I am a bit surprised by this study done at Hunter College. For newer readers I had started this blog because I was doing a study of bike commuters in NYC (you can read the study here). This new report points out all the things cyclists do wrong, but yet the students who did the study merely observed the cyclists. It would have been good if the study actually had these students do a few things.
1. Ride themselves in these conditions
2. Interview the riders as to why they broke the law
3. Put the results in the larger context of street use in NYC (transportation planning)
It is great to have more institutions doing studies about biking in cities, but I feel this study ignores the most obvious thing. In NYC a cyclist does what they have to just to stay alive. This might not convince everyone, but it is the truth. Plus, the study could have looked at how the rules of the road are geared toward drivers, thus they don't really apply to cyclists and the way they use the road. Here is the NY Times article.
1 comment:
When conducting any kind of studies, it's strongly recommended to interview or talk to the people who were totally aware on it. Or much better, experience it on your own for you to know everything. We can't make a study based on observations.
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