Top all-time · #1027
BICYCLE DUTCH
Personal blog · bicycledutch.wordpress.comculturepolitics
BICYCLE DUTCH is a personal blog at bicycledutch.wordpress.com about culture and politics. Since 2013, 68 different Hacker News readers have linked it 125 times, most often “How the Dutch got their cycling infrastructure (2011)”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-20, and you can follow it by feed.
All about cycling in the Netherlands
Most-linked posts?
- /2013/02/21/strict-liability-in-the-netherlands/8 people · 8 mentions · first linked 2016-07-12
- How the Dutch got their cycling infrastructure (2011)6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2015-08-30
- Motorway removed to bring back the original water – BICYCLE DUTCH6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2016-01-05
- /5 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2015-03-26
- /2018/01/02/dutch-cycling-figures/5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2019-09-15
- A common urban intersection in the Netherlands (2018)4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2018-09-15
- /2015/10/13/explaining-the-dutch-roundabout-abroad/3 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2015-10-19
- Traffic lights in ’s-Hertogenbosch; an interview3 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2021-10-25
- /2012/12/06/who-else-benefits-from-the-dutch-cycling-infrastructure/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-02-07
- /2011/05/05/state-of-the-art-bikeway-design-a-further-look/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2019-10-28
What Hacker News says?
The state of the art is to make all intersections between car and bicycle lanes at 90 degree angles. For an example, see https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/a-common-urban... .
Comment linking /2018/02/20/a-common-urban-intersection-in-the-netherlands
on “Self-driving Uber car kills Arizona woman crossing street”Submitted A common urban intersection in the Netherlands (2018) as a story · 360 points
HN discussionNot really. https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/02/21/strict-liabili... : > It is a myth that is really only believed outside the Netherlands: “Because there is strict liability in the Netherlands, drivers are more cautious around cyclists, and that leads to more cycling” > There are a number of (false) assumptions that lead to such an assertion. The first being that drivers are always at fault when they are in…
Comment linking /2013/02/21/strict-liability-in-the-netherlands/
on “The Dutch Reach: Clever Workaround to Keep Cyclists from Getting “Doored””Submitted The A2 motorway no longer divides Maastricht as a story · 229 points
HN discussionI mean if you live in a city like Paris, then yeah I'd say that's legitimate. I see nothing wrong with making such dense urban centers car-free other than what's necessary like deliveries or ambulances and such, but for the former these days you've got tiny electric trucks that even fit on bike paths without causing a ruckus, usually you'll see those grocery delivery services use them. Yes, people outside of urban c…
Comment linking /2020/09/16/utrecht-corrects-a-historic-urban-design-mistake/
on “Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic”Submitted How the Dutch got their cycling infrastructure (2011) as a story · 120 points
HN discussionProbably "right to cross" would be a better term. What I'm getting at is pedestrians can cross the road in cities, without it considered jaywalking/illegal, and cars will generally just stop for them if they see them wanting to cross. Of course if you just jump into traffic in the last minute you'll be hit, and it will be on you. https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/when-there-is-...
Comment linking /2017/09/05/when-there-is-no-such-concept-as-jaywalking/
on “AI Mistakes Bus-Side Ad for Famous CEO, Charges Her With Jaywalking”Submitted Bicycle Parking Guidance System in Utrecht as a story · 84 points
HN discussionElderly: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/tag/elderly/ Disabled: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/tag/disabled-people/ Less serious, but still a good demonstration of the inclusiveness of cycling: https://vimeo.com/131968609
Comment linking /tag/disabled-people/
on “Cambridge's Ambitious Protected Bike Lane Law”Submitted The 1979 Delft Cycle Plan as a story · 67 points
HN discussionI think increased dead rate for the elderly largely is because they remain mobile for longer. https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2020/07/28/road-fatalitie... : “The number of people over the age of 70 was 1.5 million in 1999 while there were 2.3 million early 2019, an increase of 56%! Partially helped by e-bikes (which are not more dangerous than ordinary bicycles) this much larger group of elderly people cycles mor…
Comment linking /2020/07/28/road-fatalities-declined-in-the-netherlands-but-less-for-cycling/
on “Ami, a tiny cube on wheels that French 14-year-olds can drive”Submitted New Floating Cycle Roundabout (2012) as a story · 56 points
