Make Boston bicycle-free
As Mayor Tom Menino prepares to roll out an ambitious bicycle-sharing program on the streets of our great city this month, offering hundreds of bikes for short-term rental all across town, I might urge him to go in a slightly different direction.
He ought to ban all bicyclists from Boston instead.
It's an inconvenient truth (heh) that a large percentage of the bicyclists out there don't have the slightest clue about the rules of the road.Throw in an already congested city and people that feel they are immune to traffic laws, and it's astonishing that bicyclists aren't getting squashed in droves.
I think/assume/hope that McGrory is being Swift in his proposal and doesn't honestly believe bicycles should be banned. There's a much simpler and elegant solution, one that draws from the gun parallel he invokes with the NRA comparison: Enforce the existing laws. Bicycles are considered motor vehicles in the enforcement of traffic rules. Simply have the police dedicate part of their traffic enforcement time to ticketing cyclists going the wrong way, riding against traffic, etc.
No need for a ban, just enforce existing laws - gee, where have we heard that before?
That is all.
8 comments:
Must be that kind of day on this end. I laughed heartily at the 'inconvenient truth' bit...enough to generate gut pain & tears.
Thanks for the laugh!
Well this ought to astound you then. In Idaho, bicyclists must stop at red lights, but not for stop signs if the intersection is clear and the rider can proceed without creating a hazard. This is why there is a problem and some cyclists run red lights as well and pay for it dearly.
This would be the third summer in a row that the Mayor of Boston has rolled out an ambitious new bike sharing program. Every year some eager young company sets up shop with pretty nice rolling stock at a big splashy event. Never to be heard from again.
Like high speed rail, low cost bikes are a liberal evergreen idea.
I like bikes, I ride bikes, I've even ridden in Boston. If you pay attention and aren't a complete dick head, you can ride safely.
In bike versus car/truck/bus collisions the bike always loses.
LOL- Like THAT would work...
Anon: If I recall correctly, most states require cyclists to obey all traffic laws just as motorists do.
The problem is (a) the cyclists rarely do so, and (b) the cops don't come down on cyclists misbehaving like a ton of bricks.
One of my favorite pet peeves is when cyclists decide they want to ride side by side rather than in single file. I've been badly tempted to run those idiots off the road.
Ahh, check out a 'Frisco biker blew a light and slammed an old broad in the crosswalk today.
wv- quers San. Fran.
Exactly the same in London, except here its a conservative mayor who brought them in
SBW
Jay, in Mass. they don't even enforce the most basic of traffic laws.
Right of way violations right in front of a cop? No problem. Speeding? No problem. Attempted hit and run with injuries? Hey, it's ok, she doesn't speak English. Not even a ticket.
This is my experience with Masshole drivers and the so-called enforcers of the laws.
Asking for enforcement of traffic laws from Mass. cops is like asking Menino to endorse COMM2A and GOAL. I guess you could ask, but why bother?
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