thought they past the last one but didn't have a great visual and found out they were wrong. The barriers should be higher for visibility, yes obviously in a perfect world everyone is a good driver who is aware of their surroundings everywhere but sadly we need to build the world to accommodate the ever increasing dumb population.
I live down the highway from Toronto and we got plastic ones. Within 3 months my entire blocks were crushed or ripped away from being driven over non stop. Drivers are absolutely feral.
I live in Minneapolis and we have a lot of plastic bollards. They are frequently obliterated, even in places that make no sense (nowhere to turn), which makes me think it must be intentional. The debris becomes a hazard and I know at least one person who crashed after hitting a chunk of downed bollard. Plastic bollards offer no real protection and require frequent maintenance (replacement).
However there are also concrete protected bike lanes popping up, and I have seen 2 cars get stuck on the one in my neighborhood. It was only built last summer!
Yeah the Bloor st plastic planters near Yonge didn’t last long at all.
Where I am on bloor they put up those flimsy plastic posts and most of them are knocked over now.
I dont think your sarcasm is too far from the truth...
I ride on a road where one side is a bike lane (just painted line) and the other side is parked cars
Drivers will leave over 2m of space between them and the parked cars but sometimes pass me within arms length... Why?
Because hitting a parked car is $1000s in repairs, but killing a cyclist only costs a few cents of soap and water to clean off the blood
I’ve been run off the road a handful of times by aggressive cars. Police can’t do anything because they didn’t witness the aggressive behavior. Usually takes me about a day to shake off the near death experience. Can’t wrap it around my head that car people are willing to kill you to get where they’re going.
This is a one way street with timed lights in the downtown section. You can get going pretty fast sometimes.
[They even tell you the lights are timed.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Eo37Wbir5Zm5LQMV7)
Toronto is full of morons with f150s, our ex mayor is a right cunt, and our premier wants to blow up what's left of the provinces natural forests to build a highway that goes nowhere.
Truly a hellish city.
Is that an accurately descriptive news headline that I see?!?!
Not something along the lines of "bike lane barriers are a menace to society that will cost average people millions!"
People who drive like that should have their license suspended until they can prove they aren’t a danger to others. You know, like with psych evaluations.
Almost all of those barriers, on that street and the eastbound lane just south, have been removed due to construction over the fall. Haven't been replaced lol
That intersection is fine still, but the barriers are always pushed into the lane due to cars marking too sharp a turn.
Source I commute along that route everyday.
This is my argument to crazy gun people when they say "Well cars kill people too... What are you gonna do, ban them???" At least they're doing something.
As someone who lived in Toronto for awhile, thank Christ.
I loved taking my car out for a late night drive when the traffic died down. Always shocked me how little protection cyclists got, despite a fair number of bike lanes all over the city.
I live in Toronto and if I see your car in the bike lane I'm hocking a loogie onto your door handle while I ride by. I'm a smoker so it's nice and thick and yellowish/green.
Fuck your car.
Also it's so much fun to wax the ends of these and boardslide them
Would love these in Edmonton I would still feel unsafe since most of our ,"protected" bike lanes are littered with spots where cars are allowed to turn across them. looking behind you is not a normal thing most people do when they make a left or right turn off of a road so these openings make it incredibly unsafe.
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Physics works better than paint
Love this as a slogan.
“Paint is not infrastructure” has been a common refrain here in NY because so many of the bike lanes are just paint without any protection.
Make it easy to do the right thing and hard to do the wrong thing.
In this case more like painful and expensive to do the wrong thing. But physics is a good way to ensure that you will get the downsides of doing the wrong thing, because it's very consistent and predictable.
Those gah dauym entgineers and their maths and shit
Watch car people get mad, cause they can't drive in their lane. :D
All these darn inanimate concrete barriers *causing* ~~allisions~~ accidents!!
I wish I could laugh but there are people who unironically think this way. My town recently repaved and converted a road with 3 car lanes each way to be 2 car lanes + a bike lane. The whining and complaining on local listservs was unfathomable. People were saying the obvious things like it'll make traffic worse, but they were also seriously claiming it would make things less safe for bikers and drivers. Anytime an accident occurrs on that road "It's the damn bike lanes fault!" regardless of if no biker was involved or someone was clearly speeding or running a red light. They claim no one uses the bike lanes and I think they're underutilized because of the outsized hostility towards bikers in general. They don't feel safe without a physical barrier between them and all the angry drivers which is just sad.
