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Showing Original Post only (View all)Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists? [View all]
OPINION
Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?
SAN FRANCISCO EVERYBODY who knows me knows that I love cycling and that Im also completely freaked out by it. I got into the sport for middle-aged reasons: fat; creaky knees; the delusional vanity of tight shorts. Registering for a triathlon, I took my first ride in decades. Wind in my hair, smile on my face, I decided instantly that I would bike everywhere like all those beautiful hipster kids on fixies. Within minutes, however, I watched an S.U.V. hit another cyclist, and then I got my own front wheel stuck in a streetcar track, sending me to the pavement.
I made it home alive and bought a stationary bike trainer and workout DVDs with the ex-pro Robbie Ventura guiding virtual rides on Wisconsin farm roads, so that I could sweat safely in my California basement. Then I called my buddy Russ, one of 13,500 daily bike commuters in Washington, D.C. Russ swore cycling was harmless but confessed to awakening recently in a Level 4 trauma center, having been hit by a car he could not remember. Still, Russ insisted I could avoid harm by assuming that every driver was a mouth-breathing drug addict with a murderous hatred for cyclists.
The anecdotes mounted: my wifes childhood friend was cycling with Mom and Dad when a city truck killed her; two of my fathers law partners, maimed. I began noticing cyclist killed news articles, like one about Amelie Le Moullac, 24, pedaling inside a bike lane in San Franciscos SOMA district when a truck turned right and killed her. In these articles, I found a recurring phrase: to quote from The San Francisco Chronicle story about Ms. Le Moullac, The truck driver stayed at the scene and was not cited.
In stories where the driver had been cited, the penaltys meagerness defied belief, like the teenager in 2011 who drove into the 49-year-old cyclist John Przychodzen from behind on a road just outside Seattle, running over and killing him. The police issued only a $42 ticket for an unsafe lane change because the kid hadnt been drunk and, as they saw it, had not been driving recklessly.
....................
the rest:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html
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I ride every day, and the biggest danger is: other bikers who pay no attention to laws
Berlum
Nov 2013
#12
what happens to me if, the other lane isn't clear, i am too paranoid to get too close to the cyclist
dionysus
Nov 2013
#88
smv? slow moving vehicles? guess so. i wish we could have dedicated bike paths everywhere,
dionysus
Nov 2013
#113
There is no way to have bike paths everywhere, sadly. And bike lanes are almost as
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#137
tragic. i know it's a pipe dream but it'd create jobs, save lives, and help people get more exercise
dionysus
Nov 2013
#139
I stop at stops, I don't whip around cars, and still have to deal with dangerous drivers weekly.
Gormy Cuss
Nov 2013
#64
My pedestrian son got clobbered by bicyclist going wrong way on one way street.
redwitch
Nov 2013
#109
Did you know in several cities the law is that cyclists should dismount and walk at intersections?
Recursion
Nov 2013
#47
When I rode, stayed right on the edge. Yahoos still tried to see how close they could come
Hoyt
Nov 2013
#14
Sometimes you can't go all the way to the right, and the law recognizes this.
duffyduff
Nov 2013
#29
+100. At worst, cyclists cost motorists a few seconds. Heck, slow cars held me up plenty of times.
Hoyt
Nov 2013
#57
Agreed, when I biked I followed all traffic laws but had many drivers nearly run me down
Bjorn Against
Nov 2013
#45
no not wrong, almost hit one last night on a country road, no lights reflectors etc, luckily for thi
loli phabay
Nov 2013
#43
Same here. Ridden 40 yrs. all over Chicago, just not at night; bright clothes, rear view mirror,
ancianita
Nov 2013
#90
It's the LAW. Bicycles are considered vehicles. They are not pedestrians. n/t
duffyduff
Nov 2013
#30
Actually that depends. In some jurisdictions they are considered vehicles *and* pedestrians
Recursion
Nov 2013
#61
Is it OK for cyclists to ride down the middle of the road in groups of 40-50...
renie408
Nov 2013
#39
I wish this nation would seriously consider contructing Bike Lanes in any future urban planning...
tenderfoot
Nov 2013
#41
I saw that was addressed in the article and I agree, it is really effed up...
tenderfoot
Nov 2013
#93
I live in Los Angeles and can say that in 30+ years here I have NEVER seen
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#83
It's the car drivers who are "playing" in traffic with their NASCAR antics.
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#132
No, you hypergonadal tweaker types need to get out of your fucking hurry.
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#134
Hahahaha, I'm not computer savvy enough to know how to circumvent the TOS.
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#160
Your entitled attitude marks you as a person who is so much of a danger to others on the road,
kestrel91316
Nov 2013
#133
One must first learn the #1 rule of the road, the one with the biggest wheels wins
B Calm
Nov 2013
#75
Nope, I've had people try to intimidate me, throw things at me, try to scare me, and worse.
Hoyt
Nov 2013
#105