I strongly believe that anyone who scoff at the idea that cyclists should be held to the same rules and standards as cars or who moan about cycle infrastructure should be forced to experience close passes themselves. See how quickly their tone changes.
I would wager that most of the “cyclists are so entitled” folks haven’t ridden a bike since they were children in large part because they know how scary it would be to bike on a stroad getting close passed by a bunch of people monitoring their phones first, their cars second, the road third, and you not at all.
For a large portion of people, it’s not a lack of understanding how harrowing the experience is—rather, they just want cyclists to suffer because of mob mentality. But I agree that every driver should have to experience the close pass as a cyclist so they can hopefully empathize a little more.
Kinda related: I think everyone should have to experience what it’s like to have an Uber driver with their hazards on parked in the middle of the road, blocking both directions of travel—but it’s okay because they’ll “only be a minute”
Is there a place that belongs to drivers who realize all this, yet still get pissed off at bikes, but like, indirectly because their also angry that there isn't infrastructure in place that gets bikes the fuck out of my way?
I respect the grind, y'all, but you're right, I'm absolutely not gonna get in your stupid shoes and lycra just to experience the "pain" myself. I know it's dumb, but the "shared" roads piss me off too. I'll vote on somethin if you show me where.
lol, so true I deal with this ALL the time. A bike lane that abruptly spills into a road with cars going 35-40 mph. And for some reason the barely visible pavement worn bike lane symbol in the middle of the road is supposed to signify that somehow it's safe for you to ride there. "Share the road" (facepalm).