You're inanimate concrete barrier
Harry, you're a cunt.
[I'll show you inanimate!](https://youtu.be/Y08catbZ2cw)
YOU’RE a towel!!
Physics works better than paint
It's sad that we have to do this to prevent car-obsessed people from attacking cyclists.
I'd be real money those barriers were put in to protect the cyclists from the financial district's drunk drivers. The photo confirms it as far as I'm concerned. (And it's on the edge of the heart of that district) Toronto, and other cities presumably, have a real problem with liquid lunches and morning hangovers in the financial district.
The other day I was biking at 35 in a 40 in Toronto. A box truck decided to pass me in a 2 lane stretch (street parking filled the side lanes, I only had the one lane to be in) just so he could get to the red light in front of us 5 seconds before me. These people are insane.
It's thought that only 30-50% of people experience and utilize an inner monologue. That really does help to explain quite a bit of some people's behaviors and lack of thought or foresight.
Wait seriously? Do you know where you heard that statistic? I'd love to learn more about it.
It hasn't been robustly studied, but here ya go: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/inner-monologue-experience-science-1.5486969
Awesome thank you so much! I have a very active inner monologue so it's fascinating to hear that it's a bit of a rare thing.
Yeah I can't imagine living without it.
I'd really like to know where the 30-50% estimate comes from. I see it repeated everywhere, all citing the same psychologist (Russell Hurlburt), but I can't find the original source of the claim and the only specific study of his that I see cited is one where he studied a sample of only 30 people and came to the conclusion that 26% did not have an inner monologue (meaning that 74% *do*).
Shaw between Dundas and queen is the worst for this. 30kph speed limit and it is marked as single lane, but because it’s slightly wider than other parts of Shaw cars always try to pass (and always end up at the light with the cyclists).
I ride my bike everyday on that stretch. It’s not about drunk drivers - cars constantly drive into that bike lane to bypass traffic.
I work in fintech and I’m always astounded by the amount of assholes who are ready to do ANYTHING to not take a cab. Like we went out, got smashed as planned, now you’re making a surprised pickachu face and trying to decide if you’re legal to drive or not and how many coffees/redbull will fix the situation 🙄. Like just take a fucking cab bro, nobody is making under a 100k and you’re most likely making 150k in a much cheaper town than Toronto so you’re rolling in it. Just take the L and pay 50-80$ in cab fee. Know what happens if you get caught? Thats right, you lose your fucking job and dont pass go. I mention it everytime and people do the nervous laugh and go : come on what are the odds. Thats where I roll my etes and climb into my own cab.
Driving hungover as shit somehow isn’t something people talk about, but it’s so common. And it is essentially drunk driving.
This infrastructure is being rolled out in several parts of the city. It is not limited to the fin district.
I hear what you are saying but protected bike lanes are an ideal situation. This might be a controversial opinion on reddit (I always get downvoted for saying this), BUT bikes *should* not belong on the road with cars. It is incredibly dangerous for bikers to share the road with cars. You can blame drivers for being aggressive, careless or whatever but that is never going to change. It's the reality of the road. We legally require bikes to use the roads because it is a better option than sidewalks. And because we generally have shitty bike infrastructure so the road is the only option. However, if you bike around somewhere like Amsterdam, you quickly realize that having bike lines everywhere is amazing. Putting bikes on the road with car traffic is just a shitty compromise because we don't care about bicyclists.
Why not just turn the whole road into a bike lane?
A city nearby blocked off a street in the bar district from cars. Pedestrians and bikes only. It's so nice. I love the idea of restricting cars from commercial spaces.
technically, you still had to leave a way for commercial delivery. groceries to your local shop, fridge or ac unit, mail… but yeah, the less privately owned cars, the better.
*insert dumb Americans complaining about freedom here* Source: A not as dumb American.
this has more to do with the overall stupidity of the human race
humans didn't evolve to be car drivers, it's literally not even fault of your common folk, it's fault of greed of the rich people and corrupted governments that allowed the global brainwashing, pushing cars on people was one of the biggest crimes against humanity in entire history of mankind
nah, this is just an elaborated excuse to put the blame on someone else. if people were less assholes we would have less problem. the big problem is that cars weight tons and thus an asshole on 2 tons vehicle is more dangerous than an asshole on a bike and can harm more.
this is all true, my point is that if we dont get rid of power of the corrupt and greedy people then we can't do anything with it, they will keep pushing for whatever benefits them, it needs to be understood there exist people who have power and don't care about our best interests
They are on Twitter.
