DavidDexter's Blog

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions about me hating people on bikes ... for the record, I don't. I have a road bike myself, I love cycling through our wonderful metro park system, and the exercise leaves me feeling great. And also a little winded nowadays since I've not only added miles to my bike's odometer ... but years to myself as well. :^)

With gasoline and diesel prices at all times highs, I realize the two wheel form of weekend recreation has quickly transformed into a two wheel form of daily transportation. To work, to school, to civic events, etc. Great for exercise and great for the environment. :^)

But ... maybe not so great for those of us who still have to drive a four (or more) wheeled vehicle to work or places beyond the reasonable range of a bicycle.

I almost made roadkill out of a man and a woman riding side by side at an intersection with a traffic signal. She was busy with her cell phone, he had his head turned talking to her, neither were paying attention that they had a red light and cruised right out into traffic crossing a busy state route without stopping at full speed. The oncoming traffic being me, a charter bus, and a garbage truck ... all slammed on our brakes ... I missed the guy by inches.

No one was injured - just a bunch of mid-morning drivers had their nerves jarred.

But what got me, was I saw the woman turn back (still on her cell phone) ... and flip all of us off. I'm pretty sure I made out what she yelled back at us was a profane four letter word as well. Then they kept on going as if they had done nothing wrong.

They weren't kids. I'd say they had to be in their mid-40s. Old enough to know better.

As more and more people switch to peddle-power instead of fossil-fuel-power modes of transportation - I'm noticing a lot more cyclists blatantly ignoring safety and traffic laws. Riding on State Routes that have no berms, riding 4 and maybe 6 abreast (even left of center) on roads expecting cars and trucks to swerve out of their way, running stop signs and traffic lights, darting out into streets from between cars without looking, etc. I even saw one cyclist with a death wish riding along the side of I-90 by the curve during rush hour!?!?!? (I-90 is bad enough without a cyclist added to the mix ...) Again, most of the time these are not children or teenagers. These are adults. Who should know better.

Is it me, or is it when some people get on a bike they toss all safety and responsibility out the window? I've read blogs were cyclists complain drivers need to look out for them, that they have a right to the road as well, and it's drivers and not cyclists who cause the mounting number of bike/motor vehicle accidents and fatalities.

I believe both sides are responsible. Drivers need to be aware of their surroundings at all times because of their size, weight, and speed. But in that same token, cyclists also need to get it through their bike helmets that just because they're on two wheels they get no "special" treatment on the road and don't get to choose when or where they want to follow traffic laws.

Just like the Miller Brewing Company urges people to "Drink Responsibly" and the state highway patrol urges motorists to "Drive Carefully" ... maybe Trek/Giant/Schwinn need to urge cyclists to "Bike Safely." The burden of "Road Safety" doesn't rest squarely on the shoulders of motorists alone as some cyclists (I would have to say "arrogantly") think it should ... cyclists also have to share half of that burden as well.