From one of your fellow students:
I use the road both as an automobile driver and a cyclist. I’ll begin with my perspective from a raging war between automobile drivers and cyclists.
Drivers seem to have forgotten basic rules of the road when they took the driving test so many years ago. Bicycles are considered a vehicle and have equal rights to the road. However, that doesn’t seem to matter to most drivers, especially in Houston. I’ve been swerved at, yelled at, smoked out by country bumpkins in their giant diesel pickup trucks, and run off the road on several instances. Check out any cycling video or news story and you will see the amount of hate in the comments. Cyclists are a minority here especially and drivers feel they are entitled to the entire road. They complain that cyclists hold them up, that we should ride on the sidewalk, that we don’t stop at stop signs, and we don’t pay taxes. The ignorance is appalling.
Sure, there are some cyclists who don’t follow the law like stopping at stop signs, just like there are drivers who fail to stop. The problem is a clear bias toward the automobile that leads to drivers failing to see those who do actually follow the law, of which I am one. It’s almost laughable to consider the complaint that we should ride on the sidewalk. They simply fail to consider the WORDS they’re saying…”sideWALK”! In the city, it’s actually illegal to ride on the sidewalk, however as a road cyclist riding ~20+ mph, it’s also incredibly dangerous. Sidewalks are just that, for walking. Also the argument that cyclists don’t pay taxes is complete crap. Most cyclists, especially here, are recreational, which means we also own car(s). We ride for physical fitness, for the comadre of others who share the interest and competitive nature of the sport, and for a sense of freedom. We therefore pay taxes, have insurance, and share the road with all road users alike.
Another problem is the lack of legal support when a cyclist is hit by an automobile. The classic line, “He came out of no where” seems to be a get out of jail free card for a driver hitting a cyclist, yet use that same line when they hit another automobile and they are cited for causing a collision. Too often a cyclist is hit and injured or killed while the driver escapes with no penalty at all. It seems when someone is behind the wheel, they forget that fellow road users are also human beings; fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, etc. Which brings me to the second part.
As another automobile driver, I can’t count how many inconsiderate pricks I’ve seen on the road. The most annoying are those who cut all the way to the front of a long line of cars in traffic, crossing the solid lines, just to cut right in front of the line. My second rant is the failure to use a turn signal. So annoying sitting there waiting at a stop sign when someone pulls up, then turns on you with no warning. Really?! I could go on, but that about covers the bulk of my rants about drivers. I hear other parts of the country are worse, but Houston I believe was recently ranked as one of the worst.
For related items. Click on Houston Ghost Bike.
And I think this is an interesting read: The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of "jaywalking"