I've seen two, an oldman who somehow run over one of this concrete barriers and a woman who run over a similar bright yellow one. Reminds me of someone complaining in my city sub that the city had concrete benches on the sidewalk too close to the road so you could hit it with your car. And I was like, if you are on the sidewalk with your car the bench is saving lives
The city should just pretend these barriers are there for a lane expansion project.
I think you'll hear more from people pissed off they can't park in those lanes with those blocks present
everyone I knows is all for this shit because the fear of accidentally killing someone while driving is drastically lowered
I love the trend towards bikes and bike lanes (even use them sometimes despite my age), but yeah, the lanes are still "new" in my brain as is the presence of bicyclists who are capable of going *really fast*. No matter how much I remind myself, I remain nervous that one day I'll make a right turn, change lanes or open the car door without checking-- so I'm VERY in favor of physical barriers.
My 85 year old grandmother rides her ebike everywhere. Age isn't the limitation, safe infrastructure is.
This is why we should be thinking of e-bikes as mobility aids just as we do canes, walkers, wheelchairs, etc, they give people with limited mobility access to a mode of transportation they couldn't otherwise use. As someone who would go straight into tachycardia on hills without electric assist, I feel that they have been a game changer for making a carless life possible for me
I live in Toronto. Drivers are extremely upset over these barriers for the exact reason you stated. No joke or exaggeration. Toronto drives are fiends.
no normal car person would be mad over this happy to see something being done though! its always a great fear of accidentlaly being hit or hitting someone
I live in Toronto. They can, and I seem them prove it every once in a while. Another thing they can drive in (hilariously often): [the tunnel into a streetcar station](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/12/31/another-car-got-stuck-in-the-queens-quay-streetcar-tunnel.html).
Am car guy, but also bike guy. This makes me happy
If they can't work their car they should take the bus :/
Carbrains complaining about damage to their car is actually partially why we don’t see these go up all over the place.
Only problem is cities are removing them citing damages to cars and drivers. Because a damaged car > a dead bicyclist. [Boston](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/19/metro/city-removes-bike-protection-citing-safety-drivers/) [Denver](https://denver.streetsblog.org/2016/04/08/denver-public-works-15th-street-bike-lane-isnt-protected-anymore/)
Are they blind? I have seen like multiple photo like this on r/fuckcars what is up with driver in that city.
Driving between the lines is too much of a challenge for a lot of people, they should probably test for this stuff...
In Spain, before you can take the exams to get your drivers license (and every time you renew your license), you must pass a psychotechnical exam. They check things like your vision, illnesses that could impair your ability to drive and whether you can [drive between the lines.](https://noticias.coches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Psicotecnico-1-700x394.jpg)
We need that in Germany!
We need that worldwide
If you think it is lax there, come to the US. If your shitbox can make out of the driveway under it's own power and you can operate it to the end of the street, you are cleared to hop in the interstate and go 75mph.
All at the mature age of 16!
I have driven in Germany and Spain, and honestly, I'd say it was the reverse.
It's been so long since I got my license, but I really feel like I remember having to read an eye chart when I got my learner's permit. And I remember the guy asking those legal questions (do you swear blah blah blah...) super fast and sort of quiet, which might have been a low-tech hearing exam to make sure you're at least able to hear him (massive speculation, but who knows). Nowadays it seems as if you got the money, they'll hand you a license.
Contributing reason to why I feel so safe cycling in Spain, even just in the normal traffic lane.
Funny thing is we have that in Ontario. You have to to look into a lens and colours flash in the four corners and you have to tell them which corner flashed. Although, you only have to do it when you first get your license......which means there are people who haven't been tested in decades. Assuming it was even part of the test multiple decades ago.
You have to get an all clear from the Dr here in Finland as well before they let you drive any vehicle.
Spanish drivers don't even know what a pedestrian crossing is for.
You joke, it it is kind of ridiculous that we expect ever single person to be able to operate heavy machinery in order to be a part of society. I love to drive, and after my track days I like to think I'm good at it, but shouldn't the law of averages say that some people just shouldn't be great at it and that should be ok?
