bikers part 3

so i wrote 2 posts about bikers before and haven't thought about them since. today, i skimmed the nytimes ny region headlines and came across this. it's two opinion articles on bikers. neither or them seemed to convey something strong. the first addressed the growing number of bike lanes and the dangers it posed. the other is a biker writing about pedestrians. it seems this biker is one of the few responsible ones in the city, but there are a lot more crazy bikers out there than responsible ones.

i still wish someone would address safety and in a way, save these bikers from themselves.

bikers in the city 2

part 2 of rant: my short investigation into the laws of nyc governing bikers...

one. there is 1 law under the Administrative Code, Title 19: Transportation, Chapter 1: Streets and Sidewalks, Subchapter 3: Pedestrian Rights and Safety, Section 19-176: Bicycle operation on sidewalks prohibited.

and all it basically says is that bikers cant use the sidewalk or they will be fined x amount of money and get their bikes impounded or spend x amount of time in jail. i cant find anything that has to do with governing how they operate their man-powered vehicle!! to drive a car, you need to go thru extensive classes and take a road exam. even motorcyclists need to get a special license. why can cyclists get away with breaking all the rules??

you know, nothing is going to be done about all this until some major accident happens and someone dies. then a law will be written and honored in his/her name... why can't we prevent this and save lives now??

i've been almost hit by a biker on several occasions while walking around chinatown, soho, midtown... there was one time i was actually grazed by one. don't even get me started on bikers on the smith college campus. they're just as bad!

when i have time, i'm going to head over to the law library and investigate if there are any case laws involving bikers...

EDIT: ok, so apparently, since i'm not a law student, i cant use the law library for personal research. drat. need to figure out the next place to look..

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...