Reply to Alexandria Bike Lobby wins again

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "Alexandria Bike Lobby wins again"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I’m also supposed to give pedestrians the right of way by law, but I told my kids that even though they legally HAVE the right of way, don’t assume it’s safe to do so all the time. If you walk behind a ton of steel that’s backing up, you might have the right of way, but you might also be killed. Which is more important to you?[/quote]

PP#1: It's not legal for people on bikes to do this.
PP#2: That's wrong, it actually is legal.
You: Just cuz it's legal doesn't mean it's safe.

Yes, it's true that it may be legal but it may also be dangerous because the drivers aren't obeying the law.

But then don't talk to me about scofflaw cyclists. The danger is from scofflaw drivers (or drivers who don't even know the law).[/quote]

[b]It's not really smart law, now is it? Tons of steel against a bike? Seems to me that any smart biker might understand this and stop behaving in a manner that can get them killed? [/b][/quote]

If the driver is disobeying the law, then it's not "a bicyclist behaving in a manner that can get them killed," it's "a driver killing a bicyclist." Seems to me that any smart driver might understand this and stop behaving in a manner that can kill people.[/quote]

So the biker has no personal responsibility? Does that helmet cut off common sense?[/quote]

It's the driver's personal AND LEGAL responsibility to exercise due care in order to not kill people.

If there's a meaningful fraction of drivers who don't want to, or can't, do that - then that's all the more reason why we need protected bike lanes.[/quote]

This attitude by drivers is exactly why traffic calming, protected bike lanes, stop signs, etc are needed.  If drivers won't stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk who have the right of way then a stop sign should be installed there.  If drivers won't give bikers sharing the lane a wide berth, then a protected bike lane should be put in.  If a pedestrian has trouble crossing because parked cars block the visor of drivers, then curb cuts should be installed.  All of this results in loss of parking, loss of lanes and lowered speeds for drivers because GUESS WHAT, drivers can't be trusted to acknowledge and make room for other users.  So don't have this attitude of "well I am not legally right but I can kill you so you can get out of my way" and then complain when you lose lanes and parking.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics