bikers in the city

beware, this is my rant on bikers in the city.

so increasingly, the city has made two lane roads (for cars) into one lane and a bike lane. the bike lane is usually between the moving traffic and the parked cars. sometimes, it's between the parked cars and the sidewalk (tho i dont see that often). i think it's a great idea that the city is supporting bikers and trying to make the roads safer for them. it's great that they're encouraging people to help the environment and exercise.

however, bikers are the most dangerous lot of people i have ever seen! i'm not saying it's true of all city bikers, but the majority of them seem to have lost all sense of safety.

1) most bikers dont wear any kind of safety equipment, not even the basic helmet. if they get hit by a car, that helmet can save lives!!

2) they dont follow traffic signals. the light is red, what does that mean??? they just go straight ahead, daring the cross traffic to hit them! they're worse than pedestrians. i think the traffic police should start ticketing them for violating the rules of the road. in fact, i was telling my dad that i think bikers need to get a license, but he laughed and said it's not a plausible idea. however, he did agree that they need to maybe take a class in street/road safety.

3) they dont even follow their own bike lanes! i see them weaving around cars, crossing lanes like they own the roads. cars have to suddenly break to avoid hitting them, and if the car behind that car doesnt break in time as well, CRASH! while the biker speeds away unharmed...

i see this kind of craziness everywhere in manhattan every day. when will the madness stop??! really, at this rate, i'm going to be a pedestrian for life. driving is crazy enough with other crazy drivers around (another rant for another day). i can't bring myself to operate a vehicle.

i'm going to investigate if there are biking laws in the city and find a way to save these people from themselves...