Driving Reality

Consume any media from a major outlet and you'll likely be bombarded with car commercials depicting the "freedom" afforded by car travel. Either someone is driving down open roads or they somehow magically have streets all to themselves in a dense urban area. In both cases, the truth is vastly different. Think of the last time you were driving in the downtown area a big city. Were you the only one on the road? Unless it was the middle of the night, probably not. The reality is usually gridlocked traffic, honking horns, and frustration. Reality, even on most freeways, looks more like this:

Now of course I don't blame car companies. They're only giving people what they want, right? A big house in the 'burbs and a nice fast car (to sit in traffic)? Yet time and time again, the happiest commuters are those that have short commutes, especially those who commute by bike or foot. So maybe people don't actually want this but see no alternative? But in reality, you probably have a choice. Sure, some "super commuters" may have no choice but to drive to their jobs, but for most people, there are other options, most obviously biking, walking, and public transit. Some of these might not be as "fast" or "easy" as driving, but they are generally a whole lot less stressful (you can relax and read or get exercise), better for your health (more than 30,000 people were killed in automobile crashes last year, and the year before that, and the year before that), and cheaper (biking and walking are essentially free and transit is a bargain). Speed and "ease" aren't everything.

Another huge deviation from reality is parking. Too many people expect to just have free, plentiful parking at their disposal, just like in the commercials. Heaven forbid if there isn't an open space right in front of your destination! But the reality of parking is again hugely problematic. It's often over-supplied, leading to scenes such as:

This horrible waste of public space happens all over the United States. Parking (and traffic lanes) are usually built for peak capacity, which only happens a few times a day at best, so most of the time they sit open like this, wasting public space that could be home to businesses, green space, or wider sidewalks. Of course, then at peak times, some areas will look like this parking garage in Manhattan:

Again, a huge amount of space dedicated to the storage of a completely wasteful form of transport for most people! That's not to mention the huge amount of money wasted on paying for this parking! But you never see this reality in car commercials. And speaking of wasted money, no matter where you're driving (even if it is the "freedom" of the open road), you're going to eventually have to fill up your gas tank:

Car companies do show people at gas stations a lot, but never what they're spending and how much that adds up. I can't remember the last time I worried about the price of gas, since I have to buy it so infrequently. 

So what's the solution? Well, as I said, for some people, nothing much, unless you finally get a job closer to home or move closer to your job. But for many of us, exploring a few easy alternatives to driving isn't the barrier it might appear. You probably have a capable bike in your garage already. Pump up the tires and ride to the store or walk instead of driving! Far too often I see people drive mere blocks to the store and come out with less than a full bag of groceries. Just walk instead and get a little fresh air and exercise. Try to take the bus or train to work. Bring a book or some paperwork and see how much you can get done on that "longer" commute. Instead of arriving drained and stressed from driving, you'll arrive with a headstart to your day! While biking isn't always completely stress free (if confronted with hostile drivers or bad infrastructure), I'll take it over driving any day myself. I arrive feeling energized and ready to start my day. Riding is usually a blast and it's free. Plus, you get to avoid the frustration of idiots like this:

Next time you're shown the "freedom" of driving, think twice and consider what might actually make you feel free. FREE YOURSELF from the stress, cost, and harmful effects of driving.  Enjoy some fresh air, meet your neighbors or complete strangers, and see the world from a different perspective!

No Infrastructure for You!

If you peruse almost any online article dealing with cycling in any form, you will undoubtedly come across cries from bike-haters along the lines of, "cyclists don't deserve better infrastructure until they follow the rules", usually with more cursing and bad grammar and often wishes of bodily harm. It's hard to know where to start dissecting such arguments, so I'll just deal with one aspect here: if you want to make this argument, we should hold car drivers to the same standard. Therefore, I propose that nationwide we make absolutely no improvements to roads until all road users follow all the rules.

That I-5 bridge over the Skagit River that recently collapsed? Sorry, we can't fix it until no drivers in Washington are pulled over for speeding. If no drivers in Washington are pulled over for traffic violations for one month, then they can begin work to repair the bridge. That resurfacing taking place on the road down the street from you? Nope, can't finish it until no one in your city is seen double-parked or on their phones while driving. These are of course absurd suggestions, as are those that cyclists don't deserve better infrastructure because some cyclists don't follow all rules.

The worst part of this situation is that many cyclists don't meticulously follow the rules exactly because of bad infrastructure and out-dated laws. Many cities are finally investing in bike infrastructure and have seen fantastic gains in their cycling rates. This is great news for those cities, their cyclists, and their citizens in general for all the great reasons I won't detail here. However, much of this improvement is happening in a highly piece-meal fashion and because of this, what starts as a good or great bike facility can suddenly vanish before your eyes, dumping you into the middle of a street crowded with speeding traffic. For many people, this event is enough to even keep them from riding, but for many others, it just encourages them to hop up on the sidewalk where they feel relatively safer (though many studies show you're actually at a much higher accident risk while on the sidewalk, but that's another story).

