It seems like common sense to me. I am both a cyclist and a driver. To be honest, I love both of the activities (really loved driving when I had my Audi S4 but thats another story)
so I feel like I can empathize with both sides of the argument that persists between the two factions. My first concern when driving near bikes is the bike. My first concern when riding my bike is my safety and that of those around me. So you could say that I am very concerned about the safety of the cyclist. I feel like I should be, after all bikes don't have airbags and they generally lose out in a bike/car conflict. But, and this is my frustration, as a cyclist we have a responsibility to minimize the risk of an accident while we ride.
This argument can around in circles forever, I know. I just notice there is some pretty stupid behavior out there that will end up with somebody being very badly hurt. My point is why can't we all ride in a manner that minimizes the risk of an accident. I'll concede that I roll through stop signs, we all do. What I see is people who blow through them without looking. Today on our club ride we were having a bit of red-light bad luck on Foothill. Nothing more frustrating. As we approached a yellow, we were well strung-out and sitting mid pack I knew we weren't going to make the light. Not the end of the world. You stop, regroup and work together to catch the lead group. Good training and good fun really. Instead I watched a bunch of people blow a very RED light putting themselves at risk. Luckily none of the drivers had itchy gas pedals and waited patiently for the guys to get through the intersection (by the way they ran it from behind where I was). I watched as drivers shook there head and muttered under there breath. Just stupid really. We all know better.
This all has a domino effect. These drivers are out there now bitching about those stupid cyclists in their flashy clothes riding like the law doesn't apply to them. This gets spread around and next thing you know, the worlds worst local reporter, John "the Mustache" Palminteri files a very one-sided report on KEYT painting a pretty embarrassing picture of cyclists in general. The attitude of the average Joe is affected by this like it or not.
I'll get off my soapbox now. But before I go lets all take that extra second when we're out there and ride safe and smart. It may save a life and at the very least you may just change the perception of that average Joe when you don't blow through a stop while they slam their brake on and curse you.
Oh yeah, the ride was great today.
Be careful out there, ride hard and smile. Its supposed to fun you know.
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