Here’s to you, Mr. Self-Righteous Cyclist
By matguy, Unfiltered 12-18-06
 | |
|
Dear Mr. Self-Righteous Cyclist:
I saw you today at about 5:10pm at the intersection of Broadway and Ryman. You were pointed east, wating to make the left onto Ryman, and performing an admirable trackstand behind the car in front of you, also waiting to go left. After that car found a gap and went, you continued your trackstand, while sporadically signalling that you intended to make a left turn eventually, when the lane was clear. You blocked traffic and the guy behind you yelled at you to get out of the way.
It was dark, you had no lights and no reflectors, and no reflective clothing to speak of, you were neither an amateur cyclist (as evidenced by the trackstand) nor were you homeless (as evidenced by the helmet, nice clothes and expensive-looking messenger bag. I will forgive members of those two groups their failure to use lights and act responsibly in traffic: amateurs don't know any better and homeless guys on bikes in the dark of a Missoula winter already have it tough enough. Further, members of both groups are recognizable as such to motorists and their behavior (no lights, riding on the sidewalk, wrong side of the road, etc.) is less likely to reflect badly on those who use a bike to get around and generally look like we know what we are doing.
But you, you could have put a foot down and thus been able to take a hand off the bars to keep your turn signal (left hand outstretched to the left) clear and understandable to the motorists behind you. You could have had a set of lights on your bike, or at least you could have had some reflectors, better than nothing. You could have considered how you were making the rest of us look. Finally, had you not had a car with operable and visible tail lights stopped behind you, you would have been invisible to oncoming traffic and could have gotten plowed over by a car trying to make the stale green light you were waiting at.
Look, I'm all for cycling, I'm all for riding with traffic, and I'm all for trackstands- they're fun and they take some effort to learn. I feel proud every time I do one at a stoplight, too. And yeah, I have a brakeless fixie with no lights or reflectors on it in the garage too (10 point bonus if you can guess when I DON'T ride it- that's right, at NIGHT!) But come on, man. Your little balance demonstration held up traffic, confused the guy who was stuck behind you, and furthered the negative image many Missoula drivers have of those of us who use bikes for transportation. A lot of people are working really hard in this town to make cycling a viable, safe alternative to burning fossil fuels, and what you did today was counter-productive. And you could have been killed.
Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.
Comments
Well said matguy, well said.
I find it so interesting that we see articles about "how bad cyclists are" every once in a while, and we never ever see articles from cyclists about automobile operators. It seems though that the narrow misses from auto's that I, and my fellow rule-obeying cyclist have, don't seem to count for as much....at least with people that write letters to the editor and columnist such as Matguy.
If I was to take Matguy's stance and write about every single episode where an automobile has not respected my right to the road, it would fill up the pages of the New West homepage everyday.
I can't believe that this is the headline page on the Missoula section of the New West page.
Everyone is responsible for themselves.....I'm responsible for my safety while riding, Mark is responsible for his actions when he runs over cyclists, and New West is responsible for the content of their webzine. But whatever events come to pass, individual actions always seem to have a way to come back and bite you in the ass.
What motorists don't realize sometimes is just how much power they have and THR is right -- there is an immense responsibility there. Regardless of who's being self-righteous (which in this case, it's just about everyone), cars have the ability to harm or kill people and that is a fact.
I was hit by a car while walking a cross walk several weeks ago and I cannot shake that feeling of complete powerlessness as I went up on the hood. I think about it all the time -- whether I'm walking, cycling or driving. The bottom line is if you're behind the wheel, you have a responsibility to yourself and to others to be aware of your surroundings and recognize the power you have. I'm not saying pedestrians or cyclists get a free pass -- we have to be responsible as well. But, that balance of power has to be recognized on the sidewalk, crosswalk, bike lane and everywhere else in order for us to co-commute together.
And THR: We (New West) are responsible for what is posted on our Web site and I for one, chose to put this piece (akin to a letter to the editor) on the Missoula page because I think this kind of discussion is an important one to have. I hope you would agree.
Also, if you were the one that was hit between Warden's and the Break a few weeks ago, I'm glad to hear that you are ok. I was in the area right after it happened and wasn't sure of the severity of the accident. It's amazing how often that can happen in a 5-block radius in downtown Missoula.
And it is another reminder that while we are all responsible for ourselves when we commute, that there is a greater responsiblilty when driving a 2-ton automobile.
Thanks. It was indeed me hit in front of Worden's. It was a bad one so I'm very lucky to be OK.
I've been meaning to write about the experience because it's been such an eye-opener for me to these issues. I was always aware of them, but boy oh boy -- nothing like a trip to the ER to really make the issue (and parts of your body) shine.
What really got me was that this guy chose to stay in his trackstand rather than putting a foot down so he could signal his turn clearly and consistently.
Why write about it and potentially give ammo to those who might discredit cycling as a legitimate mode of transportation? I guess because I saw a cyclist make several conscious choices, each of which contributed to a negative public perception that might affect me and other cyclists directly. It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for me.
I'm out on my bike every day, and almost every day I see stuff like this. I see fully grown adults blow stop signs without looking. I see members of the too-cool-for-my-handlebars set riding no-handed with headphones on Higgins, and I see the same crowd blowing stop signs in the U-district. I see people in the middle of the streets on their bikes with a dog on a leash running desperately to keep up. I probably see motorists committing more yield and speeding violations than cyclists do on the roads of Missoula, but I see cyclists committing way more red light, stop sign, and wrong side of the road violations.
