[*BCM*] Massbike To Blaim For Biker Harrasment

[Lisa Williams]

Your original reply seems to argue that cars are somehow different from 
bikes in the eyes of the law, and that bicycles should, somehow, be 
freer than cars. 

In Massachusetts bicycles *are* vehicles. The fact that one vehicle 
requires a license and one doesn't does not mean that they are not 
subject to the same laws.  They are.  They're subject to the same laws 
as motor vehicles, like stopping for red lights and proceeding on the 
right side of the road.

Because vehicle law is rarely enforced regarding bicycles, many people, 
both motorists and cyclists,  think that different rules apply to bikes 
and cars..  This nonenforcement isn't always good for cyclists, because 
drivers also think that cyclists don't have the same roadway rights that 
they do -- so motorists often force cyclists to the right or honk their 
horn or otherwise harrass cyclists who are simply riding down the 
roadway like another vehicle.  The same laws that make it illegal for a 
cyclist to run a red also make it illegal for one motorist to force 
another vehicle -- like a person riding a bike --into the shoulder of 
the roadway (just think what would happen if a motorist routinely did 
that to other motorists who weren't going as fast as they wanted to go.  
They'd be in jail).

Bikes are considered vehicles in most states. Massbike did nothing to 
create that situation, and in fact it's the law of the land in most 
states, and has been for many years before MassBike existed.  



contraelolvido at riseup.net wrote:

>"Just taking the class will increase my awareness of bicycles on the
>roadways. I believe I will be more inclined to take enforcement actions
>now than I was in the past." - police officer, Homewood, Ill.
>
>"I will make an effort to do more enforcement towards bikers who disregard
>traffic devices and towards motorists who exhibit dangerous behavior
>towards bikers." - police officer - Ann Arbor, Mich.
>
>Today, biking through cambridge I was pulled over by two cops. They called
>me over and asked who I was, where I was going. This surprised me as ID is
>only needed when driving a car, not when walking or biking. Freedom of
>movement is a right, not a privilege. And yet, there they were asking for
>my papers. Not wanting to get arrested, I obliged. I was told that I was
>getting a ticket for not having a headlight.
>
>Now, cambridge cops never used to harrass bicyclists, and yet at least
>three of my freinds also recieved tickets tonight in central? Through my
>discussions with the cops, and some online research, I put 2 and 2
>together and realized that only after Massbike's awarness trainings did
>the coppers start to harrass bicyclists.
>  
>

-- 
Lisa Williams
lisa at cadence90.com
Lisa's weblog: http://www.cadence90.com/wp/