Today I'd like to stray a bit off of the beaten path, exactly where I think the subject of this article should be placed. I'd like to talk about the two-wheeled mayhem machines that are bicycles. My beef today is with cyclists.
No, not all cyclists, just the ones who are completely oblivious to everything going on around them and think that they own the road. I myself, ride bicycles on occasion, but I do it on back-roads or quiet neighborhoods and stay out of the way of both people and cars. The real problem I have are with cyclists who think that it's OK to bike in the most congested parts of the most congested cities. Or the ones who bike right in the middle of the road, right in front of cars, who despite being fast for cyclists, are very slow compared to cars. Or the ones who fly by on the sidewalks past innocent pedestrians. It's time to take a stand against these chaos creators.
There I was, running along the Potomac River on the side of the road for my first time in my young college career. It was a beautiful sunny day, a strong contingent of runners enjoying their journeys. All of a sudden, three bicycles whizzed right down the middle of the two artificial running lanes that had been created, right by me, almost severing my right arm. The trail runs alongside the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, and is used predominantly by runners. But cyclists seem to have taken to the trail and are always weaving in and out of runners at high speeds.
So I decided to take my running to the main roads of DC. It wasn't any better there. Cyclists were staying off sidewalks for the most parts, but instead they were going onto the roads. Now, some of these cyclists could move at impressive speeds but a car that actually has an engine moving it along, instead of a couple of legs and a pair of feet, is the one that should be on the road. As if there wasn't enough traffic in cities, now whenever there is open road it seems as if there is always a cyclist to ruin it.
In 2008, 69% of bicycle accidents were in urban areas, and 64% were at intersections. Many cyclists blame accidents on motorists, saying the majority of accidents result from driver negligence, such as a driver pulling out of their driveway or a parking lot, a driver failing to yield, or a driver under the influence of alcohol, according to ezinearticles.com. Alcohol usage was one of the biggest problems in cycling accidents, being involved in 37% of them in 2008. But the problem isn't just with motorists; 23% of cyclists that were killed were drunk themselves.
In terms of driver negligence, drivers should not be the ones looking carefully around for cyclists every time they drive. Since cyclists are the ones that could actually be hurt by cars and not the other way around, they should also be the ones paying attention, watching and listening for when a car is coming, not the driver. This isn't driver negligence, it's biker negligence.
It's not as if most of the accidents happen with kids who don't know any better either. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the average age of bicyclists killed on U.S. roads in 2008 was 41 years old, while the average age of bicyclists injured on U.S. roads was 31 years old. You would think that since kids are much smaller than adults making them less visible to drivers, don't have much experience on the roads as adults, and ride much more often and in greater numbers than driver 's licensed adults, that they would be involved in accidents more often, if these accidents were a result of driver negligence. But what is really happening is that middle aged bikers are going onto dangerous roads, knowing the risks they are taking, knowing the rules of the road, and yet still being overly oblivious.
Biker negligence goes all the way to breaking the number one rule in cycling: wearing a helmet. In 2006, 95& of cycling deaths occurred when bikers were not wearing their helmets, something that only 35% of cyclists 16 and over wear the majority or all of the time, and only 50 % of that same age group wear some of the time.
It's not as if cities are the only place to ride a bicycle. There are parks, trails, even quiet neighborhoods, that are perfect for going for a bike ride, whether it's just for tranquility or for serious exercise. There are also numerous roads with lanes just for cyclists, that work wonderfully. But in 2008, out of people ages 16 and over, only 5% of cycling trips were made in these bike lanes on roads, compared to 48% of trips being made on paved roads, and 14% being made on sidewalks.
I understand that cycling is great for the environment, and I appreciate people trying to go green. I also understand that cities are great environments for everyone from the tourist biker to the serious cyclist to take a ride in; as a runner I find Washington, D.C. the best place on erath to run. But the sidewalk is for people, and the road is for motorists; with bicycling being such an awkward middle ground between the two, it makes perfect sense that bicycle lanes between the road and sidewalk or cycling trails would be perfect for cyclists.
So cyclists, especially you serious ones, this is a message to all of you, a public service announcement of sorts: I drive a dark slate Nissan Altima. If you are cycling in a congested area or neighborhood on the main road, and see a car like that which seems to be speeding up and coming right after you, I suggest you start pedaling very, very quickly.
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