Getting There: Bad-behaving bicyclists are problem, too
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun
Bicyclists are accustomed to thinking of themselves as the good guys — and for the most part that's true.
They don't pollute the air, they don't take up much road space and they're getting off their backsides and exercising — something some of us slugs should do more often.
But after reading a recent column in which I defended a new law requiring motorists to give bicyclists a three-foot buffer while passing, ...
That complaint rang true, and since then I've been noticing or recalling various incidents in which bicyclists were anything but good guys.
The incidents include:
•Bicyclists using a Canton waterfront footpath that is explicitly marked as being for pedestrians only.
•Bicyclists jumping on and off the sidewalks of Baltimore at will.
•Bikers zipping by hikers on trails with no warning of their intent to pass.
•People on bikes zipping through red lights with impunity, weaving in and out of traffic and going down one-way streets in the wrong direction.
...
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[B' Spokes: While other modes of transportation get areas for their exclusive travel and cyclists have to share everything and are treated as trespassers even when riding lawfully. And we supposedly cause problems by traveling near motoring speeds on trails and (supposedly) traveling near pedestrian speeds on roads but still there is basic human decency we should show other human beings so please try to be more courteous. Of course this will have the same effect as AAA saying motorist should obey the speed limit and not use cell phones but there it is.]