The Smoldering Holy War: Bicycle Hobos vs Cars

I'm a little sorry that this blog entry carried such a provocative headline, enough to rekindle the road rage of some of the commenters here....

First of all, this discussion needn't be about divisiveness (i.e., cyclists vs. drivers). The point is we are all sharing public space, and when we're in/on vehicles, we are obliged to follow certain regulations. When I'm cycling, I stop at red lights and stop signs. I ride with the flow of traffic. If I need to take it up on the sidewalk, I gear down to walking speed. I cycle right and am sick of people characterizing ALL or even most cyclists as reckless, lawbreaking daredevils. Some are, it's true, but likewise there are many scofflaw, inconsiderate, and incompetent drivers.



Yes, it was an accident. Yes, it was 100% the driver's fault. Yes, accidents do happen. But the point of my entry at http://www.zverina.com/2007/0703.htm is not that all drivers are bad and all cyclists are virtuous. (Contrary to one nitwit's assertion, I've had a license for 20 years and have even driven trucks professionally, so I can claim empathy for drivers--I *am* one of you.) The point is drivers need to be more aware of cyclists and one way to do this would be to increase penalties for those at fault when they strike cyclists and pedestrians. You got a problem with that? If the stakes were higher for careless drivers (such as the one in my post), people might start becoming more aware of cyclists. Likewise, a cyclist who runs down a pedestrian should pay the price.



If more provisions were made for cyclists, there would be less confusion in those places where bikes have to assert their right of way under conditions which do not accommodate them due to the negligence and unresponsiveness of city planners and the traffic department. Seattle, for all it's green talk, is an embarrassment when it comes to non-motorized infrastructure.



The streets were here long before cars. We need to figure out how to share them as people. We could start by treating each other as individuals, not stereotypes.



-Robert Zverina, www.zverina.com



p.s. I find it both amusing and horrifying that there are those who complain about cyclists' sense of entitlement. A bicycle occupies about 6 square feet of surface area as opposed to a mid-sized car's 90 square feet. Bike's are clean, quiet, do not require millions of tax dollars to subsidize their storage (what's known by the misnomer "free parking"), and travel at a rate of speed which seldom harms anybody, human or animal. Cars are loud, polluting, clog the streets in motion and parked, and kill 40,000+ people in US annually and flatten innumerable critters. So, who's sense of entitlement is more inflated, driver or cyclist?

(commenting login unavailable, this is the bicycle hobo/langston)

"At the same time, I think that the diatribes of hard-core bicycling enthusiasts about how drivers are dangerous and irresponsible, and how we all need to "share the road" rings false for most people, because most people are drivers, and they're not seeing these same bicyclists being safe, responsible, and cooperative."

What was notable about this encounter was that I was trying to uphold my obligation to sharing the road, and was acting as a safe and responsible rider. I used a hand-signal to change lanes, and who the hell passes anyone cyclist or not in that traffic situation? He had to cross the yellow line just to barely miss me.

I put too many miles in every week, year round, to survive riding like an asshole all the time. It's true that through self preservation and impatience I do sometimes do sketchy/rude things on my bike, but I do it with a high degree of skill and experience. I fully believe we can all get along and share our experiences safely.

This morning a bicyclist ran a stop sign on the Burke-Gilman in the University District and made me skid to a halt in order to avoid hitting him. He didn't even look back at me as he rode away, he just flipped me off and kept going.

In general it seems like bicyclists are antagonists in most of these situations. I say this as someone who is primarily a biker or pedestrian, and only a weekend driver. Even when I'm walking on the street a lot of bicyclists have this sense of entitlement where they get mad if they have to slow down, or swerve to avoid me, exactly like drivers feel when the situation is reversed.

I feel really bad for anyone who gets injured by a stupid driver who wasn't paying attention, and I would never want to imply that it's their fault.

At the same time, I think that the diatribes of hard-core bicycling enthusiasts about how drivers are dangerous and irresponsible, and how we all need to "share the road" rings false for most people, because most people are drivers, and they're not seeing these same bicyclists being safe, responsible, and cooperative.

talk about entitlement. it's called share the road not bicyclists own it. for as many times as bike riders state a motorist has hit or nearly hit them i can state times when bicyclists have darted through intersections against the light causing people to slam on their brakes. or riding in between the lanes of traffic on a city street instead of off to one side where the only have to contend with one lane of motor vehicles.

while the accident in the first part of the story is sad, and i'm not saying it was the bicyclist's fault, i agree with [2] that accidents happen. i don't think the guy intentionally decided he was gonna cause the bike rider harm.

of course none us really know for sure exactly what took place because we weren't there.

It's too bad about Rob's friend but, you know, sometimes accidents are unavoidable. Especially when you're doing something inherently dangerous like riding a bike on crowded city streets.

These must be the people who had their drivers licenses revoked.

Hahahahaha!