Comments on: A car site talks sense about cyclists. We’ve infiltrated the beast!

By: James Hind

James Hind — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:49:33 +0000

Thanks Blues, have had quite a few American cyclists contact me since we posted it, we’re hoping the message spreads to drivers over there too. Obviously they have a different highway code, but a lot of it still applies.

By: James Hind

James Hind — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:48:37 +0000

Thanks Ted,

Don’t worry I wasn’t offended at all, and did read past the opening line!

I put an exclamation mark in my original comment, hoping to convey the right tone. Totally agree with what you say though, thanks very much for the praise!

By: Cyclelogical

Cyclelogical — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:25:08 +0000

Great article. Thanks for posting!

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:16:07 +0000

Good news if drivers become more bike aware. I sense that there is growing realisation that our road priorities must change.

Please look at my biking blog at http://rideaday.wordpress.com/

Thanks.

By: Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:56:30 +0000

@James: I’m going to just cop to a bias — a bias that is prevalent among many cyclists, and bike bloggers in particular. It’s a bias that has it’s basis in reality. It is a bias that I reflexively, jokingly, and perhaps unfairly, held against Carbuzz merely because it is a publication written for car buyers. It’s a bias that, if you have it, then you are in on the “momentarily lost command of senses” joke.

The bias is this: Cyclists believe that motorists view themselves as the rightful and privileged users of the roads, and that motorists view cyclists second-class nuisances on the road. And their attitude towards cyclists is on a spectrum that ranges between pity and hostility. And nowhere is this attitude more glorified than in publications for autophiles. The bias also holds that we cyclists are victims of this attitude, and our burden is to persuade motorists to change said attitude.

The bias also fuels the “Us vs. Them” attitude on both sides.

So, James, I hope you read past that “lost command of senses” comment and understood that the major thrust of my post is gobsmacked praise for Carbuzz. You have not only challenged this bias, you’ve chosen to share the burden of persuasion. And for that I can only applaud you.

Finally: I get many requests every week from people wanting me to promote a Web site or a product. I rarely oblige. These articles tend to be irrelevant to this blog, or half-assed and hackneyed attempts to get some link love from a popular blog. ““What drivers can do…” on the other hand, is possibly the best concise article on the rights of cyclists I’ve seen anywhere. Ever. Really.

Thank you again.

By: BluesCat

BluesCat — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:20:23 +0000

James – (Chuckle) If I were you, I’d go ahead and accept Ted’s label that “y’all have gone daft for a second.”

If word of a car site promoting a “Can We All Just Get Along” philosophy with bicyclists reaches the ears, or web browsers, of car site builders in AMERICA … whew! … boy!

At the very LEAST you’ll be called Automotive Traitors! At the MOST you’ll be called SOCIALISTS!

Seriously, though, a very good article, James.

By: James Hind

James Hind — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:34:23 +0000

I’m the founder of carbuzz and I wouldn’t say we “momentarily lost command of our senses”!

We’re well aware of the fact that a small minority of drivers don’t treat cyclists correctly and we’ve seen some of the unfortunate video and newspaper evidence to show that. We wanted to get this message across to the drivers who visit our site and just remind them the correct way to drive around cyclists.

Chris, a long term friend of the site, is a keen cyclist and we sat down with him and planned the article from a cyclist’s view. I must also point out that Carlton Reid was also a huge help in editing the article too.

By: Karen Voyer-Caravona-

Karen Voyer-Caravona- — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:50:37 +0000

Amazing! Whodda thunk? And in our lifetime.

By: Dr. M

Dr. M — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:13:23 +0000

Excellent article. We need to lose the class warfare of drivers vs cyclists as most people fall into both categories at any given time. That having been said cyclists should not be so self righteous as we can often be insensitive to pedestrians on the roadway. I try to sound my bike horn way back and pass them with the same 3 ft. margin I hope to get from cars.