Spokesman-Review Letters to the editor
Bicycling laws beg enforcement
As a person who spends between four and six hours daily driving the streets of downtown Spokane, I'm pleading with our police chief to help me and the other drivers of this city deal with the ever-increasing bicyclists we face daily. It is rare that a day goes by that I don't encounter a bicyclist ignoring traffic signals, cutting through lanes without signaling, and even driving the wrong way against traffic.
It is my understanding that bicyclists have the duty to obey the traffic laws just as those of us in cars or trucks. I know the law states that if a bicycle is ridden in the roadway they are subject to all the duties that other vehicles are and are granted the same rights as the other vehicles (RCW 46.61.755). If they choose to ride on sidewalks they become equal to a pedestrian in their rights and responsibilities.
With increasing bicycle traffic due to higher fuel prices, can we drivers get some help from the local authorities by encouraging them to enforce the laws so we don't have to place ourselves in jeopardy in dealing with the bicyclists who choose to break the law?
Ray Moss
Spokane
We had this discussion around here last week; as a result of high gas prices and more people taking to the roads on bikes, a lot of us have recently seen bicyclists riding against the flow of traffic, darting out of nowhere, and fewer riders wearing helmets.
3 comments:
Education before enforcement. Before we waste the time of our officers citing ill informed cycyclists lets fund (through the city with tax $) some of the work that that bycycle advisory board already puts on. Regular education sessions for drivers and for cyclists. Lets get cycling education built into our DOL licencing process. Anyway arround it lets educate before we punish.
Happy- I've heard the idea of education campaigns tossed around a lot recently. What it seems to come down to every time though is funding- a lack of it, that is. I've heard the tax money suggestion before but the consensus is that would be a hard push to convince the public. Either way, you're right, education is needed, and we already don't have enough law enforcement officers without asking them to police bike riders as well.
I've been meaning to blog about this for awhile now. I was driving Bigalow Gulch Road on the way home from work a couple of weeks ago (during the afternoon peak commute hour) and a half dozen bicyclists had apparently felt that goat trail with 50 mph traffic and no shoulders would be a nice ride for them. I could see someone on that road at that time if they were commuting, but they were obviously recreating on that road at that time, and that just seemed idotic.
But worse yet, was when the group of bicyclists decided to turn left onto Bruce road (just east of the argonne intersection). They were on the shoulder of the eastbound lane and signaled their turn. Then proceed to ignore the 50 mph traffic and cut accross five lanes to make their turn. traffic had to come to a screaching halt (myself included). It was close. There were almost six dead bicyclists.
Which brings me to the points made by both of you. I think we ought to require bikes to be licensed, just like motorcycles are (even my dirt bike). The revenue collected could be used for bike facilities and eductation. But we could also require bicyclists to take a riding test, just like they do for a motorcycle endorsement on your license.
There could be special provisions for children, as well. But overall, I think that bicyclists should be educated before venturing out into extremely dangerous situations and putting the rest of the public in harms way.
-- Jeff
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