Bikes and Cars
Seems like the tenor of the debate between automobile drivers and bicycle riders has gotten more heated lately; maybe it’s just that traffic’s worse; maybe cyclists are getting bolder; maybe it’s just a function of the ongoing decay of civil society. Or maybe it’s Dick Cheney, blameworthy in any case.
Whatever, I think it’s a shame, since, in spite of their differences (and admittedly, the moral, physical, and intellectual superiority of those on two wheels) cyclists and automobilists do share a number of common interests. Both groups have a stake in well-maintained roads; both have a desire to get to their destinations quickly and safely; and both hate getting stuck behind a Metro bus going uphill.
As a cyclist, I don’t hate drivers; if anything, I sort of pity them, kind of like the way you feel about a disabled person or Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Awards show.
Moreover, like nearly everyone who rides a bike, I also drive a car (admittedly, feeling sorry for myself when I do), so to harbor animosity for drivers is, in a way, to cast aspersions against myself, something I like to reserve for worse offenses than driving, say, for instance, losing my house keys or spilling my drink.
It was that great American philosopher, Rodney King, I believe, who asked, “Why can’t we all just get along?” And I feel the same way about cars and bikes; it would be nice if instead of honking at and flipping each other off, we could all blow kisses; drivers would let bikes merge safely and cyclists wouldn’t take their U-locks to the windows of cars that didn’t.
Fear is at the root of it; bike riders act poorly because they’re afraid of being killed; drivers behave like assholes because they’re afraid they’ve wasted $25,000 on a vehicle that’s being passed by one costing $500.00; would we could all set aside our fears and focus together on the real enemy: pedestrians!
Whatever, I think it’s a shame, since, in spite of their differences (and admittedly, the moral, physical, and intellectual superiority of those on two wheels) cyclists and automobilists do share a number of common interests. Both groups have a stake in well-maintained roads; both have a desire to get to their destinations quickly and safely; and both hate getting stuck behind a Metro bus going uphill.
As a cyclist, I don’t hate drivers; if anything, I sort of pity them, kind of like the way you feel about a disabled person or Britney Spears at the 2007 MTV Awards show.
Moreover, like nearly everyone who rides a bike, I also drive a car (admittedly, feeling sorry for myself when I do), so to harbor animosity for drivers is, in a way, to cast aspersions against myself, something I like to reserve for worse offenses than driving, say, for instance, losing my house keys or spilling my drink.
It was that great American philosopher, Rodney King, I believe, who asked, “Why can’t we all just get along?” And I feel the same way about cars and bikes; it would be nice if instead of honking at and flipping each other off, we could all blow kisses; drivers would let bikes merge safely and cyclists wouldn’t take their U-locks to the windows of cars that didn’t.
Fear is at the root of it; bike riders act poorly because they’re afraid of being killed; drivers behave like assholes because they’re afraid they’ve wasted $25,000 on a vehicle that’s being passed by one costing $500.00; would we could all set aside our fears and focus together on the real enemy: pedestrians!
posted by Professor Dave at 10:17 AM
1 Comments:
Very nice.
dont cha think that some PSAs on TV and radio telling folks what the actual rules are about bikes and roads are, would be a great thing? I sometimes think that half of the birds that get flipped my way when i bike-commute could be avoided if the car commuter knew the actual rules of the road.
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