My fellow Mad Dog teammate Bill Dark has penned an excellent cycling awareness article that appeared in the Opinion section in the Sunday, August 24th edition of the Salt Lake Tribune. If you haven't read it, please click here, read it and give me some feedback. I want to write a follow up letter to the editor and am interested in your thoughts - if anybody is out there ;-)
I want to take a work together attitude, like Bill has, and not attack. I have a few ideas but could use a few more.
2 years ago
6 comments:
I don't completely agree with Bill on this. I agree that riders should not ride two abreast especially on the narrow roads. But correcting this bad habit among cyclists will NOT affect how the crazy gasguzzling testosterone-headed yahoos react to bikers. These are the types that have to cover up their mental and physical weaknesses with talk and gas power. The only things to fix them are increasing gas prices and creating and enforcing laws protecting bikers.
There is no reason automobile drivers cannot slow down for a few seconds to safely pass just as they might for a tractor on the road.
I agree that cyclists need to follow the rules and make good decisions but, Hmm, i don't know. Saying the cyclist is as culpable as the motorist in that incident is a bit of a stretch. Rude and inconsiderate? To whom?
One was within the law, the other not. Regardless of road size.
How have we brought this problem on ourselves? I don't get it? I follow the law, I pay attention and I get hit, it is my fault? The defense attorney will be using this argument.
It just so happens that NPR had a segment on this very topic yesterday. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93987420
I was reading the blogs and the following quote seems to fit my feelings about bike vs auto:
Here's the bottom line: "A cyclist who breaks the law irritates others and endangers his own life. A driver who breaks the law or drives inattentively can take lives."
Sent by Shannon | 3:08 PM ET | 08-26-2008
What bugs me is drivers see kids on bikes and go out of their way, and rightfully so, to miss them. When I'm in the canyon drivers won't cross the middle line when passing me even if there is no on- coming traffic. It's like the line is a wall! I want to warn reckless drivers that someday their kids may decide to ride bikes as an adult and they too will have to deal with the open season mentality of those mentally and physically weak enforcers. What goes around, comes around.
I thought Bill made a good point, but put too much of the burden on cyclists.
Yes, we should obey the rules of the road and be courteous. It's the right thing to do and I do my best. But I've made mistakes in my riding and don't feel that means I can be run down because of it.
The burden is on drivers to watch out for everyone else - you can't run over pedestrians, cyclists, farm tractors, semis creeping up a steep road, etc. Delays are part of driving, get over it. And how much time is lost to get around a cyclist? Usually less than a minute. So a cyclists life is worth a minute of a drivers time? It just makes no sense, but it is an emotional thing so I guess it never will. It's sad so many Utahns drive so aggressive and with such disregard for their fellow human beings.
These comments bring to mind the saying that those with the money make the rules. Seems to me the cars are the money and we must adapt, like it or not. I hate to give in, but what are the alternatives? 160 lbs versus 2000+ is a no brainer - that's a lot of money! Someone suggested offline we take an education in the elementary schools approach and I like that idea. It would be a generational change, not immediate, but that's better than what we have now. More comments please. If anyone wants to reply offline email me at bradm at xmission dot com.
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