• @[email protected]
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      122 years ago

      Why do you think their bicycle infrastructure is so damn good

      I’d love to have that kind of cycling stuff where I live.

      • @[email protected]
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        222 years ago

        The Netherlands doesn’t have good bicycle infrastructure because of the fact that the country is relatively flat - they have it because they prioritized safe streets in the 70s following the stop de kindermoord-campaign.

        • @[email protected]
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          162 years ago

          As far as public safety campaign titles go, “Stop the child murdering” is fucking metal! 😄🤘👌

      • @[email protected]
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        42 years ago

        Accidents happen in the Netherlands just like anywhere else. I’m half Dutch and my grandfather was hit by a car and killed there.

        “The bicycle was the most dangerous mode of transportation in 2022, with a total of 291 fatalities. The car came in second place, with 225 victims. By comparison, that year 57 pedestrians and 20 truck drivers were also killed in traffic accidents in the Netherlands.”

        • @[email protected]
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          92 years ago

          I think you have to look at the rate, accidents per km. That accounts for dutch using bikes more than other countries

        • @[email protected]
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          72 years ago

          The numbers went up since the mass adoption of electric bikes. This caused especially elderly people to drive twice as fast as they could before, with heavier bikes they can’t control as well and they generally don’t wear helmets.

          The next big problem are young people doing what young people do but now with electric assistance

          • @[email protected]
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            12 years ago

            I didn’t even think about that, but it makes sense why the numbers seem much higher now. My grandfather (Opa) was killed in the early 90s… somewhere around Eindhoven… can’t remember exactly

            • @[email protected]
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              12 years ago

              Somewhere around Eindhoven in the early 90s, you say? 🤔

              Was Romário cleared before fleeing to Catalonia?😛

    • @[email protected]
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      242 years ago

      I grew up in a very flat part of England, flatness to me is the default and I get genuinely excited by hills.

      • CashewNut 🏴󠁢󠁥󠁧󠁿
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        32 years ago

        I get excited by hills but it’s because they remind me of home. Out of my window was a deep valley with a huge hill and just watching the seasons pass each year was a joy. The spring lambing season when the sheep covered the hills to the winter with snow covering them and you’d know it was time to fetch the sledge!

        Moved to Lincolnshire in my mid teens and it bored the absolute fuck out of me. Fields of rapeseed in all directions as far as the eye could see. Relentless wind that had no hills to block it so it never changed direction.

        I found it easier biking with a BMX on hills than I did using a mountain bike in windy flat conditions.

    • @[email protected]
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      182 years ago

      As someone who grew up somewhere super flat it really doesn’t get to you because it’s all you’ve ever known. However, now that I live somewhere with hills it drives me crazy when I visit home.

      • @[email protected]
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        62 years ago

        I can relate. I never imagined I would see someone complain or not understand what living on a flat area is like- it’s super easy! It’s the mountains and hills what’s difficult!

        • @[email protected]
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          12 years ago

          Hills are depth. They add character to any place for free. Oh you don’t like where you are right now? Just go up

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          I’m ok with it when music are what they’re alive with, though. As long as there’s no nazis 🤷

  • Nepenthe
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    112 years ago

    Imagine half your backyard being in another country. Do you think they still mow it?

  • @[email protected]
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    2 years ago

    The border-free zone is called the Schengen area. There are still some EU member states that aren’t included. Euronews article

    “Austria has blocked the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen, the passport-free area that has abolished border checks between the vast majority of EU member states.”

    • Iron Lynx
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      142 years ago

      Even some non-EU places are part of Schengen. Notably Norway and Switzerland.

    • SomeAmateur
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      2 years ago

      (guys they mean the sudden changes in road quality)

      • @[email protected]
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        22 years ago

        I mean… we have interstate travel and the US is massive. There are no real borders between states.

          • @[email protected]
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            42 years ago

            Except for the similarities between both places having open borders… something explicitly mentioned in the post…

            • @[email protected]
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              2 years ago

              This post isn’t about open borders, it’s about the contrast in bicycle and road infrastructure between the Netherlands and other countries. The open border was just the setup.

              The Netherlands has very specific urban/rural (re)design standards which are quite recognizable if you know them.

                • @[email protected]
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                  2 years ago

                  Well, yeah. There are guidelines for new infrastructure, but that doesn’t mean everything is up to date everywhere. There are roads that haven’t been resurfaced for quite a while that aren’t up to date. But on the whole it is very similar everywhere.

                  It’s only a small country though.

                  There is a Canadian YouTuber who lives in Amsterdam who makes videos about it: http://YouTube.com/notjustbikes I’ve lived here all my life so it’s nice to get an outside perspective on this all.

    • Chariotwheel
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      182 years ago

      Dutch bicycle lanes? And here I thought the US was car junkie hell.