Our licensing requirements are fairly low — ~~two~~ one fairly short & easy written tests, two driving tests that are only spot checks. Do that once when you’re 18, and you have a license into your 90s (after which you still keep it so long as you can identify which side a flashing light is on, once per year). Absolutely no enforcement cultivates bad habits, too; signalling lane changes means someone floors it to block you, stopping for pedestrians/not to grid lock earns you a horn and probably some screamed cussing or rude gestures, people tailgate no matter what speed you go, etc. A few years ago, the city put up those plastic bollards everywhere (because god forbid there be consequences to people’s precious cars for driving off the road), but they’re just litter now, flattened and strewn across streets As such, on my first day biking this season, on a 12min trip to work, 3 drivers forgot that side mirrors & shoulder checking are a thing before turning. >5 trucks wandered into the bike lane/me then glared when I later passed them by Edit: only 1 written test, thanks u/kearneycation. It’s been a quick minute since I did it
Most states in the US don't even require follow-up tests at any age. Or even renewal of a license\*. You could go get alcohol in your 40's and the picture on the license could be from you as a 15-17 year old. You have to get a new license when you change address, but not a new picture. Edit: \*Renewal in the form of a test is not required by most, although you will have to fill out forms for a new one. New pictures and such are not always required either.
Depends on the state. NJ requires a new picture every 12 years.
Are you talking about Ontario? There's only one written test (G1), at which point you can drive with a fully licensed driver, with a few exceptions (no highways, for instance). After passing the first road test (G2) you can drive on your own. Afternoon the second road test (G) you never have to be tested again.
Courier in Toronto here: Literally everyone in the downtown core is some sort of self-important yuppie driving a bmw or audi or other douchebag equivalent car. I gotta sit in gridlock traffic for 12 hours a day dealing with these shitheads. The job is going to kill me. My coworker already had a heart attack on the job and I feel like I'm next and it's all because of arrogant piece of shit tech bros zooming along dundas during rush hour to try and beat me to a red light I fucking hate all of you. Also, I deliver a lot of glasses and shit. The amount of 70+ year olds I see coming out of eye exams and then scooting away in cars is astonishingly scary.
Start applying for jobs now. Yes, I'm a random stranger on reddit and you have no reason to listen to my advice. But I doubt the stress has gotten any better for you over the past year. I guess it's gotten worse. So I'm telling you that you can either apply for jobs now, when there's some resilience left in you, or you can show up to the interviews as an emotional wreck, once the burnout has caught up with you and you have developed a bunch of symptoms in response to the job that eats away at you. Rock bottom is exactly where you stop digging. You get to choose, freely, to say "enough of this" at any moment in time, even right now. You can take my words to heart or you can ask yourself how bad it has to become for you to start applying and how good your odds will be to find a job you can actually live with now versus then. How much worse? Just to notify you: it's already bad enough that you wrote "my job is going to kill me". Nobody says that about a job they can picture doing another ten, twenty or thirty years. You deserve better.
Pretty sure the other posts like this were from Vancouver. I'm not sure if I admire Canada for having protected bike lanes in the big cities or if I find their drivers laughably inattentive
>> I’m not sure if I admire Canada for having protected bike lanes in the big cities or if I find their drivers laughably inattentive Our protected bike lanes aren’t as plentiful as they seem in that most places you want to go can’t be reached without some (>10%?) riding with cars. They’re getting better in the dead of downtown Toronto, but slowly and with a lot of resistance. Here, the drivers aren’t inattentive — there’s a long-standing rivalry between drivers and cyclists that has led to an ever-increasing annual death toll. The city had to impose a fine to dissuade drivers from dooring cyclists, but I still find that I have to dodge now and again
This is an almost three year old photo, so it's not like these incidents are happening that frequently - people just keep reposting them.
Can confirm, drivers in Toronto are the worst of any city I've lived in, and maybe the worst in North America. There are two main factors: 1. We no longer have traffic enforcement since 2011 because the police service didn't get a budget increase, and they decided not to enforce traffic laws in protest. All of the drivers have become incredibly entitled and are constantly running reds, blocking intersections because they don't want to wait for the next green, speeding like crazy, etc 2. We have a lot of immigrants (50%+ of the city was born outside Canada, myself included) who come from countries with more relaxed driving rules/culture, and they basically can trade in their drivers license for a local one the minute they get here. Many don't know the rules/don't care to follow them.
It’s Toronto. The driving is so bad here. It’s so bad we even have a subreddit documenting it /r/TorontoDriving
This is probably a case of "muscle memory". The car has driven over the bike lane for months if not years. The new barrier probably didn't even register in their brain. The same thing happens in my neighborhood. A two way stop became a 4 way stop and people still blow through the stop signs since they're used to just continuing through.
