Post in Bike Fun

May 05 18:43 UTC

> While I probably also agree about the "Idaho model" I find that the KSTP
story to be very accurate.

As far as the KSTP story goes, it was irresponsible and
sensationalistic journalism.  At least anecdotally, the number of
incidents of bicyclists being harrassed, threatened or worse by car
drivers seems to have jumped significantly since that report - even
when the bicyclists are riding legally.  Reading the comment thread on
the report, it doesn't take long to realize that at least half of the
people who are posting with outrage don't care whether we're riding
legally or not - they just want us off the road and KSTP's reporter
just gave them a reason to waive their guilt when they yell at us,
throw shit at us, or worse.  It should also be noted that the reporter
broke the law several times during the report which makes his
indignant statements of "THE LAW IS THE LAW" in his followup report a
bit ironic.

That said, for those who have noted a large number of bicyclists
riding stupidly lately, you're right, the numbers do seem to be up.

While I have supported and continue to support downgrading traffic
controls if one is certain that they're not in violation of anyone's
right of way, I would welcome increased traffic enforcement.

I would be THRILLED to receive a ticket for running a stop sign or red
light and would be happy to pay it without complaint if it means
consistent enforcement against all illegal operation of vehicles.

If every time a police officer sees any user of the road - bicyclist
or car - break the law, they ticket it, it would be wonderful.
Whether its speeding (even 5 mph over on city streets is a
significantly increased danger to bicyclists), running/rolling a red
light or stop sign, fail to yield, passing with less than three feet
of clearance, dooring, tailgating, not using or misusing signals,
stopping in the crosswalk forcing people crossing the street to go out
into traffic to get around their nose, etc, the roads would be much
safer!

And by all means, ticket the bicyclists who are going the wrong way on
one ways, bombing through pedestrians in a business district, riding
at night with no lights, diving multiple lanes with no signal, etc.

And, if you're doing all that, please feel free to ticket me when I
run a stop sign when no one's coming.  I'll probably even change my
ways to ride within the laws because a big part of the reason I break
them is to avoid being unnecessarily close to cars, especially at
intersections where I am most at risk.

However, all that said, I'll still lobby for the Idaho style laws
because there ARE differences between bikes and cars that should be
recognized.  When I come up to a sensor controlled light on my
motorcycle, Minnesota law gives me the right to run it if the light
doesn't recognize the bike being there.  That just makes sense.  If
there are legal adjustments that can be made to make things work more
smoothly for bicyclists, it will result in more efficient travel.  As
an added bonus, it will actually allow cars to be less impacted by
bicyclists on the road - if you've ever had to stop behind a bicyclist
at an intersection, you've probably noticed that unless we're feeling
full of testosterone, we accelerate a bit more slowly than cars do.

Last week, I rode up Hennepin with my s/o on her commute and couldn't
help but note that because of the way the lights are timed, moderately
paced bicyclists pretty much get stopped at every single light.  On my
own commute, when crossing Hennepin followed by Central on 5th Street,
its almost impossible for a non-athletic bicyclist stopped at the
light to make it across when it turns green without it going yellow or
red before they clear Central.  The rules are are made to take car's
speed and mass into account and they just don't work quite right for
bicyclists.

But, getting the laws changed aside, in the mean time, please feel
free to ticket us - just please also ticket every car that breaks the
law.  Doing both will ultimately make all of us happier and safer and
save a lot of money in accidents and emergency services.

Also, please educate the police in the laws.  Numerous bicyclists will
tell you of riding through business districts and have police yell at
them through the speaker to "get on the sidewalk" even though that's
illegal.

One of the best I've heard was a friend of mine riding in the
dinkytown area who got yelled at by an officer to get on the sidewalk.
 Later that day, on the return trip, he saw a police car and got on
the sidewalk in the same area and was yelled at to get off the
sidewalk.  Experiences like these don't exactly enhance one's respect
for the law or those who enforce it.

- phaedrus (jason.goray), 3-6, minneapolis, minnesota, usa, earth