Thursday, May 13, 2010

It's a NY Times blog...about the SF Bay Area

Would you believe that there is friction by the Bay between pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists? I didn't think you would....

2 comments:

Larry and Heather said...

Hard to imagine this from here in Italy. As we've posted before, cyclists pretty much do whatever they want, including running the lights, going against one-way traffic, etc. and nobody seems to mind at all, including the cops? Why? We think the drivers are less angry than Americans (they should be they LIVE in Italy!) in general, cars are much, much smaller and cyclists are more predictable.

James Thurber said...

Yesterday I met a pedestrian who had been struck by a cyclist going the wrong way on a one-way street. The cyclist struck the walker and fell off. He then got up, and rode away. The pedestrian suffered two broken bones, a knee injury and a (fortunately mild) concussion. She does not remember the accident although witnesses do.

Cyclists should be stopped and cited for traffic violations - just like any vehicle. Repeat offenders should have their bicycles confiscated as we do not license bicycle riders (nor should we).

Incidentally, I ride a bicycle, nearly 100 percent of the time. Last year I drove to work only 13 days. This year it has been 14 days. The rest of the time I bike. And yes, I do stop for stop signs and red lights.

And yet I remain furious as my fellow bikers who flout the law so recklessly. Do they think driving or riding is a "solo" activity? I think not.