July 1, 2008

The problem is that city planners have mixed bikes and cars together in ways that offer little certainty about how each should operate, and lots of chances for conflict. Cyclists feel threatened in traffic, just like drivers. Many of us feel hard done by and under attack. I sure do. The average arterial road is an engine of conflict.

But what if this happiness theory was applied to our streets? The experiment has already been conducted in Bogota, Colombia. When he was first elected in 1998, former Mayor Enrique Peñalosa devised a plan to make the streets of this famously violent city feel safer and fairer. A key part of the plan was building a vast network of protected bike lanes so cyclists could travel without feeling threatened by cars. On my visit to Bogota last year, citizens told me that these measures were part of the reason the city feels less confrontational and more convivial. Drivers are better off, too: the rate of traffic accidents plummeted.

Some cyclists – myself included – bemoan the fact that so many fools, asses, and daydreamers are operating cars in North American cities. We personalize the problem. James, however, reminded me to blame the road, not the drivers. On another day, that jerk driver is a timid cyclist, and vice-versa. It’s the experience of driving that turned my Pathfinder foe into a monster – and yes, it was the experience of cycling surrounded by thousands of pounds of metal that did the same to me.

What drivers need, James says, is a lifelong program of education that would start in grade one; educating kids about human rights and community spirit. And what about us cyclists? We need to keep in mind that drivers are vulnerable people who happen to have a deadly weapon at their disposal. Then we need to change the streets. “Use political methods to gain what you want,” he counselled.

James may be an incurable driver, but I know he’s right. If I want real change, I’ve got to ease up on the outrage and channel my frustration into urban design activism. Call the city’s traffic department, paint a bike lane, write a letter, vote, keep riding, breathe, feel the sheer joy of movement in every commute. And let that joy flow out through an open smile.

If you’re out there, Pathfinder guy, I really don’t think you are fat. I feel your pain. And I’m sorry.

To read more of Dr. Leon James’ ideas, visit www.drdriving.org

Tag Topics: Issue 34, Charles Montogomery

by Charles Montogomery

July 1, 2008

Latest Comments

Driving makes me an asshole.

I've never owned a car, but I am a quite aggressive cyclist. Mind you, I think I was made that way to deal with the streets of Toronto where I cut my commuting teeth while doing my BFA. The odd car punch was certainly used. The last time, the taxi driver raced to pass me and slammed on the brakes, causing me to slam into the trunk and took off. I was not seriously hurt, but I lay there in the street as my father advised (after too many injuries he only found after the fact with bike-car collisions). If it was not for the kind people of Toronto (seems like an oxymoron I know) who came to my aid, no one would have zipped after the driver on a scooter and got him to face the music. He was charged with an unsafe lane change, and got three points off his license.

I even had a cyclist come after me for calling him an idiot for stopping in the middle of the bike lane on the Bloor viaduct! Clearly he had not the benefit of cycling training, which makes it clear you can't knock over another cyclist by bumping your front tire against their rear tire. Since moving to Vancouver people seem less aggressive, but perhaps more absent minded. I've not punched a car, but I have stopped a few cars for a reasonable education lesson.

As a driver (when I use car-share or rent) I find myself transforming into an asshole. I cut off peds (I don't even do that on a bike!), I run yellows, I pass too much. Driving in the city is horrible for me. I can't see anything, there are so many blind spots, there are so many constraints due to the size of the vehicle, and it seems to always take longer to get anywhere. I drive in the city as little as possible to keep that asshole driver at bay, and find myself much more comfortable in the high speed open space of the highway, where the car is indeed a freedom and not a constraint.

For me, the bike is the best vehicle for the city, fast, nimble, unrivalled ability to see around you and the awareness of how me and my bike fit into cracks and between obstacles.

Posted by B. January 28, 2012 10:43:22
cool story bro

in the future rephrase chill-pill though. drugs are bad.

Posted by Greg Sleet January 23, 2012 23:24:04
Education (the non-punching kind)

As a driver and a rider I see boneheaded moves among both, have nearly been killed by idiots on four wheels and two. Education definitely the answer. Safe cycling needs to be taught starting in grade school, everyone getting a drivers license should spend mandatory time on a bike in traffic conditions, and cycling safety must be incorporated into every drivers' ed curriculum/test. And testosterone needs to take a rest.

Posted by tking January 16, 2012 17:58:33
Education

I can't find one thing in this article I disagree with.

Mistakes and accidents happen, people are not perfect, but pity the driver that SEES the cyclist and intentionally tries to turn the cyclist into a pancake.

In this case the best 'education' is often a punch in the face. I've done it, and I'll do it again. It amazes me how many fat assed car drivers who are quick to intentionally start something with a large and physically fit man.

Posted by Chilled January 16, 2012 16:25:50