Letters to the Editor

These are apparently in response to an artical written about the recertification of elderly drivers. Many of these letter-writers support recertification of ALL drivers, which I totally dig.

But check the last letter! By his tone, this dude thinks he just wrote the most clever letter to the editor in the history of the printing press. I can't decide whether to write to the NYT and complain, or write directly to this guy and tell him the next critical mass that rolls through his neighborhood is certainly going to bust his ass.

Don't waste your time.

I can't believe that EVERYONE isn't required to get re-tested every 10 years or so.
Ridiculous.

There is a guy who lives above me. 90 some ****ing years old. Can barely hear or see. Still has his big ****ing cadillac and drives it around.

what exactly is wrong with that letter?

sounds like this old fogey yesterday who tried to tell me to "obey the lay" because he took forever to make a left hand turn, and I wasn't gonna stop at the stop sign to wait for his slow ass...I was in continuous eye contact with him as I approached and passed the car...THEN, he decides to creep forward and act like he was almost gonna hit me...I wish he would have tried to.....then the biatch honks his horn loudly, stops, and starts yelling at me....the biitch scoots off though after I see him stopped, circle around, and tell him approaching his drivers side door that , "I have the right of way, you gave it up...stop road raging you little dick fogey"

I hope I see that fool again

I hate it when people expect me, as traffic, to obey traffic laws. Stop oppressing me you nazis!

So you are going to beat him up cause you moved in on his right away and he called you on it? Cars don't own the road but neither do you. Furthermore, whos the one road ragging, the guy in the car yelling at you or you driving up on him like you were going to do something.

Big supprise, cars hate bikes, get over it.

The guy's from Annapolis. In other words, who gives a ****?*

*Note - I'm not against people from Annapolis. I am against people from Annapolis writing to the New York times about bike riders.

I don't mind people enforcing the laws, but selective justice has always seemed pretty much terrible to me. If you're gonna stop bicyclists for running reds, stop cars running late yellows that turn red. If you're gonna stop bikes for not having reflectors, stop cabs for not signaling during lane changes. If you're gonna ticket bicyclists for not riding in the bike, ticket jaywalkers too. Bicyclists are no more dangerous than any other form of transportation but have been receiving the brunt of aggression by motorists, pedestrians and police. Why?? Probably because, on a whole, we disregard the law as we deem neccessary. The law was designed to protect motorists and pedestrians, leaving bicyclists out of the equation. The motor-vehicular-centric laws, when followed by bicyclists do not offer any advantage of safety, and in a city that panders to the offensive needs and illegal maneuvers of motorized transportation, the laws for bicyclists do more harm than good.

Unfortunately, the dynamics of how a bicycle interacts with traffic when the majority of drivers are not obeying the laws is a thought that rarely, if ever, crosses the mind of drivers. Because we are expected to follow laws that are written to cater to the idiotic moves of motor-vehicular drivers, we will always look bad. The lady, this morning, who yelled "red light" at me did not understand that the twenty feet between us was more than sufficient room to get through safely (I had seen her crossing before she knew I was coming and positioned myself to avoid any collision) and that my running the red got me another block ahead of the cars that would eventually accellerate to 40mph (in a 30) and overtake me. Those few blocks give me a chance to not worry about being hit, but to anyone who does not understand, it only looks like I'm disobeying the law because I think its some sort of game, which is far from the truth.

I do not seek the approval of motorists or pedestrians. My main focus is safe travel, and for me this means running reds when clear, getting to the front line of traffic and taking a lane when I have to, as well as refusing to travel in bike lanes that are filled with double parked cars, taxi drivers letting out fares and numerous other hazards. They will not understand until they are put into our shoes that our actions, while seemingly disrespectful to them, are for our own safety and not their comfort.

+1, amen

yeah pretty much my thoughts everyday

You're looking smarter every damn day - and I couldn't agree more!

don't get me wrong here, i mean i hate cars but the letter's correct, we have no certification or training to ride, and alot of us know what we're doing on the road, we know where to ride, how to ride safetly but come on, sometimes you're riding in rush hour on a one way and you see someone in the bike lane riding the wrong way, i've been walking and almost hit by someone riding the wrong way on a one way(i looked they came around a corner) and really that guy is a danger to pedestrians, cyclists and cars alike

My driver's license expires on my 100th birthday... no renewals or nothing until then. Granted, it cost about $600us... but I was shocked.

