Bicycles
Bicycles
In the latest inspirational opinion piece the Monitor editors wrote: “Will the motorist see the cyclist and give him wide berth as he passes? Or will be be changing a CD or tuning the radio and drift to the edge of the road? Will the driver turn right suddenly and cut the rider off?”
As one who knows his way around bicycles and as a driver who spends countless hours driving in several states, I would like to add to the Monitor’s concerns above.
Will the bicyclist pull to the left and cause an accident by hitting the driver? Will the bicyclist assume that if he signals with his arm that it is OK to cut into traffic without looking? Will the bicyclist cause an accident as he takes off from the corner of Main and Bridge Streets when the light turns green? Will the bicyclist with a militant attitude not yield in dangerous situations to drivers?
Over the last few years the movement by bicyclists, to take their share of the highway has grown. Now, I am not saying that bicyclists should not have the right to share the road but some are downright militant about it, giving dirty looks and acting as if the cars have no right to be traveling the highways. I guess the attitude is that many feel as if they somehow own the road “too” and automobiles are a nuisance. Many times they refuse to yield the roadway, often riding 5 feet from the edge of the road.
I observe many motorists who are not careful when driving around and with bicyclists. Most motorists seem very careful, however. I also see bicyclists who are courteous but many simply do not and will not yield to automobiles. Why is it that the bicyclist is always the victim?
That aside I have to laugh at the spandex outfits, pointy helmets right out of some sci-fi movie and an attitude as if they are Lance Armstrong practicing for the Tour de France.
The thrill of riding a bicycle for hundreds of years was to get from here to there. The benefits of the exercise is tremendous and aerobically, one of the best ways to stay healthy. It is the pretense and pomposity of many who ride devolving into a militant attitude by zealots of the sport.
The new law is NOT a good one. If I had my druthers, I would allow bicycles on side walks. Beyond that, there are many low traffic streets and destinations where riders could enjoy their sport. I would even be in favor of building bicyclist trails. Unless someone is trying to get from here to there, work to home or to another low traffic area, I see the need to be in rush hour traffic on a street like Bridge Street, unnecessary.
What will be next? Use of federal highway funds to widen our highways so that the bike lane accommodates a minority of traffic? On some roads, three feet of clearance would place you in the other guy’s lane. OHHHHHH but those evil motorists burning fossil fuels……they are the problem……let’s really say what is going on here.
Cars…….one person wasting…..BAD!
Bicycles……one person saving the environment…….GOOD!
It is all about politics, AS USUAL!
I have nothing against riding a bike but we have far more grave issues in this country than investment in bike lanes and adding more enforcement boondoggles to the plate of the already over burdened police officers. Imagine the accidents caused by motorists exaggerating the three foot rule and having a head on collision with another driver. For years I learned that you ride against traffic.
Now that we have raised the cyclist to equality with drivers, should there not be a requirement that cyclists take an equivalent course to driver's education? And what about required safety inspections on bicycles and registration as well. Are their brakes any less of a critical part of their journey than the need for functional brakes on a car? Should they not be insured as well. And where are the mirrors on a bike? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Bottom line, you can't have it both ways.....if safety is a concern, it should apply equally to all participating vehicles sharing the road!
I would be willing to bet that will raise the ire of many but it is appropriate in light of the new law. It takes two to tango and cyclists can are not ALWAYS the victim; often they are the cause that determines the outcome of an accident. If you want to share the highway, you should be willing to follow the same rules as those who drive automobiles.
Bicycle law???
A few questions... Will Police now be giving tickets to bicycle riders who fail to yield, change lanes without a proper signal, or sail through lights and stop signs with no regard for the motorists they share the road with? This strikes me as another case of wanting the right but not the attendant responsibility.
What are they thinking????
But.......................
But they are the victim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As the Monitor stated that the bicycle loses every time in an encounter with an 'implied' irresponsible motorist. You know, the ones that change CD's or tune their radio or sip their coffee.
You are correct, cyclists are a special interest group. This is because they are so admirable because they are not burning fossil fuels.
