See me on my bike? See my bike without me on it? See that car in the background? What do you think would happen if I were on the road and I met that car head on? Think I would damage that grill and leave it a shattered mess? Or do you think me and my little bike would lose that round? Pretty sure I know the answer to that one. But here is what happens every day of my life.
I go some where in the car. Now I have always been taught that when I ride a bike I am to follow all the rules that a car or motorcycle would follow. Stay on the right side of the road. Stop at stop signs. Use a hand signal to indicate what my next move will be. Oh, yeah and obey the speed limit. I have no problem with that. Can't hardly keep moving without falling over most of the time, but that is irrelevant.
So here I am tooling along and up the road headed straight toward me is a bicycle. Some times it is a kid and more often than not it is a grown up leading the pack. Now when I walk I do face oncoming traffic, but be reasonable on this bike thing. When walking I can easily step over it I need to while on a bike you can not. You are in the lane of traffic and it is the equivalent of going the wrong way on a one way street! There you are on your vulnerable little 2 wheels that probably weighs 15 pounds and here I am heading straight for you. I know you are over on the other side of the white line, almost in the ditch, but I have no choice if you bobble just a little but to run over you. Think you would like that? So I can either swerve into oncoming traffic to miss you and kill myself, or I can stop and look at you like you are suicidal, which you are!
Now here is a link for you to read just in case you think I am dreaming this up. Granted this link is to the California CDOT but last I knew they were part of the United States and under the auspices of of the federal Department Of Transportation. I know that you have reasoning powers so think about where you ride your bike logically.
When you are driving your car and you come on a slow moving vehicile you slow down. Then you check oncoming traffic in the left lane. If it is clear, you accelerate and move into the left lane to pass and then quickly back in to your lane. But when a bike is coming towards you in your lane, it does not matter what is in the left lane. You are left with no choices.
I would not bring this subject up if it were not happening more often especially now that summer is here and more bikes are out. I think I am going to make bike safety a priority. I will first stop in the local cop shop and ask them if they could possible consider giving tickets to bicycleists who do not obey the rules. I realize if I hit one of them I would not be held liable since they were clearly in the wrong, but there is that "morally responsible" thing to consider and I do so love to sleep at night with a fairly clear conscience. I am afraid the vision of a body hurtling into my windshield would screw that up royally.
I had a grandson staying with me once who was a teenager and in college. He rode his bike because that is what he had. And he rode it on the wrong side of the road because "If someone is going to hit me I want to see them coming.!" I explained to him that he would. And he did. He came home all scuffed up one evening. Some guy pulled out from the stop sign and never even seen him. Course not. I am extra cautious, but not everyone is. So the guy pulled out and Dameon bounced across his hood. A second later and he would have been under his wheels; a second earlier and he would have broadsided him. Did he learn anything? I doubt it. Grandma's are not real bright.
So this is my soap box for the day. And this is your assignment for the day: When you see someone riding a bicycle on the wrong side of the road, point it out to them that they are endangering not only themselves, but others. They are setting an example for someone somewhere. Oh and a little side note here, be diplomatic about it. The finger gesture does not always convey your thoughts accurately!
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