Check out the thread here… I put my $0.02 in as well. My brother commutes to work by bicycle in Portland, and so I have a vested interest in the police out there doing their job and doing it right.

I’d like to meet Steven Resnick. My favorite bit from him is

Yes there are bad drivers out there too, but the bicyclist are one more distraction that takes people’s minds off the road and not being able to pay attention to what’s actually going on in front of them. (quoted without permission)

Nevermind the fact that cyclists are PART of what’s going on in front of drivers. All the other distractions are, I guess, OK, b/c driving is a right and can be taken for granted. But nooo…. Not cyclists. That’s just too much. B/c he is driving a car, it’s apparent that this irresponsible miscreant believes that he doesn’t have to give the level of attention he demands of cyclists.

Crossing the street get off the bike and cross in a crosswalk, ride single file, if you see a stop sign, stop don’t run right through it and also get off your bike and cross the street with the crosswalk.

Ok, Steven, run-on sentence aside, you’re right. Drivers never pull rolling stops. Drivers never cut other drivers off. Drivers never fail to signal. Drivers are always attentive and respectful and responsible.

Heh.

It is a given that there are many cyclists on the road that do not either understand or abide by the laws that apply to them. There are many cyclists that come across as feeling above said laws. I’ve seen it time and time again, and I completely agree with Mr. Resnick on those points. Rare is the group ride that doesn’t have at least one or two people ignoring the cars around them by riding double and triple in traffic, taking comfort in the apparent safety of the group. I’ve seen many cyclists just blow through stop signs, and even stop lights w/o even slowing. That is a source of irritation just as rough and caustic as irresponsible drivers. I will never claim that cyclists always behave responsibly.

What I don’t agree with is the single-minded focus on the errors of cyclists with no attention paid to the countless infractions of drivers. Do drivers never pull rolling stops? Do drivers never cut other drivers off? Do drivers never fail to signal? Are drivers always attentive and respectful and responsible?

It is my opinion, with only a sketchy understanding of the laws as they apply to responsibility, that the greater responsibility lies with the owner of the larger weapon. In a fight betwixt cyclist/motorcyclist/pedestrian and motorist, the motorist will almost always win hands down. Therefore, the motorist has a greater responsibility to pay attention and yield when necessary. Am I saying that “bi-ambulatory” travelers have no responsibility? No. Am I saying that “bi-ambulatory” travelers can just go about their way, all willy nilly hi-dee-ho? No. I’m saying that motorists, as much as they admonish cyclists for not paying attention and taking little to no responsibility for their actions, need to be “strong enough to point that high-powered perception” right back at themselves and recognize that historical trends aside, we all share the road, and we all have to take responsibility for it.

Dennis makes a good point. Will equal weight be given to the driver of a H2 vs. the driver of a Volkswagon Golf in an accident between the two? I would think so. But, rhetorically speaking, if not, then Mr. Resnick follows a Might Makes Right creed, and there is no more to say here. He is a lost cause. If so, then he needs to carefully examine his reasons for singling out cyclists with such vehemence. If it comes down to the safety of the cyclist, then he’s going about it in a very odd way, and could advocate for cycling safety much more successfully by blaming cyclists a bit less, and raising safety awareness for all a bit more. Relax. Don’t be so angry, and people tend to listen more.

What if the cyclist that died had been your son? Your daughter? Your wife, brother or sister? Would you still hold that they were, by default, at fault and let the driver off w/o so much as a $15 citation?

If I’m inattentive or irresponsible on the road (assuming no automobile involvement), I get a damaged bike, some road rash, maybe a broken bone, and a financial hit of a few hundred dollars. If a car is inattentive or irresponsible on the road, costs are in the thousands, and more importantly, people die. Regardless of consequential differences, relative weight and speed do not change anyone’s responsibility to be safe and conscientious users of the roads.

All that said, my condolences to the families of both Brett Jarolimek and Tracey Sparling.