Share the road

June 23, 10:17 AMGeorgetown University ExaminerPeter J. Grace

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For all the lobbying and rabblerousing that commuter bicyclists employ to obtain equal protection on the road (“Share the Road” signs, bike lanes, the Bicycle Commuter Tax Break), one would expect them to extend the same level of care, concern, and compassion to their even more disenfranchised commuters, the lowly pedestrian.

Yet the same respect doesn’t seem to exist, least of all from the less than exemplary citizen who nearly mowed down a fellow pedestrian at the crosswalk between Connecticut Avenue and M Street in Dupont this morning.  The pedestrian (who, mind you, has a smaller carbon footprint than the bicyclist, who selfishly relies on tires produced from a veritably lethal chemical process) had waited to cross the street at the appropriate time, that is, when the light indicated it safe to do so.  This bicyclist simultaneously shot through the intersection during his red light time and nearly struck the young woman.  The near miss prompted nothing more than a “Hey, watch out, girl!” from the rider.

One instance of an incredibly reckless bicyclist is undoubtedly insufficient to make some judgment about the etiquette of the whole, but chance observations seem to suggest that, generally speaking, the bicycling community does not expect of itself behavior similar to what it expects of automobile drivers.  If drivers operated their cars the same way bicyclists operated their bikes, the “Stop” sign would enjoy about as much legitimacy as an Iranian election.

So as to avoid overly editorializing such a simple subject, let me simply offer Chapter 12 of the District of Columbia’s DMV Code.

“1201.1 Every person who propels a vehicle by human power or rides a bicycle on a highway shall have the same duties as any other vehicle operator under this title, except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, and except for those duties imposed by this title which, by their nature or wording, can have no reasonable application to a bicycle operator.”