Senior economics major
Every time I make a drive into Washington, I’m always on edge. If a speed camera doesn’t give me a nice $95 surprise, there is no shortage of bad drivers to make my time in the area simply worse. If the poor driving doesn’t get to you, rest assured — the bikers will.
Riding a bike is a great way to get around, and with residents becoming more cognizant of their carbon footprint, it is becoming an increasingly popular means of transportation in the city. Projects like Capital Bikeshare allow you to rent a bike from one section of the city and drop it off in another, rendering a car fairly unnecessary. I am a strong proponent of doing what you can to reduce your share of carbon emissions, but there needs to be some order with bikes everywhere.
Whenever I come across a cyclist in the city, my first instinct is to roll down my window to expresses my anguish and tell them to get on the sidewalk. I looked into it further though, and much to my surprise, it is actually illegal to ride a bike on a sidewalk in a substantial portion of D.C. As a result, bike and car traffic are part of the same chaos, at least to a certain extent.
It seems, through my experience at least, that cyclists abide by their own set of rules. Everyone is obligated to respect cyclists’ place on the road, but they often don’t respect the rules of the road, making things pretty dangerous for drivers. First, the fact that they are in most instances unable even to reach the speed limit can cause motorists to drive in more aggressive manners to keep pace with their commute. Moreover, when it comes time to stop at a stop sign or at a red light, cyclists always seem to conveniently choose acting as pedestrians and continuing on the crosswalk.
There have been many times when I have seen these events occur, and they throw everyone into a frenzy. Not only is it really inconvenient to have to look out for this additional element while you are driving, it’s downright dangerous.
The campus is no stranger to this situation, as we happily promote shared traffic lanes as well. More understandably, because we are a university, bikes play a large role in how many of us get around. That being said, I still see many of the same disruptive habits of cyclists here on the campus.
Ideally, I think bikers belong on the sidewalk. The fact alone that they cannot go the speed limit serves as a major hazard to many drivers. At the very least, they could abide by the laws of stop signs and red lights and not simply ride at their convenience. If not, I feel as though something should be done about it. If the expectations and responsibilities of bicycles and automobiles on the road are the same, law enforcement should act accordingly. If bicyclists are going to act like drivers, they should be treated like drivers — with all the incumbent expectations and penalties.
