"I hate bikers who think they own the road!"
Actually, we do own the road. More to the point, we own it just as much as anyone else does.
Motorists have a sense of entitlement. One cyclist calls this the "right of speed" where those capable of going faster believe this confers a superior right to use the public way. If this were true, my ancient Yamaha RD250 - which has long since gone to the great motorcycle graveyard in the sky - would be 'superior' to nearly every car.
But we all know that the public roads belong to all of us without regard to our transportation mode. So why do some motorists whine about having to slow down in order to safely pass a bicyclist? Is it the presence of the bicyclist or the necessity of slowing that inspires countless Internet rants and occasional acts of road rage?
Attitudes of Tulsa's motorists are quite apparent in the comments appended to news stories, like this one:
I understand that there are cyclist who are just trying to share the road, but there are far more who want to take it over and are choosing the wrong roads to do it on. Frustrated driver
They're not alone, of course. Here's another one from an editor of a motoring website. He was caught in slow traffic along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway while driving a Porsche Boxster:
Sure, California Highway 1 is beautiful. Everyone tells you that. But no one seems to mention the possibility that it'll be plugged up with zombies in RVs and rental cars driving 30 or 40 mph below the speed limit.
...it took me two full hours to get through 54 miles, after which I decided to start passing illegally.
...I made it my strategy to catch up to people at a huge closing speed to scare them into pulling over into the turnouts, which occasionally actually worked. Mind you, I didn't want to be that guy. I really, really didn't. But with no passing zones for miles and miles on end, I had no other choice.
He has no other choice? I guess Highway One is the only road between Los Angeles and San Francisco. This driver believes he has the right to drive at or above the speed limit at all times and anything that prevents driving at those speeds is simply wrong. He believes he has the right to intimidate other motorists, "scaring" them into pulling off the road. And of course, it's the other drivers who are to blame when he's forced to pass illegally.
Anyone with children hears similar tales. I tried in vain to convince my parents it was those other kids who'd forced me to throw a rock though that window. They didn't buy it, and in the case of these 'entitled' motorists, we shouldn't buy it either.
There's a fundamental disconnect between our idealized vision of driving and the gritty, everyday reality. On one hand, there's the open road with pleasant views of landscapes and distant skylines. On the other hand, there's bumper-to-bumper traffic and orange construction cones. There are gentle country breezes scented with ripe peaches, and there's the choking diesel fumes from a bus up ahead. This conflict between fantasy and reality leads to frustration and anger.
Ultimately, though, it's my road. And it's that RV driver's road, and it belongs just as much to that guy in the Porsche. Poor baby.
Comments
Ed... that picture. A 356 and a Panhard(?) being eaten alive by the Rust Monster. Very disturbing stuff.
Back on topic, to paraphrase your fellow Oklahoman, "This Road is your road, this road is my road, this road was made for you and me."
Back in 2000 or so, I was in the middle of an email discussion about Right Of Way (ROW) rules, and other advocates added the thought, that many motorists believe that their right to "not be slowed" took precedence over ROW, and I of course quipped back that those motorists think ROS (Right Of Speed) takes precedence over ROW. That's the earliest use of the term "Right Of Speed" for which I'm aware. This ROS thinking is the same kind of thinking that leads a few states to subject bicyclists and other drivers of non-motorized vehicles to “impeding traffic” laws, which are normally only applied to the driver of higher speed non-motorized vehicles. I’ll go so far as to say that traffic rules which criminalize the drivers of vehicles, with a lower top speed than the speed limit and/or motorized vehicles, who are otherwise obeying the standard laws for slower drivers, is enforce of the ROS of the drivers of higher speed vehicles over the drivers of lower speed vehicles.
PM, I could lead you to where those cars are, or at least, were. They were in a patch of woodland just outside the town where I lived in Pennsylvania. That was over 20 years ago. The 356 had a small tree growing up through the empty engine compartment. I hunted grouse there - or more specifically - I saw that the ammunition makers had full employment and the grouse enjoyed long, fulfilling lives with occasional exercise periods.
I came across another piece with the Fast=Good, Slow=Bad theme after I'd posted this one. It will be the focus of a future post.
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