human909 wrote:g-boaf wrote:They are respectful around all riders regardless of who they are. I know you love pushing that agenda all the time, but is wrong. It is a cultural difference rather than who is riding.
Of course. It was never said otherwise. I don't have an "agenda" as you imply it. Unless you are talking about my aims to help make cycling in Australia safer.
But you are blind to realities if you don't think the normalcy and the demographics place a very significant role in role cyclists are treated on the roads. Plain old common sense suggests women, child and the infirm garner more sympathy. Empirical evidence has show that this is plays out in cycling safety. Not to mention identifying people into an outgroup by clothing is a long entrench phenomenon that doesn't cease to exist simply because somebody is on a bike.
Yes it is a cultural difference but you have failed to address. WHY.
They are just calmer, to a degree. Even the European motorists have their faults, they are better than here yes, but not perfect. You drive along at the speed limit and get bullied from behind by someone wanting to go 30km/h over the speed limit, drivers cutting other people off, autobahn racing. Or don't move from the traffic light the moment it goes green, they'll all be beeping at you.
Here, women, children and others hardly gain more sympathy in any respect. Nobody will give up a seat for older people on public transport, and the rush to get on a train is every person for themselves - elbowing everyone else out of the way and barging through.
And my favourite, the old guy taking 6 seats on a train for himself, protesting that his knee is sore, so he has to have his feet up on the backrest of the seat in front (which he moves forward using his walking stick). Funny how someone with such a chronic bad knee can seem to rush downstairs on the train so quickly...
And he always seems to take his shoes and socks off too. Some of you Sydney train passengers will know who this guy is - he has been doing this for many years, everyone knows him. So well that one frustrated train guard announced over the PA system that the train could not move until he took his feet off the seat in front of him.
Later when we left the train, someone asked was it that old guy again, everyone nodded in agreement.
None of this lack of respect can be put towards your least favourite kind of bicycle rider, it is just the way things are today. Maybe not just here, but across the wider world too.