Share the Road

With the recent killing of a cyclist near my house, there have been numerous comments on the local news sites and social media blaming one side or the other without details. Of course being a cyclist and spending enough hours every week riding these same roads for it to basically be a part-time job I feel compelled to speak up. I also drive to and from school/work everyday so I see both sides of the story. I will try and represent an unbiased argument as best I can here that will hopefully lead to more awareness on the roads for those that read it and think about it. Just know that for both sides there are good and very bad drivers and riders. I will tackle many points that people bring up. I am open-minded to this, so if you have any logical points or suggestions please let me hear them. I want you to look at both sides of the picture though for your argument first, so that people know you have actually thought it through.

First point - cyclists move too slowly on high-speed roads. So the primary thing to note here is that no cyclist actually wants to be riding on a busy road, we dislike cars as much as you dislike bikes, mainly for safety reasons. So don’t be shocked that when you take the back roads and are speeding to avoid the traffic on major routes to find cyclists. Secondly on this point, please let me know how you handle slow moving tractors, or school buses that stop every couple hundred meters. I haven’t seen a car try to run either of those off the road. The obvious answer is because you are smaller than both of those vehicles so you know you can’t win that battle. But a bike would just be a little scratch on your bumper so no harm to you right? Also on this point is the idea that cyclists ride two abreast, which will slow you down even more. The fact that it slows you down is good for the safety of the cyclist because then you have to wait until it is safe to pass. Sometimes cyclist lose their focus and ride down the middle of the road, and I’ll be damned if any driver can say they haven’t done that themselves on an empty country road. If you approach a group like that, a simple tap of the horn to let them know you are there will suffice. The cyclists will happily move over and let you by. Now if you meet them with rage you might get a different response. But that happens anytime you want someone to do something. If you go in yelling they will be less likely to do it than if you had politely asked.

Second point – cyclists don’t obey the rules of the road. Here I will take a neutral side. I know many riders that are on both sides of this argument. I agree with many drivers that some cyclists do things that are very dangerous, and if they get hit it is their fault entirely. Also the driver does not deserve to have that on their conscience for a cyclist’s ignorance. But remember, not all cyclists are like that. Say you saw a tattooed man on the news reported for killing (huge stereotype here), does that mean that every man with tattoos should be locked up because they are bound to commit a crime? Of course not! Same with cyclists, you don’t run one off the road because earlier you came across one that was riding in a way you didn’t like. The final argument I would like to make on this point is to please look at the way you drive. I can put a million dollars on the fact that you probably break the rules of the road each and every time you get behind the wheel, whether it be a rolling stop or speeding.

Third point - this is a continuation on the last point to do with a rolling stop. For cars it is more obvious because you have to slow down much more because you were travelling at a higher speed. I know some cyclists, and I have been guilty of this myself, have completely run a stop sign. I never do this however when other cars are around because I don’t want to put my life in excess danger. But just know when we slow down to approach a stop sign; we get to about the same speed that you do in your rolling stop. The last comment I want to make is that many drivers want to see a cyclist stop and put their foot down at the intersections. That would be the equivalent to you putting your car in ‘park’ every time you get to a stop sign or stop light. Sounds pretty ridiculous right?

The final point I want to make is that cyclists don’t pay for the roads. This is brought up all the time. You are completely right, we don’t. Let’s just say we did have to insure and register our bikes, the costs would be less for obvious reasons. Drivers still wouldn’t be happy because we don’t pay as much. I’d be all for registering our bikes if it would make the drivers happy but I don’t see it helping. Secondly, 200lbs of cyclist (with bike and everything else they might have on them) will do no damage to the roads. This is part of what cars have to pay for, the costs of repairing the roads due to driving very heavy vehicles on them all the time. This creates cracks and other road damage. Now the next logical argument is that, if cars weren’t around then nobody would be paying for the roads that you like to ride on. That is absolutely correct. I will counter this with the fact that every cyclist I know also owns a car, so don’t worry they are paying just as much as you are.   

In the past I have had firecrackers and water bottles thrown at me. I have had people yell and swear at me, and try to run me off the road. Some people will speed by me then pull over to the gravel shoulder and spin their tires to fill the air with dust. While none of these scenarios is ever warranted, I did absolutely nothing to deserve them. I was riding on the right side of the road, with no one coming in the opposite direction, so they had no issues with passing. If I did something wrong, I am willing to accept the consequences. I am not so inclined to accept this punishment for things I haven’t done. I risk my life every day because people feel safe in their steel box. How come no one has ever gotten out of it to fight me? Surely you could easily take on a 170lb cyclist. It’s because as soon as you get out of your car and face me, I become a person again, not just a cyclist. I am humanized, and humans do not like to hurt their own. When they do, it’s because they somehow justified it by saying the person is lower than them for whatever reason, and does not deserve their respect.

In conclusion, yes cyclists can be at fault and some really need to brush up on their road skills. Also many drivers need to learn some patience and pay attention to what you are doing. I don’t care how you look at it, if you did something that lead to the killing of someone on the street whether it is a pedestrian or cyclist that is murder. Just remember we are all people out there. We all have families; we all have a place to be at the end of the day.