Newsflash, Cyclists
This is not a car.
I seriously don't get it.
I was driving to work today, running late as usual, when I saw it.
Rolling roadblock.
Two people cycling side by side,
in the middle of a lane,
on a two-lane road,
with a double yellow line down the middle,
going 15 mph in a 40-mph zone.
Why, God, why?
Trucks swerved into the opposite lane to pass the happy pair. That didn't bother them. This is a winding road. You never know who's coming the other way. That was not safe by any stretch of imagination.
Every now and then, I read about how we need to share the road, how bicycles are vehicles like any other and should be treated as such.
If you're a vehicle like any other, then why are you doing 15 in a 40? Speed it up, and I won't have a problem with you. Oh, you can't.
I have an even better story. Our little street is on a roundabout. The next street off the circle is at a sharp angle to ours. With trees and bushes blocking the view, you can never see around the corner. A few times I almost got a heart attack when I turned the corner and found myself face to face with a happy cyclist, moving towards me, against the traffic. I asked a cyclist friend of mine and she said these are the existing rules.
I'm confused. So the existing rules for something that is to be treated like a vehicle is to go in the opposite direction? Can a vehicle do that? Also, what about the common sense? Isn't this, like, extremely unsafe?
I just don't get this whole sharing the road concept. To me, it makes as much sense as people walking in the middle of a freeway. Hey, walking is healthy, therefore we should be able to do that. Or not?
Truth be told, I'm conflicted on this. I have two teens, and I would certainly like for them to be able to get around our relatively small area without having to get behind the wheel. My dad, too, feels more comfortable riding his bike than driving. How to do it in the suburbs safely, is what I want to know. So far, most cyclists I see on the road are accidents waiting to happen.
I seriously don't get it.
I was driving to work today, running late as usual, when I saw it.
Rolling roadblock.
Two people cycling side by side,
in the middle of a lane,
on a two-lane road,
with a double yellow line down the middle,
going 15 mph in a 40-mph zone.
Why, God, why?
Trucks swerved into the opposite lane to pass the happy pair. That didn't bother them. This is a winding road. You never know who's coming the other way. That was not safe by any stretch of imagination.
Every now and then, I read about how we need to share the road, how bicycles are vehicles like any other and should be treated as such.
If you're a vehicle like any other, then why are you doing 15 in a 40? Speed it up, and I won't have a problem with you. Oh, you can't.
I have an even better story. Our little street is on a roundabout. The next street off the circle is at a sharp angle to ours. With trees and bushes blocking the view, you can never see around the corner. A few times I almost got a heart attack when I turned the corner and found myself face to face with a happy cyclist, moving towards me, against the traffic. I asked a cyclist friend of mine and she said these are the existing rules.
I'm confused. So the existing rules for something that is to be treated like a vehicle is to go in the opposite direction? Can a vehicle do that? Also, what about the common sense? Isn't this, like, extremely unsafe?
I just don't get this whole sharing the road concept. To me, it makes as much sense as people walking in the middle of a freeway. Hey, walking is healthy, therefore we should be able to do that. Or not?
Truth be told, I'm conflicted on this. I have two teens, and I would certainly like for them to be able to get around our relatively small area without having to get behind the wheel. My dad, too, feels more comfortable riding his bike than driving. How to do it in the suburbs safely, is what I want to know. So far, most cyclists I see on the road are accidents waiting to happen.