Initially yesterday, I was rooting for the guy on the bike. This was my thought process:
1. "Wow, sweet trackstand"
2. "What a jerk that guy in the car is, yelling at the guy on the bike."
3. "Why isn't the guy on the bike signaling that he wants to make a left? Mabe if the guy in the car knew he was trying to make a left he'd cut him some slack."
4. Waitaminute… how come he's got no lights or reflectors?"
5. "I really don't feel like seeing somebody get whacked today, I sure hope he makes it.."
After that came the walk home and the attempt to process why I was so ticked off, followed by posting to the Unfiltered section of New West. I had nothing to do with the thing ending up on the front page, and "Matguy" is just the name I picked so I could post: this really isn't about who I am. I'm a guy who saw something and wrote about it.
The thing is, as a cyclist, the last thing I need is somebody contributing to the public perception that the road "just isn't safe for bikes," or that it is "our own damn fault" when we get hit, or that we are just downright stupid for "ignoring the laws of physics" and tangling with something 100X bigger than us. Also, I'd like to hope that when a motorist sees me use a correct hand signal, he or she understands that signal. Seeing somebody signal improperly only dilutes that understanding further and makes it less safe for all of us.
As to the no lights/reflectors thing: in Missoula, the guy was breaking the law that says you have to have a light at night. That is no more a nanny-state law (as helmet laws arguably are, and why I'm not complaining about the lack of helmets on anybody) than the one that specifies lighting for cars. It's not just about the safety of the individual. An unlit cyclist at night has the potential to cause a serious accident that may involve more than just themselves.
I would like to apologize for the headline, which in retrospect is not quite what my post was about. The cyclist I saw wasn't really being self-righteous, but he was being dangerous, and it did have an impact beyond his own person. I doubt the motorist who was behind him will feel much sympathy the next time he's stuck behind me on my bike when I'm trying to make a left.
Yes, you certainly could fill volumes with the stories of bad motorists not paying attention. A truck making a right from Orange Street to Front Street plowed me into the curb one day on my way to work a few months ago. He wasn't paying attention, and I don't think he ever saw me. And hey, I didn't have to get hired or pay anything to put my post up on Unfiltered- It'd be great if all the cyclists of Missoula and elsewhere wanted to write their own bad driver stories and flood Unfiltered with them.
To the cyclist: I don't know you. You're probably a great person, you trackstand way better than me, and for all I know you've obeyed every traffic law in the book until now. My beef isn't with you personally at all, just with what you did for 45 seconds last night.
To the editors at New West: If you think that this is all just going to generate more ire against cyclists in Missoula and elsewhere, if you think that ire will outweigh any meaningful dialog that might happen about cyclists adopting uniform, safe, predictable behaviors on the road, please go ahead and remove the entire post. I'll be happy to replace it with an anti-distracted motorist screed that will peel the paint off your monitors.
I think we've got a meaningful dialogue going here and it's thanks to you for bring up some important topics to discuss. Sometimes the most immediate reactions are what bring up the most honest thoughts and ideas.
But, if you'd also like to expand and write a follow up for these pages, by all means, let's keep the discussion going.
That invitation is extended to others commenting here as well.
Seeing folks ride at night without lights pisses me off as much as anybody. So in my small effort to make to try to make things a bit more tolerable for cyclists, I try to over-exaggerate hand signals and ride with an assortment of lights on my bike....to counter act the folks not doing it. I have been approached a couple of times in the last month by motorist saying that they appreciated my actions. So in some small way, it does seem to help.
So again, thanks for sharing the response. It was understood...apparently even by the elementary school readers such as Juan.
Regarding Mark's comment I cut him a little slack as he may have been saying that as a driver he is just not aware of cyclists and that cyclists should not take for granted their visibility to the motoring public. But then again he might have been implying that he has a crosshairs hood ornament. Either way, walk, sled, drive and cycle defensively like you life depends on it because the other guy may have distractions or issues clouding operator vision and judgment.
Part of the issue here is definitely attitude, but a really big part of the problem is investment and design -- roads, paths, lanes, sidewalks, stenciling, signage. The places that have lower fatality/injury rates are the ones that design their public thoroughfares and spaces as if cyclists and walkers matter. (Also interesting to me that places in Europe with low fatality/injury rates -- especially compared with the US -- also have very few helmet wearers.)
There's a bunch of local folks who are interested in improving design and conditions here, and getting the city to make some serious investments in biking and walking (already 14% of Missoulians bike or walk to work or campus -- 42% of UM students bike or walk -- there is nowhere near that level of transportation investment in bike/walk facilities). We'e organizing into a Bike/Walk Alliance for Missoula. If you're interested, e-mail or call 721-2873.
If the Downtown streets project had not been delayed, you would almost certainly not have been hit Courtney. That corner by Wordens is slated for a large bulbout that will shorter the crossing distance for peds, make peds more visible, and really slow down turning motor vehicles. The latest news is that next summer the transformation will take place. Included is a 4-lane to 3-lane conversion of Higgins- from Broadway to Spruce. The conversion will likely make it much better to cycle downtown. Yet, extending the conversion all the way to Brooks makes the most sense. Let's see if we can make that happen next summer too...