Crissa
Well-known member
- First Name
- Crissa
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2020
- Threads
- 82
- Messages
- 11,802
- Reaction score
- 3,841
- Location
- Santa Cruz
- Vehicles
- 2014 Zero S, 2013 Mazda 3
- Thread starter
- #31
You may not need such a system. I don't need such a system.IF I put my referee hat on, and look at this as objectively as I can, I think Gus took a step out of bounds and there needs to be a flag on the play.
I’ve driven cars since I was 15-1/2. I’m in my 5th decade of driving. I’ve been on a bicycle and was hit by a car. I’ve ridden thousands of miles on bikes on roads shared with cars. I have never injured, much less killed a cyclist. I don’t believe you have to have an automated system to prevent killing a cyclist. You have to be observant and have awareness. This is why we have child locks on back doors, because little kids don’t have the ability to think about what could happen if they swing the door open. And if you’re honest, the #1 reason for child safety locks is for the safety of the child, not the random cyclist. Statistically, I’m going to bet that oncoming cars are a far greater threat to the kids than are the kids to oncoming cyclists.
Now, would this proposed system improve safety for both kids and cyclists? Probably. Would it improve safety for the average moron who slings his door open without thinking? Yep. Would it be a valuable back up for those moments when we lose our situational awareness for a moment and get distracted? Sure. Does not wanting it to PREVENT you from opening the door mean or imply that you are fine with killing a cyclist? No, that’s not really a logical stretch. Thus the flag on the play. Ineligible conclusion downfield. 5 posts, repeat 2nd down. This isn’t an all or nothing option. There is a middle ground. You could stop the back doors from opening, and require you press the open button twice for the front doors. Or press, get a buzz and then press again, or press and hold. Or whatever. The point it, to go from 0-1,000 so quickly is a bit of too far. Does it seem a bit too defensive or macho to say “I’m not lettin’ no dead-gum VEE-hidkle tell me what I can and can’t do!” Yeah, maybe. Maybe the better response would have been, “I’d rather it not prevent me from getting out, I see some safety implications there, maybe just a warning or buzz is good enough.” But we all don’t always say the perfect thing in our sometimes quick responses and I’m right up there with the worst of them.
I really like me some CyberGus on here. I have agreed and disagreed with him. But I’ve never found him beyond reason. John is from Mass, and as I’m sure he knows, that makes him a masshole. That has nothing to do with this conversation, I just laugh when I get to call my friend that. John didn’t suggest the massacre of everyone on 2 wheels, so I think he is probably an ok guy. After all, he wants a CT just like the rest of us.
Gents, can we agree on this part of it all??? Can we just go back to bagging on Fords and Toyotas???
However, in the US, automobiles are killing pedestrians at a rate not seen since the 1980s. The last ten years have wiped out the prior 30 in safety advances.
So make a long diatribe against such a system? I would definitely rethink the consequences of such an act.
-Crissa