Our guest contributor is Taylor Bunting, a 45-year Berkeley resident and congenital realist
Berkeley bicycle riders have long agreed on which drivers are most dangerous to bikers. Any time cyclists get together to talk, the topic comes up. Back in the 1970s and 80s, it was clearly Volvo drivers. Then in the 1990s and 00s, the consensus was Prius drivers. Now in the 2010s and 20s it is Teslas.
Until recently this was only an opinion, although it was based on cyclist observations. Now, however, research has uncovered the reason for this evolution: aggressive Volvo drivers, also known as “Volvo drivers,” moved up to the Prius, and then to the Tesla. Examination of the sales and purchase agreements on file at the DMV by the non-partisan Institute of Arcane Information has provided conclusive proof for the fact that the drivers are the same, only the cars are different.
In spite of many new bike lanes, the risks to cyclists have increased exponentially, according to the Alameda County Bicycle Coalition. “You could at least hear the Volvos coming,” said Trey Wheeler, president of the ACBC. “First the Prius was quieter and now the Teslas are completely inaudible as they approach from behind.” One suggested remedy would be similar to the one used in Japan, where electric vehicles have to broadcast engine sounds to be legal. As Mr. Wheeler says, “They make me put a bell on my bike; why shouldn’t cars also have to sound a warning?”
The ACBC is trying to raise its profile on this issue by recruiting pedestrians, who are also increasingly threatened by EVs sneaking up on them. Walking the dog has now become the most popular exercise routine in Berkeley. Recently Mrs. Bunting was nearly run down in a crosswalk by an EV while walking our pandemic puppy.
Another factor that makes cycling and walking more dangerous these days is the fact that the Boomer Volvo drivers of the 1970s and 80s are now themselves in their 70s and 80s with all of the associated diminishment of vision and reflexes.