quote edited to add item numbers to the article:
Originally Posted by clevernamehere
1)If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their lights? Too often we cannot see them at night until we are almost on the riders. To make matters worse, these nincompoops usually dress in dark clothing.
2) If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their horns? You can't hear them until they are at your side, or worse, up your rear.
3) If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their licences? If they wish equal treatment, then they must be prepared to pay the dues that all other vehicle owners must pay -- the annual licence fees.
4) If bikes are vehicles, too, why don't they follow the rules of the road like other drivers do? We see bicyclists weaving in and out of traffic, seemingly oblivious to the oncoming vehicles. Perhaps they just don't care, or are subconsciously suicidal.
5) If bikes are vehicles, then their owners should be subject to fines for not having the required safety items that other vehicles require before being allowed on the road.
If they are not willing or able to adhere to the rules of the road, then perhaps cyclists should stop thinking of their bikes as vehicles and consider them really as glorified recreational toys.
I will share the road only with bikes that have the required features mentioned above.
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1) lights are availble for bikes, and are quite common amongst those who know they are required for night riding.
2) horns on bikes are usually grossly inadequate in terms of volume. Plus in the majority of commuter instances it is the car creeping up on the bike, not the other way around, so would a horn blast after the fact do anything? There is one horn that is rather good, but it relies on pressurized air canisters...which I find to be rather shaky ground in terms of safety.
3) cars are subsidized down to the sales tax level. Your registration is to cover environmental and road damage caused by your vehicle...a bike does no environmental damage and is far less wear/tear on a road. Plus we pay sales tax as well, so we do pay for the road!
4) I see this with car drivers too, bad drivers come in all forms.
5) many states have laws that already do this, maybe you just need to make it known that the police in your area should be enforcing it? Make sure there are bike laws in your vehicle code first though.
...as far as deciding to not share the road, that will just put you in the wrong...bikes do have a legal right to the road in most states, all that needs to be done is better code enforcement by police, and better programs to ensure bikers have the proper gear such as lights.