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06-28-09, 10:14 PM
I am astonished by the following quote found in a MySanAntonioNews.com (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/Cyclists_looking_for_protection_from_motorists.html) story. Not meaning any slight to Gary Scharrer of the Express-News, but given the unreliable nature of the news, I am rather skeptical that this is an accurate quote.
Lifelong bicyclist Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, authored the Senate version of the bill. He owns seven bicycles and rents a bike wherever he travels — including Cuba, South Africa, Egypt, Paris and London.
“People need to know that bicycles are vehicles and have rights on the road,” he said. “Oftentimes, they will hit a cyclist assuming they have a right to just run them over.”
"Oftentimes"? Really? Perhaps the good senator (That was sarcasm! No one is good—except God alone!*) would give an example or two?
As a "lifelong cyclist", how have you managed to live so long?
I am disturbed that a legislator who has been working extensively with "bicycle advocates" can have this perspective. What are they telling him? Who should he believe, the "bicycle advocates" or his own lying eyes?
To those of us who have adopted the practice of riding away from the edge of narrow lanes, we find this attitude silly and grossly mistaken. No driver thinks they have a right to run over anything. Ever.
Motorists commonly avoid debris, potholes, stray animals and other vehicles. All of us, cyclists and motorists alike see it happen thousands of times a day.
As a cyclist, I do not feel that I am in deadly peril from motorists. I think that cycling on the highways and by-ways of Texas is a low risk (http://www.bicyclinglife.com/SafetySkills/SafetyQuiz.htm) activity. I even think cycling is less risky than being in an automobile! How can my view of the risks associated with riding a bicycle be so at odds with this "lifelong" enthusiast?
Cycling needs advocates who deal with reality, not superstitious fears.
*Mark 10:18
Lifelong bicyclist Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, authored the Senate version of the bill. He owns seven bicycles and rents a bike wherever he travels — including Cuba, South Africa, Egypt, Paris and London.
“People need to know that bicycles are vehicles and have rights on the road,” he said. “Oftentimes, they will hit a cyclist assuming they have a right to just run them over.”
"Oftentimes"? Really? Perhaps the good senator (That was sarcasm! No one is good—except God alone!*) would give an example or two?
As a "lifelong cyclist", how have you managed to live so long?
I am disturbed that a legislator who has been working extensively with "bicycle advocates" can have this perspective. What are they telling him? Who should he believe, the "bicycle advocates" or his own lying eyes?
To those of us who have adopted the practice of riding away from the edge of narrow lanes, we find this attitude silly and grossly mistaken. No driver thinks they have a right to run over anything. Ever.
Motorists commonly avoid debris, potholes, stray animals and other vehicles. All of us, cyclists and motorists alike see it happen thousands of times a day.
As a cyclist, I do not feel that I am in deadly peril from motorists. I think that cycling on the highways and by-ways of Texas is a low risk (http://www.bicyclinglife.com/SafetySkills/SafetyQuiz.htm) activity. I even think cycling is less risky than being in an automobile! How can my view of the risks associated with riding a bicycle be so at odds with this "lifelong" enthusiast?
Cycling needs advocates who deal with reality, not superstitious fears.
*Mark 10:18