Dear Abby "Safe Roadway Cycling Practices Get Short Shrift From Bike Riders"

[Deborajen]

Yet another article stirring up the "anti-cyclists"

http://news.yahoo.com/safe-cycling-p...050011783.html

Feel free to write to her. I sure will!

[Irulan]

I don't see that the reply is so wrong. I just about took out a guy making a left turn on a red light at a major intersection the other day. At rush hour, two four lane roads. How stupid is that?
Some communities do ticket cyclists.
( the new Dear Abby doesn't write anything like her mother)

[thekarens]

There was a cop that stopped a group of cyclists a couple weeks ago for running a stop sign. He gave them a warning, but warned them the next time it would be a ticket.

[Fredwina]

I didn't see anything wrong with her reply, either. A lot of folks act like the rules don't apply to them. That's part of why I don't much group riding anymore

[PamNY]

I think her reply was just fine. I nearly got rammed by a cyclist using a cellphone, and I often see cyclists running lights. Police do ticket cyclists in NYC, but I'm not sure it has much effect.

[Deborajen]

Well, I wrote to "Dear Abby." Where I live, I've never seen nor heard of a cyclist getting ticketed. But I've hardly seen or heard of any drivers getting ticketed in a long time around here, either. We were just talking about that at work the other day and were all wondering if we actually have a police department anymore. I told "Dear Abby" that I agree that everyone is obligated to follow the law and those who don't should be penalized. But that includes drivers, too. I'd love to see idiot cyclists who run red lights and nearly cause accidents get tickets. But I'd also love to see homicidal drivers who practically use cyclists for target practice get a ticket. We don't have a very big cycling population in my area and it doesn't take much to get everyone riled up with "I hate cyclists - Last month I saw one who ____________." Abby didn't come right out and say "all cyclists" do the bad stuff, but she didn't do much to clarify that she was only referring to some. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can easily see an influx of readers responding to her with all-cyclists-are-bad hate mail over the way the writer explained and the way she replied.