Frank Bruni a sycophant lobbyist who masquerades as a reporter for the New York Times has just done his latest obeisance to Janette Sadik-Khan and her traffic follies?
Bruni’s love letter to Sadik-Khan in the 9/11/11 Times, Sunday Review was about as far from journalism as your average beer commercial. Not that what he says about our cycling traffic commissioner is completely false; it’s more the tone of his worship at the shrine.
The truth be known Sadik-Khan’s crusade to make New York a bicycling city isn’t at all a bad idea. It’s just that she has created the game without setting out the rules or hiring officials to implement them. Bicycling is better for the city than driving cars and a city 100% without cars would be a better place to live but that’s impractical so a way must be found to make accommodation for both. Each must be taught their place and each must understand that there will be repercussions if they violate their boundaries.
What Sadik-Khan, in her desire to ride her own bike about the city, has done, is create a playing field without teaching the rules of the game to either side, especially the bikers.
Auto drivers already know the rules of the road, and although they sometimes flaunt them, those rules are, for the most part, understood and obeyed. Cars stop for lights, go the right way on one-way streets, stop for pedestrians, usually stay off the sidewalks and generally are part of a commonly recognized order of the road. This is anything but true for bicycles. All one has to do is stand on any busy corner for fifteen minutes and one will see passing cyclists violating almost every traffic rule extant.
I drove down Riverside Drive from 125th St. to 79th St., on Sunday afternoon and by actual count, was passed by 23 bikes all of which went through the red lights for which I was stopped. This is insane.
I have lived in NYC for most of my life. I have lived continuously in Manhattan for over 50 years and I have never seen a car/pedestrian accident. I know they occur, I read the papers. In the last two years I have been the victim of two cycle accidents, both involving cyclists going the wrong way on one-way streets, one of whom compounded his idiocy by also going through a red light. In addition, during the same time period, I have witnessed three other accidents involving cycles. This is outrageous. Why don’t we have the same legal restrictions on cycles as we do on cars and motorcycles? Does the absence of an engine mean that you are free to do whatever the hell you want and the rest of society be damned?
Ms Sadik-Khan’s problem is that she is so hot to hop on her bike she has forgotten the logical progression to making this a cycling town. First set down the rules; then make sure that anyone who will be using a bike follows them, just as we have done with motor vehicles and even pedestrians. (Walk lights). Bicycles should be licensed just like cars and carry insurance. Their riders should also be licensed. Riders should have to pass a written test indicating that they are familiar with the rules of the road that they must follow. A bicycle flying along at thirty miles an hour can kill you just as surely as a car. If you doubt this, prove me wrong, step in front of one.