Direct Them Here…
I’ve gotten the question (or argument) so many times. Variations on “Why do you insist on bicycling on the road?…You have no business being on the road…blah blah blah.”
So I’ve put all my answers together in one place. Point your browser to:
http://mighkwilson.com/benefits/why-bicyclists-use-roadways/
If you bookmark it you can then easily reference it and paste it into e-mails, forums, etc.
That is a good summary Mighk, thanks for putting it together, and thanks for using the “last time you had close call” question!
I liked that question so much I decided to do a survey of my Alternative Transportation classes. I’ll do a show-of-hands survey so they can see how their fellow classmates respond, then ask them to fill out a paper survey (simple check boxes), so I can cross-tab the results for future use. Not just sidewalk vs. roadway, but day/night, with/against, cyclist age, and a few other factors.
From the link:
“I want you to think about the last time you had a close call with a bicyclist while driving a car.”
You just lost a huge amount of your audience who don’t drive cars. I myself will, on infrequent occasions, drive a car. The last time was last month on the Queen’s Birthday holiday. But I honestly don’t remember the last time that I had a close call with a cyclist while driving.
A close call while walking or cycling is another story. This is usually a “ninja” cyclist out at night, without lights, wearing dark clothing and doing something illegal and unexpected.
Pedestrian close calls almost always involve the pedestrian wearing headphones and/or using a cell telephone and walking into my path.
Kevin,
The intended audience is non-cyclists.
There are rarely sidewalks anywhere near anywhere I’ve had a “mean” encounter. What would cause a non-cyclist to read such a document on a site oriented toward cyclists?
It’s a “water-cooler war” support link. Hence the title “Direct them here.”
“What would cause a non-cyclist to read such a document on a site oriented toward cyclists?”
A cyclist linking to the page on their myspace, where a non-cyclist friend might be inclined to click on the link. 🙂
Leave it to you to use that “last time you had a close call” question as a springboard for more serious research. Bravo!
Kevin Love said: “You just lost a huge amount of your audience who don’t drive cars.”
Both of them?
Kevin, this comment doesn’t make sense to me. There are so few of us who are car-free that I doubt there is any context where we could number enough to be called an “audience”. LOL
I am trying to remember if I have ever met anyone else face to face who is car-free. While two people together doesn’t even qualify as a “group”, it it is a necessary start in the formation of an “audience”, and I can’t think of a time I even was part of a pair!
Losing your car-free audience is a trifling concern, I would imagine! 🙂