What amuses me about the writer's mentality is that a bicycle can do very little damage to property and people-- relative to a car/truck/SUV. Not to mention that the complete lack of protection for the rider adds the element of self-preservation to the mix. In other words, I would much rather have a minor car accident than a minor bike accident. The consequences for the rider/driver are such that screwing up on a bike is far more self-injurious than driving your Lincoln through a crowded farmer's market at high speed.

Aside from that, there is no question that cyclists tend to be scofflaws regarding traffic conventions and laws.

no one said anything about beating anyone up...
he was road raging...people feel that they can aggrivate, honk, and say whatever they want to people when they are in their car...I didn't appreciate that

we were in a fuking parking lot in a strip mall...he was turning into a friendly's, and I was going no more than 8 mph, as I said watching him as he watched me the whole time...

his ego was the only thing breaking the law...big surprise cars hate bikes...to who? no surprise here...and 'get over it'...why?...no reason to if you gotta encouter it daily

It hit too close to home.

Oh yea, the nail on the head. Here's something I plopped in another thread

"It wouldn't be a big deal if the car couldn't kill me, or if I could total the car and possibly kill the driver in the impact with my bicycle. With great power comes great responsibility. The other day I carve around the front end of a cab jumpin' from his lane to mine without looking or signaling. I give him the finger and the "wake up f*^k face!!" He catches up and berates me for not signaling. I explain to him that I'm already in my lane and don't need to signal from behind him that I'm in my lane, but that he does when switching lanes. blah blah blah he says totally not getting it. Then I ask what would have happened to his cab if he had cornered me (I was doing about 40k). "Very little' he says, right I tell him and I'd be lucky to be alive as he would have piled me into the phone poles and mailboxes. As I explained the repercussions and how they differ from the perspective of a cyclist you could see his face change visably as this sunk in."

I second this. that was the best post I've read in a long time. I was hanging out with my cousin (who happens to be NYPD), and he was raging about selective enforcement all over the map. that's the way to frame the debate--not that "we have to own the road" but that others give us nothing of it and get off scot-free, while we get punished for trying to get by as best we can.

the thing to remember, of course, is that, for all its power, the nypd is giving itself a really bad name by cracking down on bikers and protesters. there are so many "better" things for them to be doing--regular traffic enforcement only one of them--that I think informed public opinion is generally on our side, not on theirs. For all the a**hat drivers out there, most people really do think bikers should have it easier and that the streets would be safer with better traffic enforcement on cars, not on bikes. In the same way we fixate on the (relatively few) road-ragers and (much more common) complete incompetents, drivers and pedestrians focus on those of "us" who bike in a way they see as dangerous, irresponsible, or stupid. And, let's face it, for all of us who behave reasonably, there are a bunch of bikers who, through incompetence or stupidity, act like jerks and endanger people.

rant over; wishing I could be on a bike rather than in front of this computer.

When heavy and bulky car breaks traffic regulation that's far more dangerous often fatal than light and slim bike.

www.transalt.org/blueprint/chapter17/table17.html

zm

my grandmother used to drive no faster than 45...to us that was fine...at least we knew she still recognized danger. When she got to about 85 years old, she suddenly started driving around 90...at that point we knew she was done driving!

My bike, my bag and me are under 200 lbs (yeah, I'm a skinny lil' bastard) and I generally stay under 20 mph. Cars are more like a few thousand pounds, and most cars can reach 100 mph or more. With that weight and power comes responsibility. You can easily take someone's life with a car, but it's a bit harder to do with a bike, and much more risky for the biker. Sadly, the privilege of driving is not as tightly controlled as I think it should be. I constantly encounter severely inattentive drivers.

So basically, bikes have a right to plow through the streets irresponsibly because we rock hard and cars should watch they azz. (note: sarcasm)

i love the motorcyclist's letter, largely because people are more likely to listen to him than us

RE: that last letter...a few bad apples spoils the bunch, and he's probably magnifying that in his response. Of course out of all cyclists there are a few losers, but to say that all are reckless is pretty dumb of him.

I've been licensed for 9 years, haven't driven for about 8 (until last week... hee hee!)... maybe I should be on the road, maybe I shouldn't... but I am. and I'm not complaining...

he is right, you know?