[michaelt]

You're picturing someone crossing at a right-angle to the tram tracks, as one might cross a train track at a level crossing. In that case you would indeed only get a small bump!

But if you cycle in the direction the tram travels - as you would if it was a bus lane, or a car would in a lane shared between trams and cars - then [1] can happen. Wheel goes into the groove in the road, cycle can't no longer steer, so it can't balance.

Obviously, you might think "Well then, don't cycle along lanes with tram tracks" but that means retrofitting an existing city with new tram tracks makes it less welcoming to cyclists - unlike busses or a metro system.

[1] https://youtu.be/aE3W4kEBhuE

[flukus]

> You're picturing someone crossing at a right-angle to the tram tracks

I'm picturing that because it's the most common occurrence. When your traveling in the same direction as the tracks then those tracks are always out in the center of the road and your as far left as possible. The only times I've been caught in the tracks was when I'm trying to turn right from the middle in which case a hook turn is usually better. You also need a bit of caution when your crossing curving tracks.

They aren't notoriously bad and in practice barely an issue, there are far bigger things to worry about.