Peter,
First, I agree that there are bicyclists who give us all a bad name, but increasing traffic citations for them WITHOUT cracking down on motorists (who run red lights -- I see it on a daily basis -- for example) will do nothing but piss us off more, and make the crazy cyclists even worse.
Second, is anyone aware that, in some cities, the vehicle code mandates that stop signs are to be treated as a yield for cyclists. Not unreasonable when you really study the situation.
I also think it wouldn't be unreasonable to make right turns on red illegal as well. I don't know the exact stats, but a large percentage of accidents involving cyclists and peds occur when a motorist turns right on red.
Having said that, I agree with you about education -- for cyclists as well as motorists. When I began biking again last year, I did not realize I had all of the rights that I do! I think getting pols to bike is an excellent idea. I always tell people, ride a mile in my moccasins, and you're preconceived notions will change!
Ciao,
'Cello
----------
From: Peter Haight
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:24 AM
To: Janice Rothstein
Cc: 'Barbara Kaufman'; 'Rescue Muni'; 'BFBC Talk'; 'EBBC'; 'SFBC'; 'SVBC'; Marcello Aurelio Lanfranchi
Subject: Re: "I don't know if I've ever seen a bicyclist stop at a stop sign or traffic light."
I don't quite understand this double standard for people who break the
traffic laws. The bicycle community should be screaming just as hard at
bicyclists who break the traffic laws as the motorists. When I'm biking I
see upwards of 95% of motorists come to a complete stop at stop signs and
signals. It is pretty much the opposite for bikers. Like Barbara Kaufman
said, it is a rare occaision that I see a biker stop at a stop sign or
signal.
It was this observation that kept me from being suprised when I read in the
Berkeley bicycle plan that 50% of all accidents involving bikes happen when
the bike fails to stop at a sign or signal.
The reason motorists like Barbara Kaufman say bad things about bikers is
because a much larger percentage of motorists obey the traffic laws than
bikers.
As was pointed out by Janice Rothstein, these bikers that break the laws
cause as much of a problem as motorists who are mean to bikers. Many a time
I have stopped at a stop sign and irritated and surprised motorists who were
_expecting_ me to just ride right through. The more I bike the more I see
how motorists could easily come to expect bikers to constantly break the
law.
Having said all of that, I want to make it clear that there is definitely a
motorist education problem when it comes to dealing with bikes on the road.
I am constantly yelled at and abused for avoiding car doors, stopping at
signals and signs, and moving into the middle of the lane when coming to an
intersection where I am not going to make a right turn.
There really needs to be a push to include some information on biking in the
DMV booklets and tests. Also, there are probably some other ways to try and
get the word out about how to deal with bikes. I think a lot of the problem
is just that motorists don't realize how the traffic laws apply to bikes.
All the motorists are expecting to see bikers hugging the curb (or car
doors) even at intersections and places where it is extremely dangerous to
do so.
I think the three main things to be done to help this problem are:
1. More education on bike issues for motorists.
2. More traffic citations for bicyclists.
3. Better bicycle facilities (ie. bike boulevards).
I really doubt that trying to give motorists citations for cutting off
bicycles or pushing bicycles against the curb will make any difference. I
have never been in a situation where a cop was around to ticket such an
occurance.
I also agree with Janice that Barbara Kaufman should try going on a test
ride around San Francicso. Nothing will make these issues more clear than
that.
Perhaps the bike community should sponsor an event to have politicians
involved with traffic issues to spend some time riding a bike around their
fair cities. I would gladly donate some of my bikes for the duration of such
an event.