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From: tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee)
Newsgroups: net.bicycle,net.politics
Subject: Re: Bicycles, Violence and Hatred
Message-ID: <983@vax1.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 22-Apr-85 12:06:08 EST
Article-I.D.: vax1.983
Posted: Mon Apr 22 12:06:08 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 23-Apr-85 07:22:51 EST
References: <1370@reed.UUCP>
Reply-To: tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee)
Distribution: net
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 31
Xref: watmath net.bicycle:1087 net.politics:8634

In article <1370@reed.UUCP> kehoe@reed.UUCP (Dave Kehoe) writes:
>
>ing  39mph  in a 30mph zone?  Should bicyclists obey traffic
>laws when I get run off the road  for  stopping  at  a  stop
>sign?  Who is he kidding?
>
Two quick points, bicyclists should always obey traffic laws.  What
other people do should have no effect on how we deal with the law.

Secondly, and I'm not accussing anyone of doing this, but I haven't
had nearly the problem with motorists since I stopped passing them on
the right.  It seems motorists get annoyed when a bicyclist passes them
on the right (while waiting for a stoplight for instance) after this
motorist has just legally passed the bicycle.  I personally don't blame
the motorist.  Along the same lines, I now use bike paths whenever possible
even though they may be less convenient than the street.  One route I
frequently travel has a nearby bike path that I used to ignore, I noticed
a lot of hostility from motorists along this particular stretch of road.
One day I was driving down this street and was annoyed at how a bike was
really slowing down traffic, my first thought was "Why doesn't he use the
bike path just one block away? It was put there just to relieve this problem."

It doesn't do any good to shout and scream "We the bicyclists have rights too!"
What does work is to try and work out solutions - sometimes that means you
will be doing all the work.  There is no doubt that bicyclists are
discriminated against and that is can be dangerous to ride in places where
it shouldn't be.  This is largely the fault of motorists.  Unfortunately
the motorists have the power now, I don't see the point of pounding my head
against a brick wall.

Peter B