HN discussion> The main difference is that the decision of painting the road or segregating traffic in the Netherlands is based on traffic volume and traffic speed. High speed high traffic zones get segregate bicycle traffic. Low speed low traffic routes can cope with mixed traffic and just a side lane for bicycles. The current standard technically doesn't allow for bicycle gutters: Traffic should be either fully mixed on low sp…
Comment linking /2020/08/12/cycle-lanes-in-the-netherlands/
on “Milan confirms new cycling network linking 80% of the city to bike paths”Submitted Is Copenhagen a city of cyclists? (A Dutch view.) as a story · 3 points
HN discussion> how do you know whether you’ll be next to a car wanting to turn right by the time you reach the junction? Prior to the junction, you move into the center of the lane corresponding to your intended direction. If you plan to go straight, you get behind the vehicles that are going to make a right turn or go straight. Depending on how dense traffic is, you'll have to do this further in advance from the intersection. A…
Comment linking /2011/05/05/state-of-the-art-bikeway-design-a-further-look/
on “After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes”Submitted Traffic lights in ’s-Hertogenbosch; an interview as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSo, you’re on your bike, in dense traffic. Even if all of them are already indicating direction, how do you know whether you’ll be next to a car wanting to turn right by the time you reach the junction? How do you even get from the right of a row of cars to the left of it in slow moving (⇒ short distances between cars) traffic? How do you get back to the right of the cars after making a turn? But even if that’s doab…
Comment linking /2011/05/05/state-of-the-art-bikeway-design-a-further-look/
on “After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes”Submitted Finally fully open: Utrecht’s huge bicycle parking garage as a story · 2 points
HN discussionThat museum really is a treasure, and well worth a visit if you're ever in wonderful Amsterdam. Not right now I guess what with the crowds and everything, but hopefully this too shall pass. I think it's really funny that the always-pedalling Dutch included a bike lane through the museum [1], that feels very right and also quite unique. [1] https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2016/05/31/the-bicycle-pa...
Comment linking /2016/05/31/the-bicycle-passage-of-the-amsterdam-rijksmuseum/
on “Most detailed ever photograph of The Night Watch goes online”Submitted Inclusive cycling on special needs tricycles as a story · 2 points
HN discussionIt wasn’t always this way. There’s an interesting clip from a documentary in 1972 about the neighborhood De Pijp in Amsterdam, when it was still very much a car-centric city. At the time children in the area protested how dangerous the streets had become and how they lacked safe areas to play. https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/amsterdam-chil... Compared to the situation now, it’s vastly improved. Fortuna…
Comment linking /2013/12/12/amsterdam-children-fighting-cars-in-1972/
on “How the Dutch created a casual biking culture”Submitted Junction design in the Netherlands as a story · 2 points
HN discussionRecumbent bikes, e-bikes, and other alternatives ( https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/who-else-benef... ) make "bike infrastructure" accessible to pretty much anyone. Considering the fact that it's impossible to live in the USA outside of a nursing home if you lose your ability to drive due to old age... I'm not sure accessibility is a great argument for car-centric infrastructure.
Comment linking /2012/12/06/who-else-benefits-from-the-dutch-cycling-infrastructure/
on “Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection”Submitted Lycra in the streets of the Netherlands as a story · 2 points
HN discussionI had never heard of this. Spectacular! https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/spectacular-ne...
Comment linking /2012/08/23/spectacular-new-floating-cycle-roundabout/
on “Google Wants to Make Silicon Valley as Bike-Friendly as Copenhagen”Submitted The Battle for the Ferdinand Bolstraat as a story · 1 points
HN discussionIt isn’t ALWAYS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strict_liability#Bicycle–motor... “In a nutshell, this means that, in a collision between a car and a cyclist, the driver is deemed to be liable to pay damages and his insurer (n.b. motor vehicle insurance is mandatory in the Netherlands, while cyclist insurance is not) must pay the full damages, as long as 1) the collision was unintentional (i.e. neither party, motoris…
Comment linking /2013/02/21/strict-liability-in-the-netherlands/
on “Cyclist hit by driverless Waymo car in San Francisco, police say”Submitted More cycling fatalities than deaths in cars as a story · 1 points
HN discussionYou would probably be in the protected path separated from the road to begin with. Reference: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/a-modern-amste...
Comment linking /2013/05/09/a-modern-amsterdam-roundabout/amp/
on “The Colorado Safety Stop is the law of the land”Submitted Get a green light quicker with Schwung as a story · 1 points
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