Monday, December 17, 2007

Ignorance

Out here in the vast WWW frontier, people sure aren't afraid to put their ignorance on prominent display. (Of course, I must realize there are probably folks who are thinking that same thing about my rants!)
(-;

Maybe it's the anonymity. Maybe it's clever parody - they're just pretending to be totally ignorant.

Case in point -

Last Friday (December 14), a teenage boy was cited by the local police after he ignored a traffic signal and rode his bike into a crosswalk, and into the path of an oncoming car. Fortunately, it sounds like the kid wasn't seriously injured.

As is the case when anything bicycle-related is in the news, the all-knowing yokels responded. (The local newspaper has a forum where readers can comment on stories.) Last I saw, there were 34 comments... along with numerous responses to the comments.

There was a sizable sidewalk-riding component this time around... comments on whether bicycles should be relegated to the sidewalks.

Here are some of my "favorites" (?):

Every morning, I see cyclists who think they own the road. That they are entitled to make me run someone-another car off the road because they want to ride in the street, though there is a sidewalk that is paved just for them!

Back in the good old days, I used to be able to drive on the streets without any fear. Thirty years later, it's a whole new world. Now there are cyclists everywhere.


Yes, cyclists have a right to ride on the road. However, there are some cyclists who ride 2 or 3 abreast and invariably invade into the normal car's zone.

If bikes ride on street, perhaps I should be able to ride my horse down the street. I could mount an LED light between his ears and a flashing light from his tail or reflectors and of course I should be intitled to a full lane also.

People riding bicycles and not obeying the law is their own fault. Sure I ride a bike from time to time and yes I do know Idaho laws regarding this. Yet I do not follow the laws altogether as I follow my own law. Watch out for the cars as they do have the right away.

Last I checked, Gas tax pays for roads and cars are big - There is no good reason to share the road with a bicyclist. It is too dangerous.

I agree - besides all the money they put into makeing bike lanes is paid by automobile drivers. Alot of the bikers have no respect on the road anyway.Stay on the side walk.

I sure would like to see the statistics that supposedly indicate that it is safer for a bike rider to be riding on the street rather then the sidewalk. I have yet to read a report of a bike rider dying as a result of a collision with a pedestrian.

"I do not follow the laws altogether as I follow my own law." AMAZING!!

(Idaho Statesman article, and comments, can be found here.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bikeboy, I'm glad that you were able to inject some reason into the thread.

It is interesting how some feel that bicyclists need to stay on the sidewalks, while others feel that it is not legal to ride there! The truth, of course, is in neither extreme.

Would it be possible to add a link to your post so that anyone interested in the whole discussion could find it more easily? The story is no longer on the Statesman's home page.

Bikeboy said...

bob t - It wasn't easy to find that Statesman article... it was kinda buried. I've added a link; typically the stories stay active for a couple weeks.

(Many newspaper online editions keep their stories active indefinitely; I think the Statesman wants $$ for "archive" versions of older stories.)

Anonymous said...

bikeboy said"I think the Statesman wants $$ for "archive" versions of older stories"

Fine with me as long as I do not have buy it.

As for the article and comments, I find you can educate the commenters all you want and they wont change their mind at the end of the day.

db said...

There was a similar vein of stupidity running through the comments on the Velodrome story (click here).

Bikeboy and I both commented on that one, but I'm not going to post on every cycling-related article. Participating is a no-win situation out there.

Anonymous said...

While it's true that you can't win with these folks their ignorance should not go unchallenged either otherwise it may give the impression that they are correct.

Thanks db and bikeboy for standing up to them!