Originally Posted by
base2
That's the thing...It means something to us. The meaning is lost on people who have no relate to either the person or the activity. I wish this were't so. I wish people were just responsible, considerate, & patient. A bit of empathy towards cyclists would do us all good. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. So, I am ok with a penalty being applied to a driver for irresponsible, inconsiderate, impatient behavior.
The reason an automobile requires a license is because of the cost & risk involved of not respecting someone elses rights. If a driver hits a cyclist, pedestrian, whoever, that person no longer has life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness...they're injured or dead. So in response, a certain minimum proficiency must be demonstrated to ensure the risk to others is minimized. A penalty of equal measure to the consequences should be applied.
That penalty forces accountability, due care & caution. The vast majority of people who get DUI/DWI/Drink driving, only get 1 before they shape up. The penalty is effective, the road sign by my house, inconclusive.
This "social messaging" issue is really complex, and the dui laws were toughened up as a response to very aggressive public awareness campaigns, so I think it's hard to gauge exactly how signs like that fit into the equation.
I "get" the social messaging intended by the Wheelmen's ghost bike campaign, I just think it's a misfire. If the intended effect is to make drivers more conscious, that requires the driver passing it by to both notice it and understand its significance. From the driver's perspective, a bike parked by the side of the road is not exactly an eye-grabber, and even if it's noticed, it's just a white bike, maybe with some flowers. I just don't see why anyone would expect that to have any impact on drivers' attitudes.
Who will see it? Pedestrians and bicyclists, and I think the likelihood is much higher that they will interpret this as "see what happens when you ride a bike."
And let's stop talking about these as "impromptu memorials" as some of the other posters have. The article linked in the op says that the next victim the Wheelmen was going to memorialize died in the early 1990s. These bikes are being put up around town as an organized campaign.
Not for nothing, but I also think there's a world of difference between a sign and something as big as a bicycle sitting in the middle of a sidewalk.