The Spokesmen #108 – Crotchety Old Men

1. 

   Larry

   July 28, 2014

   In regards to the consideration of safety among motorists vs all others on a road:
   Japanese liability laws are setup so that pedestrians have the least amount of responsibility in an accident, followed by bicyclists, then scooters, motorcycles, etc. to the largest vehicles on the road assuming most of the responsibility.

   These laws, combined with the overwhelming number of bicycle commuters makes Japan one of the most bicycle friendly places to ride. Even large construction vehicles wait patiently to pass and do so only when safe. However, the idea that everyone on the road, “is all in this together” is deeply rooted in the society. I’ve rarely seen a case of motorist vs motorist road-rage.

   The safe conditions and brilliant Italian-like gradient of the mountain roads makes Japan one of my favorite places I’ve lived as a cyclist.

2. 

   Drew

   August 4, 2014

   About five years ago a friend and I did a tour along the Western Front of WWI. We rode from his mom’s home in Kent, UK to the train station, took the train to Dover, then the ferry to Dunkirk, then rode into Belgium to Ypres, then back into France, down through the Somme region and eventually back up to Calais to catch ferry back to UK, then rode from train to his mom’s.

   My exposure to drivers in the UK was limited, but based on my friends comments, they seem to be similar to in the US. One encounter we experienced confirms this. The Dunkirk ferry port is several kilometers from Dunkirk proper, and as you exit all traffic is routed along a straight 3 km stretch of road to get to the main route to Dunkirk. As we rode along this stretch of rode, vehicles with UK plates passed much closer to us than vehicles with other continental plates.

   However, the experience in France and Belgium was totally different. Drivers in the France and Belgium treated us with the respect they treated every other vehicle on the road. We even had large lorry drivers motioning us to take our turn at a round about. Riding on the Continent was truly a pleasure.

   We were also passed riding up hill by a very proper Belgian lady cycling in a dress and high heels (In our defense, she wasn’t on a loaded touring bike ;-))

3. 

   Mark O'Connor

   August 9, 2014

   I was listening to “The Spokesmen #108 – Crotchety Old Men” today in Dublin, Ireland.

   Your panel was discussing interactions between cyclists and motorists on the roads, and wondering if it was the same in Europe.

   In my experience there are a minority of motorists who are As*holes and a minority of cyclists who are the same. Fundamentally, we must all share the road.

   In Ireland, the Road Safety Authority (www.rsa.ie) a government agency responsible for promoting road safety developed some TV advertisements that were shown on primetime TV. In my opinion they have helped educate motorists in terms of their interactions with cyclists. The ads have been broken in to bite size chunks on youtube. Links below.

   Mark

   PS. Great podcast

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swnGEbKp7QY
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pNvSRzNWe4
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phNMzsRrbNU

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