Why are there no safety rules regarding children on bikes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:easy solution: don't put your kids on a friggin bike. it's really dangerous!

Or, don't allow cars in public space other than interstate highways.

See how many dumb ideas can be conjured on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:easy solution: don't put your kids on a friggin bike. it's really dangerous!

"Or walk anywhere either!"*

*This message has been brought to you by drivers. Drivers, ruining the environment and your everyday life for their convenience and whim.

eh. maybe it's not a good idea to wander out into traffic on a bike, especially with a child in tow. seems like common sense.

Think of all the money we could save on building sidewalks if we just make it illegal to walk anywhere too. People crossing at intersections are inherently unsafe if a car hit them. You have car worms in your brain, not common sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a child is in a car, they have be strapped into a car seat that meets federal safety standards or they have to be seat belted in.

But if that child is on a bike, on the very same road, then no safety rules apply at all? How can this be?

Cars go 60-70mph. Bikes don't, especially people biking with kids.

It would be great to have a real conversation about safety standards but that's going to happen with people who actually care about kids and are looking at data. Not whiny drivers who just don't want bicyclists in their way.

The speed of the bike is irrelevant. The issue is what happens when a 4,000 pound car hits a bike with a child on it who has essentially nothing protecting them.

Which is why we need better bike infrastructure, including protected bike lanes.

That seems like a poor use of resources, since so few people ride bikes. If you want to save the environment or at least feel like you're kinda, sorta doing something to save the environment, take the bus or subway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If a child is in a car, they have be strapped into a car seat that meets federal safety standards or they have to be seat belted in.

But if that child is on a bike, on the very same road, then no safety rules apply at all? How can this be?

Cars go 60-70mph. Bikes don't, especially people biking with kids.

It would be great to have a real conversation about safety standards but that's going to happen with people who actually care about kids and are looking at data. Not whiny drivers who just don't want bicyclists in their way.

The speed of the bike is irrelevant. The issue is what happens when a 4,000 pound car hits a bike with a child on it who has essentially nothing protecting them.

Which is why we need better bike infrastructure, including protected bike lanes.

That seems like a poor use of resources, since so few people ride bikes. If you want to save the environment or at least feel like you're kinda, sorta doing something to save the environment, take the bus or subway.

Welcome to circular logic 101. See example #1 above.

[Anonymous]

1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

Dude, I'm just trying to get my kids from my rowhouse to the playground, a 5 minute walk, and it's a game of frogger every day, especially when DC won't put a d*mn stop sign and crosswalk after a decade of the neighborhood asking for one at a particular intersection where kids cross TO the playground. Near misses make me mad.

I guess I could lock the kids in the rowhouse as you suggest, that's a great suggestion! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

Maybe you and I just view safety differently? I think that a few kids being killed and more being injured every year is a problem that needs to be fixed. Are you just saying it's the price of convenience?

Have you ever read "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas"? It's a short story, can probably find a free copy from an internet search, and maybe explains why some of us aren't OK with that current level of safety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

If you listen to people in DC communities, they want safer streets. You personally may not care, but you're in the minority on that. I care, my neighbors care, and we will continue to vote accordingly and hope our representatives and the DC council heed the numerous concerns of their constituents. Generally speaking, DC residents favor traffic safety improvements rather than the freeforall "it's fine, do nothing, ever" attitude you espouse.

[Anonymous]

It's not even kids or pedestrians. It's that DRIVING in this city is stressful because of other DRIVERS who don't follow the rules of the road! It's that most days of the week, I go to pull onto a major DC road where at least one day a week a car runs the red light as I'm about to pull out on the green. It's drivers who run a stop sign when you're about to proceed after you actually legally stopped. It's drivers that go 50mph down my tiny neighborhood street, sometimes the wrong way on a one way. Near misses are annoying enough that there could be zero pedestrian accidents and I'd still want more enforcement because DC area drivers are such a sh*tshow. .

The fact that we have a freeforall, break the law with no repercussions, governance for traffic violations doesn't help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

If you listen to people in DC communities, they want safer streets. You personally may not care, but you're in the minority on that. I care, my neighbors care, and we will continue to vote accordingly and hope our representatives and the DC council heed the numerous concerns of their constituents. Generally speaking, DC residents favor traffic safety improvements rather than the freeforall "it's fine, do nothing, ever" attitude you espouse.

