Mutual safety -- Crime, Law and Justice

Before the bicycling season really gets rolling, it's time to pedal a healthy dose of perspective.

[reader1]

Respect needs to be a two way thing.....Cyclists can't be stupid and ride in the lane of traffic anymore then the car needs to use it's blinkers when wanting to turn right.

[The R]

Excuse me, but, from what I recall, bikers do not have precedence over drivers. Both are equally under the law; in other words, both have a duty to follow the rules of the road, as written. Drivers cannot open their doors in front of bikers. Neither can bikers arbitrarily pass in front of oncoming vehicles, without making sure it is safe to do so.

There are many drivers who make life cumbersome foer bikers, but also, there are bikers who feel they are immune to the law, simply because they are on a human-powered cycle.

[Dave]

Actually, those bicyclists are flouting traffic laws, not flaunting them.

[Did]

Flaunting is accepted usage in this context -- to treat contemptuously. Flounting is also acceptable.

[Dan Korn]

Mutual safety? I submit that there's no such thing when considering motorists and cyclists. Any reckless, illegal, or uncivilized actions by cyclists are not nearly as likely to cause injury or death, especially to others, as bad driving is.

Cyclists may make things inconvenient or annoying, but except in vanishingly rare circumstances, they do not to cause the deaths of others. On the other hand, the slightest mistake by a motorist can easily kill, and all too often does.

So this seemingly even-handed idea that the playing field is otherwise level, and that we'd all be safe if cyclists and motorists simply obeyed the laws equally, is false. Bicycle crashes aren't the number one killer of children in this country; car crashes are.

Yes, respect is a two-way street, but safety, or the lack thereof, has a lot more to do with cars than bicycles. I don't care as much about being accepted or respected as I do about getting home alive.

[Dave]

Did wrote:

Flaunting is accepted usage in this context -- to treat contemptuously. Flounting is also acceptable.

Um, no.