Living in a boring residential area and I swear dodging the bicycles everywhere on all the tiny pedestrian sidewalks should’ve been an Olympic sport at Tokyo 2020. There’s so many old people I can’t help but wonder— is old people getting hit by bikes a big problem in Japan? I can’t help but think the combination of a huge ageing population with poor reaction times who tend to just amble everywhere + people speeding down walking ways on bikes (all ages from kids to other oji-sans, I’ve noticed) is like… a recipe for disaster. Is this an actual issue and I just don’t look at the news enough or do the Japanese oji-san population just all have a bike-dodging cultural superpower??
21 comments
No
It’s not that big an issue.
The benefits of them riding in pedestrian areas far outweigh any risks.
Old people in cars mowing down pedestrians seems to be a much bigger problem.
Japan has several rules to prevent it which is why it isn’t as big an issue as it *could* be.
For example, no earbuds, holding umbrellas, phones, etc.. Have to use a light at night. Even just making everyone register a bike and buy bike insurance itself is a preventative measure.
Disaster in your mind
People who ride bikes can generally ride a bike. Old people do not move quickly and unpredictably.
I am more worried about tiny mums riding huge electric ママチャリ, with one kid in the front and one back at a considerable speed.
Mothers on their super-powered mama-chari, Taro in front and Hanako in back, a shitload of groceries, racing home to cook yakisoba before husband gets home so they can continue with their sexless marriages are the worst, most dangerous. They could give two fucks about anyone but themselves and their precious crotch dumplings (I get it, the maternal instinct is on super-mode); and they can’t properly control the behemoth they are riding on.
“I’d rather dodge ojisan on a bike than ojisan driving a car.”
Sun Tzu
Not an issue for me. I rarely see a bike riding faster than 15km/h on the sidewalk.
What blows my mind is how few people ever pump their tires… like 12psi in their tires! I worked as a bike mechanic for years in Hawaii and I’d charge ~$50 in labor alone to replace a rear tube on the occasional mamachari that made it to the shop. With all the axle mounted racks, fenders, drum brakes and chain case, those things are a nightmare!
According to a bicycle insurance website, there’s the equivalent of a bike accident every 7 minutes.
If you have insurance than just don’t move when on the sidewalk, that is a them problem and if you get injured you can get a nice pay check and time off work.
Basically whenever anyone in this country gets on a bike the mario invincibility theme starts playing in their heads.
Still preferable than the stoned faced mothers driving 3 ton family vans while watching their favorite drama or texting their side piece.
Appreciate that people here ride bikes regularly. It’s healthy for them, and the city, and the environment. Need less people in cars. Better bike infrastructure would be great though, but as is the free-for-all nature means biking is highly accessible; and no, it’s not really that dangerous or that big of a problem. Old people mowing down pedestrians in cars on the other hand…
Bike riders in Japan see themselves as pedestrians on steroids, not as road users. That’s the problem.
As a cyclist, I’m deeply annoyed by them but the problem is cars. Bicycle are mostly harmless. Cars are not, and the number of unsafe drivers is insanely high.
It’s like organized chaos or some second-sense… at least in Osaka.
Watching girls biking to their nights out, wearing miniskirts with heels, while holding an umbrella in one hand and a cigarette in the other…. amazing…
Now fast forward a few decades and they’re now parents and grandparents with years of experience.
I just wish places like Vancouver can have cyclists that can do even half as well.
The biggest problem are the narrow and uneven sidewalks, and those utility poles with ugly wires hanging every 50m that take up half the space. I just don’t understand why can’t they run those cables underground like in most other countries. And no, it’s not because of earthquakes, it’s just a cost saving measure that endangers everyone and makes the whole country look like a shit hole.