And yes, they "sail" through intersections like they have the right of way over cars. The few I know who read my blog piece have told me that I am terrible for picking on people who cycle as it is a "noble" sport.
Well, my answer is that hard work is "noble" and getting to work helps with that. Ten to one, if one ran into a car, the motorist would lose every time in the eyes of the law.
This is going to be a disaster.....thank you Democrats in the legislature!
Thank you, Scott for responding!
Bikers,
Biker babes,
Biker babe behinds,
Biker babe behinds covered in spandex. Now were talkin'! I'm of two minds, understandably - split right down the middle between right brain logic and left brain lust - on this subject of yielding a 3' berth canal around bikers. It has a lot - no, that's not true - it has everything to do with who is biking, where.
On the one hand, if there are a bunch of sweaty, middleage, testosterone-fatigued male Tour-de-Fraude wanna-bees out in front of me, and I'm rushing off to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts in my SUV to get my frost-coated dough and caffeine fix, the last thing I want to do is wait for a newly revamped legal opportunity to pass this snaking mobile road hazard. I got nothin' against Patrick Swazey ridin' his bony butt on a white pony, it's just not my cup of tea, 'specially at 5:30 in the morning. Get stuck on the wrong road at the wrong time, and I might be looking at these unappealing posteriors for 10, 15 minutes at a whack. That's a life time when I want my maypo donut!
Just how and where am I supposed to pass these masses of asses? Let's do some simple math for the numerically challenged Concord Ninny Nannies. Most roads 'round here are about 9 - 10' wide per side. In the best of scenarios involving male riders, I encounter only the svelte narrow-of-hip and skilled biker pack riding only about a foot from the pavement edge. They're about 18" wide, then we add the 3' berthing canal, and finally the car's width of ~ 6 and a half feet. Hmmm. 1 + 1.5/2 + 3 + 6.5 = 11.25'. Now, back when I took me my "public" school ciphering classes during the Michael Evans epoch, I done learned that 11.25' > 10'. That pesky math keeps rearing its ugly head, doesn't it, Mikey. I've also been told by my favorite men in blue never to cross a yellow line, be it single or double, 'cause that's "breakin' the law, breakin' the law, bad boy". You can also verify this by asking your car insurance agent who pays the bill should there be an accident and your car is the one that encroaches upon this hallowed ground. Sooo, how the hell am I suppos'd to pass me that passel of "sveaty" male bikers in their "sveaty" lycra shorts? Help me out, Concord Monitor! Sick your deviant offspring, The Concord Insider, on the powers that be. Or maybe you could hire a new-age mathematician who could perform some high flutin' mental gymnastics to prove you can fit a 6.5' wide car into a 5.25' wide space (for Mikey: 10 - 1 - 1.5/2 - 3 = 5.25). Until that happens, I guess I'll drive my SUV 10 - 15 mph in the wake of the bikers. I hope Governor Milktoast is behind me so I can wave to him in the mirror!
Sooo, back to the lemonade side of the lemonade stand. Sometimes I'm lucky, not often, but gear shift happens on occasion out there on the formerly open road. I wind up behind a bunch of beautiful biker babe behinds bouncing merrily along our bumpy roads - one of the few times I find such roads a blessing. Before the new statute, I always hesitated while vacillating whether to stay behind their behinds for "safety's sake", or be a good samaritan to those in cars and SUV's following me and pass the pack of panthers (a/k/a cougars). Meoow! Thank God, or some other deity or non-deity you may or may not pay homage to, for the more curve-linear profile of the female form stuffed ever so tightly into their unnatural skin casings like so many Fenway Femme-fatale Franks, thereby necessitating an even wider bandwidth for auto-passing and -arousal. Thank you, state reps, thank you, Milktoast, thank you, God. I now have your collective permission, nay, your ringing endorsement to lear at their bottoms for a seeming eternity. Humbert Humbert got nothin' on me now. Beep, Beep, move over honey, let the Nanny Fanny State take over.
- Blissfully balancing hot black coffee in my lap while drivin' my hummer behind the bottoms of New Hampshire,
C. dog e. doG