Don't run me over

Posted on 2008-12-29 22:56:57

As a bicyclist, I'm very interested in not being run over. This is a simple wish that can and should be granted, but the inattentive and annoying out there ensure it doesn't happen.

I ride down the center of the road. Why? Because hopefully people in cars will treat me at least a bit like a car. Do they? Barely. The only way they treat me like a car is by honking at me, which can really frighten me. Maybe I'm a bad bicyclist but often I don't know if people are behind me, so suddenly hearing a horn at full blast with no car window to muffle the sound is, to say the least, not pleasant.

When people don't honk, they pass me. But of course they usually pass me within a foot or two of hitting me. I don't understand this. You wouldn't pass someone's car within a foot or two--that's close enough to damage the car by accident. Why would you pass a person at that distance?

Sometimes people yell at me. I don't know why. I have every right to the road that they do. A couple months back, some people I could only describe as "frat boys" started calling me every name under the sun when I was stopped at a stop sign. That was pointless. It doesn't save them any time, which I assume is why they started yelling in the first place. Don't do this, please. The only thing you'll accomplish is that someone might blog about how silly you seemed.

The completely inattentive take the cake though. I don't know how many times I've nearly been run over. About a week ago some girl nearly ran me over. I remember a few weeks ago some lady in her car nearly ran me over in an intersection. Those are just two recent examples. The people who probably are used to plowing through stop signs are regular offenders too. The saddest thing is that these people probably won't even notice if they hit you.

Little things like this influence people to not pick up bicycles. Drivers, please be attentive and considerate. Bicycles are a good thing--they are healthy, cheap, and reduce pollution. Don't impede their acceptance and annoy the determined. You'll only end up in prison after you've run one of them over.

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Last modified on 2008-12-29 22:56:57.