JUST A THOUGHT : The open road
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/65147/
About two months ago I struck the greening intersection of Maple Street and Leverett Avenue as a pair of cyclists approached. Each one was doing his best Lance Armstrong impersonation. From head to toe they came across as professionals. Like the type who do nothing on the weekends but ride their mountain bikes and talk shop with their cyclist friends. Those people.
First they cut me off. Because the lengthy line of automobiles ahead of them was taking too long, they suddenly trekked across the grass and onto the sidewalk. Moments later I managed to merge into the congested headache. All of a sudden the steel beasts began lurching forward, and somehow I caught up with them. Suddenly the pretty pair decided to cut off the driver in front of me. Together they took up a lane of traffic. Eventually they struck Garland Avenue, pivoted south and disappeared down the open road.
Strangely, I found myself thinking about them Monday afternoon as, returning to work, I spied a cyclist headed in the opposite direction on College Avenue. I blame his curved black glasses for reminding me of the twins. True, his baseball cap, backpack and struggling efforts made him a lot less like them. But I can still see that man out there — coasting down the middle of the boulevard’s right northbound lane. Departing the scene I couldn’t help noticing the quickening approach of motorized traffic. Sitting behind my keyboard, I found myself wondering how things turned out for him.
And quietly pondering the ethics for cyclists on the open road. For instance, where should cyclists roam ? Sidewalk or street ? Cyclists might think that answer is a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many people I’ve overheard cuss cyclists over the years. “ Why are they on the street !? ” they invariably shout. “ It’s dangerous to be on the open road !”
No kidding. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that the 773 bicyclist deaths in 2006 accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities that year. Three of those deaths occurred here in Arkansas. An additional 44, 000 cyclists across the country were injured.
Sgt. Dan Curtis with the Fayetteville Police Department backed up what the administration reports on its Web site: that cyclists “ are considered vehicle operators; they are required to obey the same rules of the road as other vehicle operators, including obeying traffic signs, signals, and lane markings. ” Uncle Sam suggests that drivers be courteous; the sergeant says cyclists can indeed ride side by side, and that they can ride down any city street they please.
Most cyclists, I’m sure, pay attention to the rules. But a lot of them don’t. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen pedestrians barely avoid bikes whizzing along the University of Arkansas campus at speeds that are definitely unsafe. And sure, cyclists are usually taking up room with cars, but I’ve also seen them taking up room on sidewalks all over Fayetteville. And then there’s the group who can be seen coasting down Northwest Arkansas’ busiest streets at any given time.
Mind you, I’m not against cyclists having the legal right to do this. It’s more of a safety thing. For instance, the fearless cyclist I spotted struggling along College Avenue Monday afternoon would probably live longer if God had put a little more fear in his heart. Seriously. A 22-year-old behind the wheel of an SUV while talking away on his cell phone isn’t a situation to fool around with.
And yet the litany of dangers cyclists face isn’t hurting business. If anything, today’s average American seems increasingly compelled by the opportunity to escape a car’s cabin and become one with nature. Consider:
• According to the National Bicycle Dealers Association, bikes, related parts and accessories were a $ 5. 8 billion industry in the United States in 2006. Today’s consumers have about 100 different bicycle brands to choose from. They exist due to the manufacturing and distribution efforts of about 2, 000 different companies.
• Cycling reps claim their sport is the seventh most popular recreation activity in the United States behind walking, swimming, camping, fishing, exercising with equipment and bowling. Additionally, recent findings suggest that 94. 5 percent of those who ride bicycles do so for recreation or fitness; by comparison, just 5. 2 percent claim they do so for strictly transportation-related purposes — although with gas prices lurching toward $ 4 a gallon, that figure may be on the way up soon.
• According to the National Sporting Goods Association, 43. 1 million Americans age 7 or older were estimated to have ridden a bicycle six times or more in 2005.
One of those cyclists goes by Branton and is an employee of Highroller Cyclery in Fayetteville. Branton says he began riding bikes back when he was 10 years old. Eighteen years later he still rides, but says he knows plenty of people over that time who have been hurt — sometimes seriously — doing so. “ There’s not a rule book people get when they get a bike, ” he told me. “ It’s a dangerous sport. ”
Still, Branton isn’t scared about joining automobiles on city streets. “ At this point I honestly don’t even think about it that much. It’s one of the things you learn to deal with when you’re a cyclist. I’ve never had anyone really upset with me. At the same time, I’m pretty cognizant of the space available to me. Cyclists aren’t out trying to cause any trouble. ”
Neither are most drivers. But the combination of mountain bikes and speeding steel cubes is potentially deadly. The trick, it seems, is for us drivers to pipe down and better appreciate that cyclists have as much right to the road as we do. Courtesy, once again, proves to be a fine rule of thumb.
As for cyclists ? Well, I just hope they’re careful out there. And manage to stay off the sidewalks if they want to stay on my good side.
Scott Shackelford is editorial page editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times. His column appears on Tuesdays.