It was a beautiful day in DC this morning, clear, not too humid yet, and a gentle breeze. A perfect morning for riding. I know exactly how that young woman must have felt as she started out on her ride, starting the day with that free, flying sensation that you can often get from cycling. A day full of promise ending with such tragic finality. As I bike almost everyday near where this happened I'm filled with a "there but for the grace of God go I" feeling. I've had my near-misses on the streets of DC and in fact had one in Dupont Circle yesterday when I misjudged the proximity of a following car and I swerved to avoid a pothole in my path. The driver was accelerating and nearly hit me.
Had he hit me you could argue that it was my fault for swerving out into the middle of the lane (a good reason many cyclists ride in the middle of the lane is to avoid having to swerve suddenly to avoid an opening car door or in my case a pothole). But had he hit me, many would argue he was justified.
The comments in the WaPo article about this morning's accident make it clear that many drivers see them selves as four-wheeled vigilantes set on bringing cyclists to justice under their SUVs. These commenters curse cyclists for breaking the laws when it's clear that many of them don't even know the law when it comes to bikes on the road. And as one commenter put it:
Yes, cyclists do run red lights and that's wrong - but that doesn't give you drivers the right to kill them. And we have the same rights -- and responsibilities -- that you gas guzzlers do.
2 comments:
As far as I am concerned, drivers of larger vehicles have a larger responsibility to safety on the road. If you are bigger than me, then you need to watch out for me because when push comes to shove in a battle of vehicles, the larger wins over me on my bike. I do my part to make certain I comply with the rules of the road, but I appreciate when drivers in their cars/SUVs/school buses and so on are considerate of the fact that I am not surrounded a steel cage as they are.
I think that often ignorance breeds contempt. These vile comments drive that point home I feel as their vile livery is filled with envious contempt for those who have found a way to rejuvenate their health and save money from gasoline.
Maybe you guys in DC should ban vehicles from the district all together and make it a more pedal-friendly city!
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