Free for all? Do you even live here? Traffic accidents are extremely rare in Washington D.C. It's hard to speed because the congestion is terrible and traffic cameras are everywhere and the police are omnipresent. We have the biggest police force in the United States. If that's not enough, the blocks here are short, which means there are stop signs or traffic lights every five feet, with plenty of speed bumps in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not even kids or pedestrians. It's that DRIVING in this city is stressful because of other DRIVERS who don't follow the rules of the road! It's that most days of the week, I go to pull onto a major DC road where at least one day a week a car runs the red light as I'm about to pull out on the green. It's drivers who run a stop sign when you're about to proceed after you actually legally stopped. It's drivers that go 50mph down my tiny neighborhood street, sometimes the wrong way on a one way. Near misses are annoying enough that there could be zero pedestrian accidents and I'd still want more enforcement because DC area drivers are such a sh*tshow. .

The fact that we have a freeforall, break the law with no repercussions, governance for traffic violations doesn't help.

I don't think enforcement is the panacea that will solve all of your problems. Are you ok with physically slowing down cars? Speed bumps? Raised crosswalks? Narrower lanes? I think it does work out overall for safety, but it comes at the cost of some convenience while driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

If you listen to people in DC communities, they want safer streets. You personally may not care, but you're in the minority on that. I care, my neighbors care, and we will continue to vote accordingly and hope our representatives and the DC council heed the numerous concerns of their constituents. Generally speaking, DC residents favor traffic safety improvements rather than the freeforall "it's fine, do nothing, ever" attitude you espouse.

Free for all? Do you even live here? Traffic accidents are extremely rare in Washington D.C. It's hard to speed because the congestion is terrible and traffic cameras are everywhere and the police are omnipresent. We have the biggest police force in the United States. If that's not enough, the blocks here are short, which means there are stop signs or traffic lights every five feet, with plenty of speed bumps in between.

Yes I live here and drive to/from work every day. "hard to speed?" hahahahahaha. Do you even live here? You're hilarious. Stop signs and traffic lights don't mean anything when drivers speed through them which happens every day on my drive. Maybe you live in some of the areas of the city with better roads and built in safety precautions? Even my 8 year old gets mad at the speeders on our tiny street. We can hear them fly through sometimes without even being outside it's so noisy.

I've never seen a DC police officer pull anyone over. I've even seen people run red lights in front of DC police and they do nothing.

[Anonymous]

When I hear about kids on bikes being in accidents, I always think: What is wrong with their parents? It's their job to protect them, not put them in situations where bad things can happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1) they are required: "The law mandates that riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet while cycling in the District of Columbia."

2) a bigger concern is the DC drivers who are speeding and don't even know how to properly come to a full stop at a stop sign. So sick of people in giant SUVs stopping in the middle of the crosswalk like they apparently never went to driving school or stopped caring or both.

Before anyone accuses me of being a bicyclist activist, I do not bike, but I do have kids (who wear helmets).

DC does pretty much no traffic enforcement. We have speed and red light cameras but there's barely any repercussion if you even get tickets and don't pay them. There was an increase in booting recently (good) but it was barely anything for awhile. 2 people for the whole city with millions of dollars in unpaid tickets.

It's basically a free for all for people to drive like complete jerks. Really, you want to start a thread about kids wearing helmets?

The streets here aren't nearly as dangerous as all the hyperventilating here suggests, but if they were, it would beg the obvious question: What are earth as people doing taking children into all of that? And why aren't there more rules protecting those kids from their parents' poor choices?

If you listen to people in DC communities, they want safer streets. You personally may not care, but you're in the minority on that. I care, my neighbors care, and we will continue to vote accordingly and hope our representatives and the DC council heed the numerous concerns of their constituents. Generally speaking, DC residents favor traffic safety improvements rather than the freeforall "it's fine, do nothing, ever" attitude you espouse.

Free for all? Do you even live here? Traffic accidents are extremely rare in Washington D.C. It's hard to speed because the congestion is terrible and traffic cameras are everywhere and the police are omnipresent. We have the biggest police force in the United States. If that's not enough, the blocks here are short, which means there are stop signs or traffic lights every five feet, with plenty of speed bumps in between.

You must live in a different Washington DC than I do. Maybe even an alternate dimension? Or, you just don't view 10-15mph above the speed limit as speeding, or rolling a stop sign, stopping in the crosswalk instead of behind the bar, buzzing pedestrians in the crosswalk... etc as problems.