I noticed over the weekend that the local ABC affiliate was going to run a story detailing the "rising tension" between Cyclists and Motorists on our fair city streets. Anytime a local news team decides to do some half-baked investigating for a three minute filler piece, to be broadcast on a Monday afternoon, there is almost always going to be trouble. You see, usually stories like this go one of two ways:
1) Bicycles don't belong on the road, that's why accidents between bicycles and cars end so badly.
2) Bicycles have a right to the road, but routinely flaunt the traffic laws and are, on the whole, a menace to our safe streets.
To be fair, this mindset does not apply to 98% of people who usually drive their cars. But, like all news topics, your local broadcast does not care what the rational middle has to say--after all, balanced stories taking into account all the factors just don't sell ad space to failing car dealerships these days. Nope, it's the folks that yell the loudest while wearing the brightest colors that get the coverage, regardless of whether they actually, you know, make a coherent argument. So, flame on, you topic flamers!
This piece (Featured Below), ultimately falls into the second category. But boy, this is as close as I've seen to a real news story covering both sides of the debate. Why, the young reporter even goes as far as to suggest that cars are not allowed to stop or park in bike lanes! Edward Murrow is proud of you, son. I think that's the first time I've seen a report suggest that cars may have a small role in this "rising tension".
Oh, and by the way, the whole piece is decidedly without tension. I mean, they throw some stock footage of two angry a-holes getting into an argument, and they throw some scary stats at you, i.e. that over 700 people are killed on a bicycle every year. (Compare that to traffic fatalities, if you want a grim reminder of the price some people pay for being able to go 50 miles an hour while drinking coffee and listening to their satellite radio). But, this piece is more of a "can't we all just get along?" type of deal. Lots of folks saying " Yeah, I just don't want to hit any bicyclist." Which is the view I almost always support.
I mean, they got so close, but didn't quite finish their work. For all you aspiring journalists out there, I thought I could help you write the story on this topic that I would applaud, along with where this story gets things right/wrong:
1) Talk about how bikes and cars have the same right to the road (Check)
2) Talk about how cars and bikes each perform illegal functions routinely on our city streets (Check)
3) Delve into the reason why bicycles do not stop at lights or stop signs (Crickets)
4) Stop shoving the whole "Bicycles are dangerous, so wear a helmet" fallacy down my throat. (Crickets)
So, they got halfway there. Well done ABC 7. I mean that. This is as close as I've seen anyone care to get. (ha!)
Listen, people on bicycles run red lights/stop signs for a variety of reasons, and it is NOT the cause of the majority of bicyclist fatalities. Don't make me pull up study after study on this--just take my word for it. I know that motorists watch us cyclists do this on a regular basis and just don't understand it. Or maybe they're just thinking, "man, I wish I could do that!" But, guess what? You can't. So don't hate on the human powered vehicles that can go through stop signs, because we as cyclists have the advantage of stereoscopic hearing and a full 180 degree view of the intersection. You don't. So, just relax, sit back, take another sip of your latte, and enjoy the things that make car travel such a pleasure. You know: like heated seats, enclosed cockpits, and room for more than one bag of groceries. All of those things are hella-awesome, too. Just not quite as hella-awesome as riding a bike.
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