Motorists, Cyclists All Need Education

A sampling of replies to “The Buzz” on www.spokane.net proves that motorists don’t get it.

A reader had this response to a story about “Critical Mass” rides, in which bicyclists ride en masse to demonstrate their right to be on downtown Coeur d’Alene streets: “Nothing should be allowed on the roads that can’t keep up with traffic. Bicycles on the streets are nothing but accidents waiting to happen. Once again, we sacrifice safety to political correctness.”

Obviously, the reader doesn’t realize that two-wheelers have as much right to use roadways as four-wheelers do. On the other hand, some bicyclists don’t understand this simple formula: a 4,000-pound vehicle colliding with someone on a 25-pound bike means a trip to the hospital - or the morgue. You don’t want your tombstone to read: “I had the right of way.”

With bicycling growing as a sport and recreation activity, and with car-bicycle crashes climbing, it’s time for a public education campaign. For both sides. Also, it’s time for local government to consider the importance of bike trails in planning for street projects. The Centennial Trail is wonderful. But it serves only those who ride, jog or walk along the Spokane River and Lake Coeur d’Alene. Communities need interconnected bike trails.

Each side has legitimate gripes against the other.

Many two-wheelers routinely ignore stop signs and signals, dart in and out of traffic, don’t signal, ride on sidewalks and ride against the traffic. They demand their rights to ride on city streets and highways. But some refuse to obey the laws that govern the four-wheelers.

Some four- and more-wheelers are beginning to focus their road rage on vulnerable bicyclists. More riders are reporting heated verbal exchanges, near misses and hit-and-run accidents. Mark Beattie, owner of Vertical Earth bicycle shop in Coeur d’Alene, told The Spokesman-Review: “The cars are not giving any ground. They seem to be passing closer.”

Some simple steps can keep the two worlds of transportation from colliding:

Motorists must realize that bicyclists have as much right to the road as they do. They should be patient and give bikes wide berth.

Bicyclists should obey the law.

Police should ticket bicyclists who flagrantly disobey the law.

Bicyclists should wear helmets at all times. Even a routine trip to a library or grocery store can have dire consequences. A 10-year-old boy who wasn’t wearing a helmet was critically injured in May when he was hit by a car as he left a Spokane convenience store.

Returning to The Buzz on our Web site, a reader joked that bicyclists “do make a nice hood ornament.” That might seem funny - unless you have to live with yourself, in a prison cell, after killing a bicyclist.