I live in a college town, and the cyclist population is pretty large. And there’s nothing that angers me more than a cyclist who doesn’t know how to ride. I’m not talking about being able to stay on the bike and pedal it down the street, I’m talking about traffic safety, the rules and laws that cars already have to follow, and that cyclists should be made to follow as well.
Traffic lights: red means stop, yellow means prepare to stop, and green means go. These mechanisms were meant to regulate car traffic, to help prevent and avoid traffic jams. Common sense says that when a cyclist rides on the street, he or she should follow these rules as well, for their own safety as well as the safety of other drivers. But time and time again, I will be stopped at a stop light, impatiently waiting for the light to change from red to green, and all of the sudden, there’s a bike in my rearview mirror. The cyclist moves along in the space between my car and the curb, hardly takes a glance at the possible oncoming traffic, and will go ahead and cross the intersection, despite the light!
Now I realize that traffic laws for cyclist vary from state to state. However, I don’t understand why, when a cyclist rides their bikes on the road, with automobiles several times bigger, and at least a ton or two heavier, one would think that the cyclist would want to obey the same rules and laws of the automobile, in an attempt to live a longer and less flattened life.
But time and time again, I am proven wrong. I used to drive a city bus for the local University here in town. At one point in my usual route, I had to make a left hand turn on a left arrow from a lane that an automobile can also go straight in. The traffic opposite me does not have a green light when I have my arrow, and so I started to make my turn. Imagine my surprise and horror when I realize there is a cyclist attempting to cross the intersection, on the road, not in the crosswalk. It was dark, and he wore no reflective gear, there was no light or visible reflector on the front of his bike, and I didn’t see him until I nearly ran over him. Thank goodness the brakes on the bus were quick to respond, but my passengers, the cyclist, and myself all got a good scare. And you know what he did? He flipped me the bird, and screamed at me for being an irresponsible something or other. He blamed me for something that I was not totally at fault for. Perhaps I could have been watching closer, perhaps I should have looked harder for stupid bikers, but had the cyclist been watching the traffic lights and wearing appropriate reflective gear (which is required by all state laws), I would have seen him way before I even started to turn.
Some people have brought up the argument that because cars, trucks and semi tractor-trailers are larger than bicycles that they should be the watchdogs, the vehicles that look out and take responsibility for cyclists and pedestrians. Up to a point, that’s entirely true. When a pedestrian is crossing in a crosswalk, it is the automobiles responsibility to slow and/or stop as the situation warrants, until the pedestrian is across the street. However I have little respect for citizens that jaywalk (crossing the street between two stop signs or lights), and have often been known to not slow for them in hopes that they get their butts in gear. I realize that’s wrong, but when even the police don’t seem to make an effort to fight this kind of disrespect for the law, sometimes emotions take over. It’s the same for bicyclists. When I have to pass a cyclist on the road, swerving into the oncoming lane to go around them because there is no bike lane, I don’t feel any remorse pulling as close to the curb as I can to avoid them from passing me on the right, and forcing me to pass them again.
I recently (just tonight actually) read an article online about a man who has been biking to and from work for 10 years, and who has also spent two years as a bicycle courier. He said that though it may be illegal in some states, he regularly bikes in the most visible area of the road. This means biking on the far left on one way streets, and on the center line on two way streets. That makes so much sense to me, because as he said, “When a car passes on the right, he passes with might. When a car passes on the left, he passes with sight”. Nothing so far has been so clear cut and true to life. I would much rather be able to see exactly how much space is between myself and the cyclist, which I can’t when the cyclist is on my right, possible (and often) in my blind spot. This also cuts down on the risk of the cyclist getting cut off by right hand turners, people who open their car doors and clothesline bikers, and those who just don’t care where or what the cyclist is doing. It’s an obvious spot for the biker to ride, and it’s clear to all drivers where the cyclist is, and easier to pass them.
When a cyclist, whether that’s a bicyclist, tricyclist, or some other form of person on manually operated wheels, doesn’t follow the basic, common sense rules of the road, he or she puts everyone in danger. Stop lights; stop, yield, and one way signs; crosswalks; sidewalks; all, if properly used, have the possibility to save lives and prevent accidents. It all comes down to one basic rule, when riding or driving on a street, highway, or sidewalk, act like the vehicle the road was created for.
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