I'm not advocating that this is alright, but I certainly understand this behavior from less-confident or fit cyclists. If you're new to cycling in an urban environment (and often even when you've been riding in one for some time) there are situations with speeding, impatient, inattentive drivers that can be downright terrifying. One particular spot where this occurs is on King St. in San Francisco, between 2nd and 3rd. In this spot, Diana Sullivan was killed earlier this year when the bike lane she was riding on vanished and she was then hit by a cement truck. As can be seen in the Google Maps screenshot below, this lane just ends (the dashed line is the last breath of it, move around Streetview to see more of the location) with a small sign and one sharrow on the roadway ahead to give any indication of what's going on. I've ridden through this spot many times myself and while pretty confident on my bike around cars, I always leave this spot with an adrenaline high and a deep breath, because you without fail are dealing with impatient, speeding cars - speaking of, it would be great if the SFPD actually enforced speed limits on the Embarcadero instead of pointlessly harassing cyclists!

Dangerous gaps in bike infrastructure like the one detailed above only serve to encourage "bad" behavior among cyclists while making conditions dangerous and frustrating for both cyclists and drivers. So to all the cycle-haters out there; no, "scofflaw" cyclists don't mean that there shouldn't be improvements made to cycling infrastructure - it means quite the opposite! If there were more continuous, protected cycletracks, people would be much less likely to ride on the sidewalk. If you reform laws that force cyclists to conform to car-centric rules, again, cyclists would be far less likely to break them (allow stopping and proceeding if safe at red lights and treating stop signs as yields, both of which most cyclists do very safely already). The more common and safe-feeling that cycling becomes, the less it will carry an "outlaw" feel to it and cyclists will encourage better behavior among each other as well!

Car Culture - The Culture of "F**k You"

Bad interactions can skew our perceptions much more strongly than good. This is highly unfortunate in some ways, but can carry important lessons as well. Take for instance the thankfully small number of motorists who belong to a small sub-group of Car Culture. Such motorists belong to the part of car culture I think of as the "culture of f**k you".

This is the motorist that races up behind you at a stop sign, engine revving. You stop your bike, they edge up way farther than necessary (see the video at the end of this post for a good example), then as you proceed through the intersection, they speed after you and fly by too close. Out of concern for their safety, the responsible cyclist no doubt looks back to make sure this person isn't about to hit them. As you look at the driver, an unavoidable mix of confusion and anger might fill your face, but you keep your mouth closed - lessons learned from too many interactions with the culture of f**k you and a general belief in not automatically thinking the worst of people. But as you look, you see those two powerfully pointless words on the driver's lips - "F**k you!"

As usually happens, such things only escalate a situation and of course this genius in the "safety" of his steel cage thinks he's seen the last of you. But you follow him now, his words having transformed you into an asshole-seeking missile. He stops his grey Ridgeline at a red light or parking lot (or to drop off his son at El Cerrito Plaza BART station). He tries to ignore you outside his window at first, but finally rolls down the window and you inquire why he felt the need to yell those two words at you. His response comes as a surprise, though by now it shouldn't, "because you were looking at me, why were you looking at me?" Well, Mr. F**k You Ridgeline, "because I wanted to be careful and observant and make sure I wasn't about to be run over." "That's good. (window rolls up)" His son looked to be about my age which makes me wonder - how would this guy like people driving and talking like that around his son? Why on earth would he do it to someone else's son, or another human being in general? Well, because once he steps into his car he belongs to the car culture of f**k you, as perfectly described by Louis CK.

Where on earth does this culture come from? What makes an otherwise (hopefully) rational person yell "f**k you" at a complete stranger for merely looking at them? I don't pretend to have the answer, but I have some guesses. 1) A deep-seated insecurity and anger toward anything and anyone different. Perhaps such people are just generally angry at the world and for some reason just seem to get angry when they see someone riding a bike. 2) From years as part of the culture of f**k you, these people don't even know how to act like decent human beings anymore and aren't even aware how horrible they are. 3) They've never ridden a bike on a road and don't realize what it feels like to have a multi-ton vehicle piloted by someone highly unaware of what happens when a car driver hits a cyclist (hint, the cyclist always loses). 4) They're so selfish and clueless that 1 second of their time is worth more than your safety. 5) They're jealous. Riding a bike is tons of fun, despite jerks like this guy. You get and stay healthy, save tons of money, and aren't choking the planet with your actions.

I actually think in most cases it's a mix of all five of the above, plus 100 other possible reasons. For instance, I'm sure most members of the car culture of f**k you have interacted with truly horrible cyclists and this has clouded their judgment - I don't hold cyclists as a group blameless in this situation by any means. But in the end, it's up to all of us to act like decent human beings and look out for each others' safety and well-being. I was doing what I could in that case; the ball was in his court and he swung and missed.

What lessons can we all take from something like this? First, it's obviously important to keep in mind that people like this make up the vast minority of drivers out there. Thankfully, most human beings are patient, good people or at least decent enough that even if they think bad thoughts, they would never yell "f**k you!" or honk at a complete stranger for looking at them. But it's also important to remember is that this guy isn't alone. While in the minority, too many like him are out there. When off the road, they also populate web comment sections with words of hate and claims that they'd like to run over every cyclist they see. For some reason, it's OK for such comments to be put forth by members of the car culture of f**k you, while we would never tolerate such vitriol about other groups. So while it's important to not assume that all motorists are going to act like this, you also have to be prepared for those that will and be as safe as you can. As examples of the culture of f**k you in action, I leave you with the following video: