The author of a recent letter to the La Crosse Tribune stated, "please remember you share the road with vehicles that cannot stop on a dime." What are drivers thinking when they fly around blind curves or over hills at such high speeds that they can't stop if the road isn't clear? Any driver who fails to avoid a collision with a slow-moving vehicle clearly does not have his or her own vehicle under control. Instead of bicyclists around the curve, there could just as well be a farm vehicle, a group of pedestrians, or a stalled cement truck.

Bicyclists are legally entitled to use the roads in Wisconsin. Motorists are required to allow at least three feet of clearance when passing, and this is far too close at high speeds. Note that state law does not allow passing more closely when the driver feels the cyclist is "too far" from the edge of the road. Is there any situation in which a motorist can justify deliberately endangering a cyclist's life? Most cyclists try very hard to be considerate of motorists, and to delay them as little as possible. However, on many narrow roads there simply is not room for a car to pass a bicyclists within the lane, so the only safe way to pass is to cross into the other lane. This may mean waiting for a break in oncoming traffic. Cyclists are not required to leave the road whenever a motorist wishes to pass, and indeed it is sometimes unsafe for the cyclist to do so.

Drivers, sometimes you just have to slow down.

--
Scott Ellington
3831 Winnemac Ave.
Madison, Wisconsin 53711
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

608 233-8204

----

_______________________________________________
Bikies mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies

Reply via email to