LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[August 31st, 2005] ROAD RULES: PORTLAND

Your Rogue of the Week column about self-absorbed motorists [Aug. 3, 2005] stated that the accident in which Ms. Valdez was seriously injured when a motorist cut her off and caused her to slam her bicycle into his car did not "rise to the level of a crime."

As a cyclist who gave up a second car and now bikes to work regularly, I'm very concerned about bicycle safety, often my own. Mr. Myrick, the car's driver, may or may not have committed a crime (assuming he is at fault), but he is in violation of ORS 811.050, failure to yield to a bicycle, a Class B traffic violation. If it is shown that he was also reckless, then he would be in violation of ORS 811.060, vehicular assault of a bicyclist, a Class A misdemeanor and therefore a crime.

My point is that there are laws governing the safe operation of bicycles. Drivers not only need to be more aware of the two-wheeled, rider-propelled vehicles operating in the lane to their right (whether or not that lane is marked), but they should review the laws giving bicyclists equal rights to the roads. ORS Chapters 811 and 814 contain the appropriate laws which are easily understood. These can be found at landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html and landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/814.html, respectively.

J. Michael Burke
Southwest 32nd Avenue

BIKE DIPLOMACY

In response to the correspondence about bicycle etiquette, and to those who subscribe to Mr. [Ray] Thomas' carefully reasoned opinion in particular [Mailbox, WW, Aug. 24, 2005]: IF you are that rare cyclist who NEVER runs a red light, never blows a stop sign, never makes an illegal turn, never jumps to and from the sidewalk as the path of least resistance dictates, then I salute your right to ride as you wish. But if like most of us, motorists, pedestrians and cyclists alike, you occasionally screw up or disregard the letter of the law, then please consider the distinction between self-absorption and self-preservation. You may escape unscathed from your jack-move of the week, but if in doing so you increase the hostility of a motorist toward cyclists in general, then you have put the rest of us at greater risk.

All cyclists are ambassadors for each other. And the more we piss off the drivers of those two-ton rigs out there, the less likely they are to tap the brake pedal when it counts-their mistake, our mistake, it doesn't matter. Aside from common decency, a ticket and an insurance-rate increase are all that stand between our spines and the curb.

And no, I do not own a car. I have commuted by bicycle through Portland streets since the '70s, with a few years off to ride as a bike messenger in NYC. You're right: The bike routes aren't always perfect. But they sure as hell beat the old wooden planks on the Hawthorne Bridge...I can guarantee you that the progress made in bicycle access thus far, and in the future, results from people who work together, not from those who feed on confrontation.

Chris Lynch
Southeast 15th Avenue

MAKE WAY FOR CYCLING

The fact that they did not designate a bike lane across the St. Johns Bridge ["Two Wheels, Too Furious, WW, Aug. 3, 2005] seemed to me almost criminal initially, given the huge increase of bike-car fatalities and injuries this year. But having gotten used to crossing that bridge on my bike in the lane with the traffic while the bridge is under construction made me realize that cyclists can get along with motorists.

Motorists have waited while I crossed the bridge, in the only available lane, for two years during the construction on the bridge. With the restriping and opening of four lanes, things have improved for both cyclists and drivers tremendously.

As I see it, they did not fail to give us a bike lane. They gave us an extra-huge one: the entire far right traffic lane! I intend to ride in it every time I cross the bridge. If someone wants to pass me, they can do it in the middle lane. My fear of heights prevents me from crossing the bridge on the sidewalk.

What is the best thing that they could do for cyclists on the St. Johns Bridge at this point in time? Leave up the signs that say "bicycles in lane," because that is were I am going to be riding.

My best wishes go out to your co-worker Angela Valdez as she recovers from the car-inflicted injuries she sustained when some unthinking motorist turned in front of her.

Maybe it is time to have "Bicycle Awareness" become part of driver education in Oregon.

Abi Spring
Northwest 2nd Avenue

THE ROAD MORE TRAVELED

Frank DiMarco may enjoy a peaceful little bike ride around the side streets of his neighborhood [Mailbox, WW, Aug. 10, 2005], but he needs to be set straight on bike commuting.

When you are riding several miles to get to work or some other important destination, you may not want to dawdle along and stop every block, as you would in taking side streets. That's why bike commuters take main streets, because like the motorists driving next to them, they want to get somewhere in the shortest possible time.

Besides, the alleged safety of riding on side streets is almost as big a myth as riding against traffic. I've come close to getting hit by a car several times by people backing out of their driveways or just not paying attention on a side street. Main streets are wider, allowing cars and bikes to travel together in the same direction. The traffic flow is regulated by stoplights and other signals. Side streets frequently have "no way stops" or stop signs hidden by vegetation.

Drivers expect to see bicyclists on main roadways and adjust their driving accordingly. In a dozen years of bike commuting in Portland, I've found that the vast majority of motorists are courteous and conscientious in their relationships with bicyclists.

As a BWA (DiMarco's pejorative acronym for Bicyclists With Agendas), I confess my agenda is to get to my destination as quickly, safely and pleasurably as possible. As far as anyone knows, Angela Valdez was not doing anything illegal or foolhardy. She is just the victim of another careless driver.

Gil Johnson
Southeast Belmont St.