this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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[Article] If I’m at a crosswalk, do drivers have to stop even if the lights aren’t flashing? (www.theglobeandmail.com)
submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
32 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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[–] [email protected] -1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Surely if you want people to drive less (which is a good thing for all commuters, especially those who drive!) then wouldn’t it behoove municipalities to design infrastructure that’s conducive to efficiently cycling, right?

And there is, except in cases where it isn't. In cases where it isn't, it's in your best interests to stop and push the button (you don't need to get off your bike, it's on a pole).

To me, having to stop at every single road crossing is incredibly discouraging.

The alternative is expecting a vehicle doing 60km/s to stop on a dime. I don't want to hit a cyclist, but jesus it's like some of them go out of their way to avoid safety measures.

Can you imagine if every light on your commute was red?

Can you imagine if cars treated every red light like it was a yield?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

And there is, except in cases where it isn’t.

In my experience as a driver, pedestrian, and cyclist, is that good cycling infrastructure is the exception, not the rule. Do you really think we generally have good cycling infrastructure in Canada?

The alternative is expecting a vehicle doing 60km/s to stop on a dime.

That's a false dichotomy. What if drivers were simply required to slow to a crawl (yield) at certain intersections, rather than cyclists having to completely stop to press a button, and then wait for the light to change?

Can you imagine if cars treated every red light like it was a yield?

Yes, I can, because that's how most drivers treat stop signs. I don't like generalizing drivers or cyclists, but "jesus it's like some of them go out of their way to avoid safety measures" could apply to all types of road users. Heck, just ten minutes ago on the drive home from the gym, some idiot in a car pulled out in front of me from a drive, into a busy, snow-covered street at the bottom of an overpass and I had to brake heavily to avoid turning his passenger side door into a modern art sculpture.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I don’t like generalizing drivers or cyclists, but “jesus it’s like some of them go out of their way to avoid safety measures” could apply to all types of road users.

Neither do I, but I'm not advocating for treating red lights/stop signs as yields, nor am I complaining about how stopping at them is a major inconvenience for me.

For reference, this is the crosswalk I'm talking about: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BfiysRy4uVC511zFA

That's a 60kph zone with a bend and a tree line that can make cyclists hard to see when they don't feel like stopping. You're perfectly entitled to feel that stopping to push the button is inconvenient, but you can't turn around and complain about the number of cyclists hit by cars each year when they willingly avoid safety precautions.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Why do you present a false dichotomy again, this time between cyclists crossing a dangerous road without stopping, or coming to a complete stop? I can think of at least two or three other solutions off the top of my head:

  1. Lower the speed limit of the road and improve visibility so that commuters can see one another.

  2. Place a yield sign so that drivers are legally required to slow to a speed at which they could safely stop if necessary.

  3. Build an overpass or an underpass so that the lanes don't cross on the same plane.

If we can agree that the current infrastructure is suboptimal, let's focus on improving the infrastructure rather than assigning blame. Improving the infrastructure helps all road users.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)

All of your suggestions inconvenience others for your own benefit. You're demanding the infrastructure change simply so that you don't have to come to a stop to push a button, and yet I am not the one asking for cities without red lights, stop signs, train crossings, and traffic slowdowns.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, I thought we agreed that better cycling infrastructure is better for all road users, including drivers. If we don't agree on that, then I understand that you won't agree with my subsequent points.

I also don't see how an overpass or an underpass would negatively impact drivers at all...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Of course it would, that wasn't my initial point and I don't feeling like talking about how things should be. All I asked was that bikers who are using the existing infrastructure take the necessary safety precautions, and people got incredibly pissy because actually having to stop and push the button was a huge inconvenience for them, which is pretty standard for how many cyclists present themselves. Entitled twats.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If cyclists are entitled twats for not wanting to stop to push a beg button at every crossing, would drivers be entitled twats for expecting the same thing? Or do drivers deserve better? How much whining would there be if roles were reversed?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Drivers already have to stop at red lights, stop signs, crosswalks, train crossings. Point out where a driver is saying they shouldn't have to stop for those things? You think I don't get pissed when I see the guy in front of me turn right on a no-red right? Or roll through a stop sign? Do I enjoy driving after dusk and seeing idiots in cars who can't turn their headlights on? Or when it's raining? Do you see me saying "well if only taxpayers would pay for more streetlights I wouldn't have to remember to turn my lights on!"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Point out where a driver is saying they shouldn’t have to stop for those things?

I'm referring to this specific multi-use trail crossing. I'm sorry for not making that clear enough for you to understand at first glance.

I'm suggesting that drivers should slow or stop each time they pass this crossing, and you're suggesting that cyclists should atop each time they pass this crossing.