Saturday, March 22, 2014

Owning the road

In most places in the USA, cyclists "have all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle" with few exceptions.  (Idaho statute)

(Obviously, it has to be acknowledged that the laws of physics trump the laws of the state... if your choice of riding location exposes you to irrational danger, being legal may not be much comfort if you're lying in the hospital or morgue.)

Some roadway users refuse to accept that cyclists have a right to be there.  And others - particularly, it seems, drivers of giant pickup trucks - seem to believe that the right to use the road is proportional to the size of the vehicle being operated.  This is obviously something that I often observe - read HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

If they ever changed the rules of the road, so that the driver of the big vehicle has priority over the driver of the smaller vehicle, I will start driving one of these...


(Spotted in a neighborhood I occasionally drive through.)

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