Aug
12
Bike vs. car: a really good article
August 12, 2008 |
For anyone who didn’t see the excellent New York Times article about escalating tempers in the ongoing struggle for turf between cyclists and automobiles, DO read it. It addresses many of the issues about which I have been quietly fuming all summer.
Some interesting words:
“The bottom line, say driving behavior experts, is that the learning curve has just begun… Therefore, the turmoil will abate when enough cyclists are on the road, so that everyone learns to share the space. As in Amsterdam. Or Davis, Calif., where nearly 15 percent of the population cycles daily.”
Oh please, may the day come sooner when cyclists will be just part of normal traffic. For the moment, I continue to be stunned about the loathing drivers have for cyclists - though I really shouldn’t be, considering responses to the Bella English article in The Boston Globe earlier this summer. This week too, like many readers, I followed BikeSnobNYC’s link to a response by Mini drivers to his criticism of their … mininess. Even what I had assumed to be liberal-minded Mini drivers project a vicious glee while discussing ways they and other drivers can endanger the lives of cyclists.
Everyone, let’s take a moment to visit the website of Ross Dillon. He was a 25-year-old cyclist, about to start law school and planning his imminent wedding, who was riding well within a bike lane when he was hit by a driver. Six years later, he can sort of manage to stand up on his own.
Is that really what they want to do to us?