    • Tar_Alcaran
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      62 years ago

      The US probably has some rural bike paths, but I sure as shit haven’t seen any.

  • shath [comrade/them]
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    352 years ago

    i don’t want SEX i want USABLE BIKE LANES that have enough SPACE to ride my bike SAFELY alongside other TRANSPORT MODES

  • @[email protected]
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    392 years ago

    I know that place. The borders between the Ellestraat (Hulst, NL) and the Hellestraat (Stekene, BE).

    The right side of the street on the Belgian part is actually Dutch for a few 100 meters. If you look around on street view the part with a bicycle lane is Belgian, the part without it is Dutch.

  • moitoi
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    512 years ago

    In Europe you don’t need countries for this. The smallest federal country will have a clear difference on the road at the border of two federated entities. Worst, it can happen between municipalities in some countries.

    • AggressivelyPassive
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      122 years ago

      Worst, it can happen between municipalities in some countries.

      There are other countries as stupid as Germany? I thought we were alone!

      • moitoi
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        22 years ago

        Switzerland, Austria, … It’s more common than we think.

        My favorite case is the resurfacing of the road in the first municipal territory and less than a year later, the second municipality does it on its side.

      • @[email protected]
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        12 years ago

        It’s a bike strip, since there is a bike icon.

        A bike suggestion strip has no bike icon and has no legal status, it’s merely a suggestion.

        They are different things.

    • @[email protected]
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      192 years ago

      Dutchie here to explain why that’s not ironic:

      If its a dotted line cars are allowed to use it, but only if it doesn’t impede on cyclists. So while they didn’t have to be there, it’s not unlawful as there’s no cyclists.

      If it was a single line, it’s a different story.

  • @[email protected]
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    1012 years ago

    In Germany the streets are far too often a fight for survival. I miss the Netherlands, driving there, bike or car, was so much more relaxing.

    But, you know, Germans and their cars…

    • @[email protected]
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      2 years ago

      In my experience the bike infrastructure was great, but riding the bike in the city was more stressful than in Germany.

    • KptnAutismus
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      202 years ago

      as a car driver, i have no problems with bike drivers themselves. i hate whoever thought 1 lane and a thin sidewalk was enough road.

      • Anti-Antidote
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        602 years ago

        Gets you to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings, doesn’t it? That’s the point, if you build roads that feel cramped to drivers they’ll naturally drive slower (i.e. actually the speed limit). Building all streets like they’re highways is a good way to get people going 50-60 mph on roads with houses directly on them.

        • KptnAutismus
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          42 years ago

          it’s also a great way to put people’s lives at risk. i don’t think anyone thought of what you’re describing.

          • AMuscelid
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            192 years ago

            No, that’s explicitly the reason for it, and it’s been shown to reduce the severity of crashes because people drive the speed limit when they feel it’s risky to go faster.

            • KptnAutismus
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              2 years ago

              so swerving into oncoming traffic is safe? i had numerous near crashes because people overtook a bike driver coming my way. the netherlands do it better, the bikes have their own separated lane.

        • @[email protected]
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          152 years ago

          So, there’s a balance. If you don’t build enough room to do anything but drive slow to be safe, the moment someone is fast, the chances of a crash are very high.

          If you build a road that has too much clearance, you end up with people driving faster, which is okay because there’s more room for people to be out of the way, likely reducing the amount of crashes. The drawback to this is, if people drive faster, the fewer crashes that do occur are at higher speeds, which are more deadly.

          So the ratio of number of crashes to severity of crashes is what the end result is.

          Granted, I live in the US where single lane country back-roads will have people in trucks going down at 50MPH randomly, so I don’t know if Europeans drive more cautiously. I know their driving tests are more comprehensive for sure.

        • KptnAutismus
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          42 years ago

          11:17 is the timestamp that is most relevant here, separated bike paths should be the norm. and not the shitty “fahrradschutzsstreifen” bullshit they are pulling in germany. i have to swerve around people going not even 20km/h when i’m going 50. there’s no way that reduces accidents. the netherlands rock. i went on a vacation there a few years ago. public transport is so much better there. (key phrase “viable alternative”)

      • 6daemonbag
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        12 years ago

        My gramps used to think even looking at his cars was asking permission to drive or touch them. “Nein!”

        He was gregarious at all other times, but “don’t go in my fucking garage”

  • @[email protected]
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    362 years ago

    Yes, the country where you see on Monday who is going to visit you on Tuesday and where the highest hills are the dikes

    • @[email protected]
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      2 years ago

      To be fair both the US and EU are a federation of states (the latter sharing aspects of a confederation as well 1. In the US all state borders do look like this, so in a way free travel among the ‘independent’ states is allowed the same as in the posters picture.

    • setVeryLoud(true);
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      72 years ago

      Actually if you leave Quebec towards Vermont, the pavement changes significantly and becomes pink-ish.