Advocacy & Safety - SC Sentinel Advocates Bicycle Ban

A poorly-reasoned opinion piece from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.


http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?storySection=Opinion&sid=64692

I don't think that's an editorial, it's a letter to the editor.

Ken Layne always shoots off letters to the editor advocating some sort of bicycle ban whenever there is a serious bicycle accident. A few months ago, he was trying to get bikes banned from Mission Street (link (http://67.15.208.115/story.php?fromSearch=true&searchTerms=restriping&sid=33441&storySection=Opinion)).

I wouldn't put much weight behind his words though, a quick google search for "Ken Layne, santa cruz" seems to indicate that he is an automotive writer (link (http://www.iatn.net/member-directory/i/usa/california/santa_cruz/) ,he's the owner of 'autotext communications') (link (http://www.whatsnext.com/magazine/article/26.html) "I'm a recovering automotive book writer and publisher. Six years ago, I moved to the Pacific coastal town of Santa Cruz, California").

What would he know about bicycles? Although he proclaims that banning my only viable mode of transportation is for our own safety, I doubt that is the real reason he wants bikes off of the roads.

1. Riding brakeless is totally ignorant and stupid. I see absolutely nothing wrong with requiring a brake on a bike, just as basic safety equipment is required on cars.

2. As far as banning bike from the road altogether, fine if you ban cars from the road altogether the next time their is a fatal car accident.

I think there were something like 3 bike fatalities in Santa Cruz County in 2007, and probably at least a dozen motorist fatalities, including one recent bone-headed incident where the driver was doing something like 60 mph on a narrow windy mountain road when he lost control. If bikes should be banned because some cyclists ride unsafely, then the same should apply to motorists.

The author of the article is a piece of *****. The article about the accident does not attribute the lack of brakes to the cause of the accident. Little is known about the accident, but from the article it looks like a classic right hook, which may or may not have been avoided had the cyclist had brakes.

The poor guy didn't have a bell, so is his violation of the bell law the cause of his accident also?

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?sid=64359&storySection=Local&fromSearch=true&searchTerms=

yeah, hes an idiot. People are jumping to conclusions about Lucian's tragic death and using it to justify all kinds of anti fixed gear or anti-cyclist viewpoints. I wish they would show some respect and wait until the facts come out.

Part of me does want licensing of cyclists for road use just so I can say "I have a license, asshat!" next time somebody tells me to get on the sidewalk. And if that includes a safety inspection of the bike (as is required for a car), I'm cool with that.

+1 on writing this clown a letter suggesting banning cars next time one gets into an accident in SC. I mean, how many crashes do we have to see before the state does what it needs to do to keep the streets safe if these people can't operate their vehicles in a safe manner?

He sounds like a miserable person who goes thru life with blinders on, and when presented with the absolute truth - with proof - he would still "poo poo" it as drivel and continue on believing what he has always believed.

My ex - note the word EX - was an absolute jerk when it came to driving (he was a non-bicyclist - until he came close to a heart attack and had to develop some sort of sport/work out so I sold him one of my old hybrids) - he was a arse anyway when driving - meaning everyone else was at fault, but let him go by - or excuse me ... TRY and go by (made the big wide with complete with CAR HORN, ugh) a bicyclist and he would start a bicyclist rant that wouldn't stop until he got out of the vehicle.

And it always started with something directed at "my brethren".

He is a person with blinders on, and at 38 yrs old that's pretty sad to have all those years ahead of you with a closed mind.