Comments about ‘Letter: Bicyclists must do their part to stay safe on roads’

Cars yield to bikes. BUT... please bikers be aware. If you dont have a rear view mirror, horn/bell etc... then how can you truly be safe to others? Because you are oblivious to all traffic.

You nailed it!

If I had a dollar for every time I've had to take action to avoid a collision with a careless bike rider, I could take my family out for a mighty good steak dinner.

If I had a dollar for every time I have had to take action to avoid a collission with a careless driver of a motor vehicle, I could take my family out for a mighty good steak dinner.

How come the debate about car/bicycle interaction always has to blame one side or the other? The reality is that everyone out on the road should be defensive and pay attention to what is going on around them. We are all someones father, mother, brother, sister, child, etc. and have friends and family members who would be devastated if something were to happen, whether in a car, on a bicycle, or on foot.

Oour culture is always in such a hurry to get any where, we are willing to act in a hostile manner towards anyone or anything that slows us down.

Sorry Peter, but cyclists are supposed to ride on the white shoulder line in order to be more visible to motorists. We are entitled to ride 18 inches to the left of the white line (yes, in your lane) for maximum visibility and because of the many hazards to be found on the shoulders of most roads; gravel, glass, storm grates, garbage cans, people backing out of driveways, etc., and because most roads don't have bike lanes. Cyclists are not sealed inside a 2-ton steel cage like you are and need all the safety advantages we can get, because frankly, motorists don't watch for us. They're too busy talking on cell phones and texting.

And by the way, it's called a median, as in middle. Not a medium.

Hope this helps.

govt rocks -- you're right. I could (should probably) have added, "If I had a dollar for every time I've had to take action to avoid a collision with a careless driver, I could probably buy a nice new car."

Legislation should reflect the realities of physics a bit more.

Every cyclist on the road knows that car vs bike, the car wins 100% of the time.
Sure, SOME cyclists run red lights but they only do so when they know it's safe. It's not like they're going to take risk. I've seen more cars running stop signs and red lights than cyclists.

DemoDave - the letter rider describes an experience on a road where there is a bicycle lane. You describe a condition where there is not a bicycle lane. Or at least I hope that is what you're doing. Otherwise, are you suggesting that bike riders are entitled to ride in the auto lane "for visibility" even if there is a bicycle lane? Sounds like we wasted a lot of money painting bicycle lanes.

@ Moderate: Since most streets don't have bike lanes, I chose that scenario. However, there are streets in SLC where cyclists can use the entire lane if they need to. Third East is one of them, and there are signs saying so. In fact, a cyclist is entiltled to use the entire lane of any road if needed for their safety.

And yes, sometimes cyclists have to ride in the auto lane even if there is a bike lane because people like to park there.

Demo Dave: Hi, I was wondering where you got that info about riding 18 inches to the left of the white line because I am writing a paper on Safety between Bicyclists and Motorists.

Thanks