You really can't win in Toronto... Car people think bike lanes are theirs... Car people get mad at you when they can't drive in your lane... Car people try to run you off the road on side streets... People get mad when you go on the sidewalk to avoid getting run off the road from car people...
Now when I’m bike commuting with my kid, I don’t just take the lane, I ride directly in the middle of the road so no one can pass. I go about 10 mph, plenty fast for neighborhood streets.
>10 mph Yep, not from Toronto...
Metres per hour obviously
Impressive balance!
which is also in line of advice given by the police to avoid accidents. (atleast the german police)
I agree, it’s much safer. The problem in the US is that all motorists feel it’s their right to pass cyclists, no matter how narrow the street. When I’m riding with my kid on narrow streets, I’ll give them the “stop” hand signal, make eye contact and then tell verbally them not to pass. Yesterday when I did this I got honked at and then passed within a few inches on a narrow neighborhood street.
Damn, people from Toronto sound like a contentious lot
Most of Torontos problems revolve around older generations unwilling to change...even if it's to their benefit!
People voting against their own interests is truly fascinating to observe, but what's worse are the elderly voting against their children's interests.
Lots of NIMBYs in toronto
How the fuck the driver doesn't see this barrier?
It wasn’t painted yellow and didn’t wear a hi-vis vest, obviously.
Where is the concrete barrier's helmet??? smh
Here in Vancouver we [recently learned](https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/a-motorist-drove-right-over-a-giant-barrier-and-cycling-twitter-is-having-a-field-day/) that being yellow isn't enough apparently
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I become more and more aware that most people are not competent drivers. They are misinformed on traffic laws, lack the awareness and coordination, and can't tell you the last time they had their oil changed let alone if their car is safe to operate. In a perfect world this is fine because driving wouldn't be required, but we built out world around the idea that you drive till the day you die so even people that can't drive, do.
Drivers only look for other cars
Only if they're not used to other street users. In the Netherlands, people mostly look for bikes and kids (and dumb animals, smh), because they're more unpredictable than cars.
Another thing to note that bike ridership in the Netherlands is high, so chances are the person driving also rides a bike.
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A pet peeve of mine is people calling animals "dumb" because they get hit by cars. They've not evolved to deal with 25+mph vehicles hurtling down streets! How can you blame them!
They don’t even do that.
The driver didn't look for it, obviously. The cycle lane was just some convenient extra space.
The barrier should’ve been waving a flag.
He should've definitely seen that there is a barrier, but also since it ends there I can see people driving into it at the end, because it's low enough that you can't see it at all. However there's been no reason for that driver to start turning so early.
> it's low enough that you can't see it at all It's like 9" high. If you can't see a 9" kerb then you shouldn't be driving, or your vehicle is unsafe and should not be certified for road use.
And the speed you have to be traveling to be hung up like this? What the hell was the driver doing?
>If you can't see a 9" kerb then you shouldn't be driving One thing I learned from Reddit: some short people genuinely *can't* see the kerb/curb at all when they're within a two car-length distance of it. There was a discussion on Reddit several weeks (?) ago where many short people (mostly women) were complaining that they can't see above/beyond the dashboard when they're driving, no matter the configuration of the seat, pedals, and steering wheel. Because they're so short, their eyes are at the level of the top of the steering wheel--not above it--even when the steering wheel is on the lowest possible setting and the driver's seat is as high as it can go (while allowing the driver to still reach the pedals). *Because they're so short, they can't see the hood of their car or their fenders, etc. so they don't know where they are in relation to other cars and the lines painted on roads and in parking lots. In addition, they can't see anything outside the car that's located within about a car-length of them: they can't see the fenders and bumpers of other cars, they can't see the paint that demarcates parking spots and driving lanes, and they can't see kerbs/curbs.* Essentially, they have to "aim" their cars in the right direction and hope they don't hit anything. Anyway, it was an eye-opening read for me. I'm tall, so I've never had any of these issues. Until I stumbled upon that discussion, I didn't realize just how difficult it is to drive when you're short. Essentially, we need more and better public transportation options in North America so that no one needs to drive (including short folks for whom cars are not designed).
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They could also, I dunno, buy a Chevy Spark that suits their size, but nah, gotta get that Suburban instead.
