Study Finds Cyclists Are Better People Than Drivers
jalopnik.com
The results show drivers are less interested in the common good than cyclists.

I’ve always argued this wasn’t the case and that motoring is a worse transport mode because of the associated externalities, not because of anything inherent to the users.

But you can’t argue with the scienceTM!

  • aelwero@lemmy.world
    3324·
    11 months ago

    Lol… “Study shows what we want it to show”

    It’s a comparison between drivers and riders using four cherry picked criteria that would most likely generate the predetermined narrative. It’s science for hire.

    Drivers run the gamut from tree huggy beetle driver to Ford f950 with the extra black smoke package and factory standard swastika paint job, and cyclists, while on a narrower scale (you’ll never see mr super smoker on a Schwinn…), still have a similar scale and can absolutely be assholes.

    The dissociation part is accurate, but it’s not a matter of vehicle type or size, because commercial drivers are commonly on the same end of the awareness scale as motorcyclists. It’s not about personality, it’s about risk.

    • yA3xAKQMbq@lemm.ee
      3910·
      11 months ago

      So you didn’t bother to read the paper, didn’t you.

      using four cherry picked criteria

      There’s a lengthy part of that paper discussing their criteria, with references to other studies.

      Ford f950 with the extra black smoke package and factory standard swastika paint job

      Which doesn’t even remotely exist in Germany, where this study was done. Which, you know, you could have known if you’d actually read the study…

      It’s science for hire.

      “This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

      • MuhammadJesusGaySex@lemmy.world
        53·
        11 months ago

        So I’m not the person you replied to. I also admit upfront that I didn’t read the article because I don’t want to. Everything I’m about to say is purely my opinion, and based off of your comment. So, take it for what it’s worth which is literally nothing.

        I have scanned a bunch of these comments. You are the first person to mention that the study was done in Germany that I’ve seen. Now, I’m not saying you’re wrong. What I am saying is that it seems like there is a good possibility that this is a cultural thing, and an inconclusive study at best.

        Now, like I said, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m simply pointing out that it’s weird that a study used a very specific subset of cyclists and didn’t tell us that in the title, but also probably isn’t representative of the cycling community at large.

        It would be like if I posted a headline that said 99% of the people that died of heart related issues are black. So you read my article and find out I did the study in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

        So, even if the science is correct. It seems like information that isn’t very relevant outside of the small area where it was conducted. I guess it would depend on where the other studies that they linked to were done. Which I really don’t want to read unless I have to.

        This was just an observation based on your comment, and I’m a bored internet stranger taking a poop.

        • psud@aussie.zone
          32·
          11 months ago

          The study didn’t “use a weird subset” of cyclists.

          From the abstract of the study

          Using a longitudinal multilevel analysis, annual surveys between 2014 and 2019 of a representative sample of the German general population (GESIS PANEL, N = 410) were analyzed. Cycling rather than driving was positively associated with orientation towards the common good in all models.

          • MuhammadJesusGaySex@lemmy.world
            32·
            11 months ago

            Since there are cyclists the world over, but they only studied German cyclists. German cyclists are very likely to be very culturally different from say Chinese cyclists, or African cyclists, or American cyclists, or even other European cyclists.

            Thus, German cyclists ARE A SUBSET OF CYCLISTS in general. Which is what I was saying.

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
      163·
      11 months ago

      Obvious bad journalism. “Study shows XYZ are bad people” is never not gonna be a clickbait headline since scientific studies would never claim to show something so subjective.