Reply #135: We really don't need to know the specifics

[question everything]

we forget that driving is not a right, it is a privilege. The more crowded the roads are, the more defensive we have to drive. From a lapse in attention while changing channels on a radio, to reaching into a glove box, to chatting on the phone, to shaving and putting makeup, to reading, to trying to control the kids, to chat with other passengers, to just thinking of something else - all take out attention from concentrating on driving. Yes, I am guilty of some of these too.

Our frantic 24/7 multitasking lives also exist in our cars.

Yes, many cyclists are rude and do not obey the rules of the road, weaving, etc. But when it comes to a collision, with thousands of pounds of steel against flesh and blood, the steel will always win (with some exception if the flesh and blood are that of a moose).

What if a child runs into the street? The driver has to be the one to be blamed because we have to watch for these distractions and to be ready to break. Yes, even steer the car to a pole or to another car to avoid hitting a person. Unfortunately the police too often does not issue a citation, determining that this was "an accident." Yes, I know that drivers will feel like hell for the rest of their lives; at least I hope so. But perhaps we do need to stop dismissing these "accidents" so that drivers will pay attention to the consequences of taking their eyes off the road.

The irony is that the same newspaper has a complaint from someone who decided to take his bike to work, but two buses passed with their racks already loaded with two bikes each, so he had to call his wife to take him back home and drove to work with his gas guzzling car.

If we really want to get more people to cycle to work, we need to make sure that they are safe, especially when there are dedicated bike lanes. Not all communities have them.

My spouse cycled to work today and when I reported how this issue touched a raw nerve here, the response was: and if this is on DU, just imagine how it would be on a freeper forum..