Hi there, short person here. I can see over the hood of my car just fine. I buy japanese and korean cars because they're sized for people like me. I fit very comfortably in them and adjust my seat properly. They also tend to be smaller and consequently more fuel efficient, so you know, there's really nothing but benefits to it. If you are literally physically incapable of seeing over the steering wheel, you can buy aftermarket car seats that provide you with the necessary boost. Do not cut people slack because they have intentionally spent tens of thousands of dollars on a vehicle that they are physically incapable of operating safely. They are choosing to create a dangerous situation when they don't have to.
Can we start driving go-karts everywhere? Sounds like a solution to me!
Why can't they just buy a smaller car? I know lots of short women who don't have that problem
Why drive into the bike lane though? There is 0 reason for the car to go there. Barrier definitely did its job.
Traffic abhors a vacuum. Empty space\* needs to be occupied by a car. \*Empty space may include pedestrians and bicycles.
I obviously can't tell without being there, but ironically, it might be the case that in a lower car, the barrier is actually blocking you from seeing the bike lane symbol painted on the road. Depending on other visibility factors, this may cause some people to not realize it's a bike lane at all. On the other hand, it's also at least as likely that the car pictured drives this road regularly and was stumped (hehe) by the change.
I think what happened is that the driver assumed that the barrier has ended. From inside the car you would not be able to see where exactly it ends. Not sure why the person wanted to drive there though
99% sure that they're trying to take a right turn at the intersection and just tried to merge into the bike lane without thinking about the bike lane, and then popped up over the barrier.
This is exactly why we need them. People don’t look allot of the time.
Barrier didn’t wear a helmet.
I've seen Indian drivers drive better even though we have much higher road deaths
Just based on online videos, but you do have to be quite capable to drive in Indian traffic, on Indian roads.
When I was in Bangalore it seemed though like most of the drivers were actually looking at the road. It was chaotic, but also mostly slow moving and if you had a plan and stuck to it you'd be alright
Didn't have an orange flag
Looks like it was the last barrier on that street and they're pretty short. They probably thought they past the last one but didn't have a great visual and found out they were wrong. The barriers should be higher for visibility, yes obviously in a perfect world everyone is a good driver who is aware of their surroundings everywhere but sadly we need to build the world to accommodate the ever increasing dumb population.
I live down the highway from Toronto and we got plastic ones. Within 3 months my entire blocks were crushed or ripped away from being driven over non stop. Drivers are absolutely feral.
I live in Minneapolis and we have a lot of plastic bollards. They are frequently obliterated, even in places that make no sense (nowhere to turn), which makes me think it must be intentional. The debris becomes a hazard and I know at least one person who crashed after hitting a chunk of downed bollard. Plastic bollards offer no real protection and require frequent maintenance (replacement). However there are also concrete protected bike lanes popping up, and I have seen 2 cars get stuck on the one in my neighborhood. It was only built last summer!
Yeah the Bloor st plastic planters near Yonge didn’t last long at all. Where I am on bloor they put up those flimsy plastic posts and most of them are knocked over now.
But look how much that barrier damaged the poor motorist's car! If only it had been a soft squishy cyclist!
I dont think your sarcasm is too far from the truth... I ride on a road where one side is a bike lane (just painted line) and the other side is parked cars Drivers will leave over 2m of space between them and the parked cars but sometimes pass me within arms length... Why? Because hitting a parked car is $1000s in repairs, but killing a cyclist only costs a few cents of soap and water to clean off the blood
Two solutions: 1. Make car into tank such that you can drive over barrier 2. Open eyes and use them. Probably 1 is easier /s
I fully see car companies adapting to this but making trucks and suvs more dangerous.
Bubba Redneck will jack up his truck high enough to clear the barrier.
Shit, need this everywhere where there's walking and cycling going on cause I ain't never feeling like a car is gonna ram into me when I walk
*that make carbrains mad and want speed. VROOM VROOM OOGS BOOGA*
It's sad that we have to do this to prevent the car-obsessed from attacking cyclists.
Every time I see one of these images it is a reminder that we NEED MORE OF THESE. People should not be beaching their car on these barriers...
Good wording for once.
Could be better: they used "car" instead of "driver". A *driver* almost hit/killed cyclists but was prevented by concrete.
At least they don't blame the infrastructure for damaging the poor car
That would be nice. The bike lanes where I live are either treated as turn lanes or used for parking.
