Editor,
Cyclists do and should continue to have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists. The problem is a vast majority of Albuquerque motorists fail to recognize this fact.
Five years ago, I gave up my car, and since then, I have commuted exclusively by bicycle. I have been hit three times, twice in broad daylight and once at night. And yes, I did have lights on. On one occasion, I got a concussion. On another, my bicycle was irreparably damaged. Two were due to a motorist rolling through a stop sign when I had the right-of-way, and the other was a woman turning right at a red light while completely ignoring me and two pedestrians who were legally using the crosswalk to cross a busy intersection.
No one has ever stopped for me after impact to make sure I was all right. I am consistently pushed into the rain gutter - not a bike lane - by motorists who don't seem to realize that they have to pass me as though I were another motorist, and many often make comments about riding on the sidewalk, which is illegal to do if you can physically use
the street.
Earlier this semester, I overheard a girl in one of my classes talking about how she hates cyclists and has made a habit of throwing debris from her car at cyclists she sees riding in the street. If I am faced with the choice between being hit by a car, being pushed into debris-filled rain gutters or riding on the sidewalk, I am more inclined to ride on the sidewalk, even though I know that I should be riding in the street.
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There are bicycle-specific crosswalks on every single major east-west street the Northern Diversion Channel Trail crosses, but if you assume a motorist is going to stop for you, you run the risk of being hit at 45 mph. Even though there are posted signs warning motorists about the crosswalks, I have never seen a motorist stop, with the exception of one car with Colorado plates.
Need we forget that James Quinn, a UNM law student, was hit and killed Sept. 15 by a motorist while he was legally cycling on Route 66, not to mention the countless others? I have spent time in Boulder, Colo., and Portland, Ore., and I have not faced these same difficulties.
Albuquerque is not a bicycle-friendly city, despite claims to the contrary by the Mayor's Office, and until motorists treat cyclists with the respect and consideration we deserve, cyclists will continue to flout motor vehicle laws, whether out of a concern for personal safety or a disdain for the unfriendly and disrespectful treatment we receive from the average Albuquerque motorist.
And to all cyclists out there, visit BikeAbq.org to get involved in bicycle advocacy or e-mail Abq_criticalmass@yahoo.com. Maintain your lane. Make them pass with class.
Travis Cole
UNM student
