[SDCBC] Good article on bicycle scorrlaws

[Trevor Bourget]

At 03:54 PM 1/5/2007, Sachi Wilson wrote:
>I disagree that this is a conscious preference.  It's social 
>ignorance.  Society has no clue, really, what it "prefers" for
>cyclists.

I have to disagree. Watch people who ride bikes or walk, and you can 
see that they would not prefer to have to worry about what "rules" 
they should be following, and they would rather not follow the rules 
they are "supposed to" know about. People walk across streets 
wherever they want, ignoring crosswalks. They ride bikes in whichever 
direction they prefer, and on the sidewalk or in the roadway, as 
their whim dictates. People consider driving to be "work", and bike 
riding and walking to be "play".

People who try to make "work" out of cycling, by suggesting it does 
or should have rules, are perceived as spoiling the fun. Many people 
who don't ride a bike very often have one, and they don't want to 
have their fun ruined when they take their bike to the park or on 
their next vacation.

The interesting part is the "having their cake and eating it too" 
mentality, because it's the consequence of lawlessness that bicycle 
"club cyclists" play on the streets, ignoring stop signs and traffic 
lights. The choices of a lawful cyclist are unfortunately seen in the 
same light, so drivers don't know that these riders are choosing lane 
position by a different set of criteria than "because I want to".

-- Trevor