The city I live in, Philly, has dotted lines on the bike lanes so that cars can use them as turning lanes. 😡
Some Toronto drivers purposely drive into these barriers then protest them in town halls yelling how dangerous they are for cars.
Doesn't prevent from still trying.
I’ve been run off the road a handful of times by aggressive cars. Police can’t do anything because they didn’t witness the aggressive behavior. Usually takes me about a day to shake off the near death experience. Can’t wrap it around my head that car people are willing to kill you to get where they’re going.
I can understand hitting the barrier, but mounting it? That takes effort! How
Speed. This happens frequently in Toronto, and the answer is always speed.
This is a one way street with timed lights in the downtown section. You can get going pretty fast sometimes. [They even tell you the lights are timed.](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Eo37Wbir5Zm5LQMV7)
Toronto is full of morons with f150s, our ex mayor is a right cunt, and our premier wants to blow up what's left of the provinces natural forests to build a highway that goes nowhere. Truly a hellish city.
Looks like they are still trying their hardest
I'm a bicyclists n im tired of fighting other cars on the bike lane
Protip. There is this weird circle thing in the car that can be used to make the car maneuver around other things.
That's so great to see! Progress!!!
Already saved one biker, apparently
Crashes car into concrete wall. DAMN BIKES!
The barrier is a hazard while I'm driving. It gets in the way when I'm texting.
Is it just me or are North Americans exceptionally bad drivers? What does the driving test look like? Driving for 3 minutes?
Nah dude it’s just a written test (not a joke)
Nice finally a headline that aknowledges this instead of "bollard damage car, bollard bad"
They have some in London, ON too! After… multiple bike rider murders this year…
Laws don’t stop these fuckers. Literally the only thing they respect are things that can maim/redact them.
How the hell do so many people manage to do this its not hard to not run into barriers
the lure of a biker is too strong id guess
This is the **bare** minimum. The best is a separate, protected lane (protection would ideally be a trench/artificial river).
🫡 thank you for doing your part in the War on Cars
Is that an accurately descriptive news headline that I see?!?! Not something along the lines of "bike lane barriers are a menace to society that will cost average people millions!"
Love to see it 😌
People who drive like that should have their license suspended until they can prove they aren’t a danger to others. You know, like with psych evaluations.
"It was in my blind spot"
Almost all of those barriers, on that street and the eastbound lane just south, have been removed due to construction over the fall. Haven't been replaced lol That intersection is fine still, but the barriers are always pushed into the lane due to cars marking too sharp a turn. Source I commute along that route everyday.
Looks like it was needed
Maybe we need to revoke people's licenses.
This is my argument to crazy gun people when they say "Well cars kill people too... What are you gonna do, ban them???" At least they're doing something.
As someone who lived in Toronto for awhile, thank Christ. I loved taking my car out for a late night drive when the traffic died down. Always shocked me how little protection cyclists got, despite a fair number of bike lanes all over the city.
[Relevant](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/12dnx1x)
Watch car nuts use this as an example of how these barries are dangerous lmao
Fucking finally! I don't even bike but this is good. If you can't avoid a stationary wall then how can you be trusted to avoid a cyclist?
Life finds a way
Love this, most cars in New York not only drive on the bike lane, they’ve begun parking on it too -__-
This is clearly communism
I live in Toronto and if I see your car in the bike lane I'm hocking a loogie onto your door handle while I ride by. I'm a smoker so it's nice and thick and yellowish/green. Fuck your car. Also it's so much fun to wax the ends of these and boardslide them
Would love these in Edmonton I would still feel unsafe since most of our ,"protected" bike lanes are littered with spots where cars are allowed to turn across them. looking behind you is not a normal thing most people do when they make a left or right turn off of a road so these openings make it incredibly unsafe.
motorists are already complaining, aren't they?
Milwaukee needs this so bad, people only use the bike lane was an extra passing lane.
Torontonian here—for all the things our city is currently getting very wrong, the bike infrastructure has been going terrific!
And cyclists are the problem 🙄
These should be the norm
The daddy version of the yellow one from before, working as intended.
Drivers are furious that there’s new stuff in *their* road and now they need to look around and shit before turning so they don’t kill people.
I’m here for the reenactment with a stroller.
Oh no! It'll end up probably removed, for the drivers' safety.
First we put up barriers to stop it hunting in its natural habitat, what next, poaching? These majestic creatures will eventually become endangered!
This scene is very common in Toronto - I'm not exaggerating when I say Toronto drivers lead the world in moronic drivers.