This illustration by the wonderful folks at Commute Orlando shows very well exactly why I take the lane.

Andrewp over at CommuteOrlando Blog, a great Commuting and advocacy site from Florida, has a very interesting post about this.  This had been niggling around in the back of my mind, but had not really flowered until I read his post.

Police have been concentrating on the wrong issues. What is one of the biggest reason for a cyclist to get pulled over when riding on the roads? Hint — think about our friend Fred_dot_U’s most recent experience. That’s right, he was pulled because he was (a) not far enough to the right and that made him (b) an impediment to traffic flow (in the officer’s mind, anyway).

Where is any safety issue(s) being addressed? It could be argued that a cyclist like Fred is endangering himself when riding on the road in the manner that he has chosen (vehicularly), but we can prove statistically that isn’t the case. What police are choosing to do is enforce traffic flow issues over safety issues — perhaps unconsciously, but more likely due to a cultural shift of the concerns of society about having unencumbered access to the street.

Mighk Wilson had done some reading on this and pointed out that early on, police were NOT interested in dealing with traffic flow issues, but were much more concerned with safety issues — specifically at the time (I think it was the early 20th century) it was how to get pedestrians safely across the street. Somewhere along the way, safety has taken a back seat to traffic flow such that now the flow of traffic has been deemed critical for society and something for law enforcement to regulate. Today we have an auto-centric view of traffic that supports the notion that the auto drivers come first and much further down the line are cyclists and pedestrians. That’s completely backwards from a safety perspective. The most vulnerable members of traffic are first pedestrians, followed second by cyclists. Next would be motorized two wheels (electric bikes, scooters, motorcycles) followed finally by autos and then trucks.

So what are the safety issues that we, cyclists would like to see law enforcement concentrate on for us? The FBA would like to see more enforcement in the following areas:

* For motorists — Improper passing and following too close (enforcement of the 3-foot rule), harassment for being on the road, reckless endangerment and assault.
* For cyclists — Red-light running, wrong-way riding and riding without lights at night.

Doesn’t this make sense to you? LEOs: Quit worrying over how far to the right a cyclist is riding (traffic flow issue), but do make sure they are riding in the correct direction, are stopping at red lights, and if riding at night have the proper equipment (all safety issues, statistically proven to be the cause of the majority of bicycle accidents). Write tickets for those that do not comply! To help cyclists share the road, make sure motorists do not threaten the safety of the cyclist by acting aggressively with their car or pass too closely. Write some tickets!

I believe if this message is taken under serious consideration by local police and other law departments, and action taken, then we could see significant, positive changes for cyclists. I for one would love to see cyclists pulled over and ticketed for running red lights. I don’t think it would take many before the word spreads through the cycling community — yes, you’re not supposed to run and yes, you will get a ticket if they see you. I’m sure there are motorists who would appreciate seeing a few of these tickets given out as well, and I’d sure like to eliminate “running red lights” as a major pet-peeve that motorists have against cyclists. Consequently, I’d love to see motorists who deserve it ticketed for unsafe passing of a cyclist.

But most of all, what I would like to see is all police and law enforcement as a friend to cyclists, who care about our safety and take it as being more important than how fast traffic flows.

The entire post can be read here:Traffic Flow vs. Safety

Sometimes it can be very scary when the people charged with protecting our rights and enforcing the laws do not themselves know what those laws are.  The link gives the example of a case in Ohio where a Law Enforcement Officer did not know the law and got upset that a pair of cyclists were riding on “his” road.

Bicycling and “The Law”

I recently saw an article from State News (Michigan State University’s student newspaper). I was sickened and angered by the content of this article.  Fortunately, I checked the site today, and there is a great rebuttal.

Here is the original article: Cyclists Stay on sidewalk.

And here is the rebuttal: Stay on the Road.