[*BCM*] Electro Bike....Re: Battered Biker Syndrome

[thom3 at aol.com]

That's an ongoing situ that will be well, ongoing, I keep trying to think of better ways to approach motorists on this... 

BUT, BUT,did anyone read this

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2010/08/buzzing_around_boston_on_pietz.html

My immediate thoughts were, is it legal to bike on the sidewalk, let along ride a motorized vehicle on it? And a motorized vehicle on the esplanade? This all seems wrong.

 


 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jym Dyer <jym at econet.org>
To: Boston CM <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Sent: Mon, Aug 9, 2010 4:21 pm
Subject: [*BCM*] Battered Biker Syndrome


=v= In response to this _Globe_ article:

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/brookline/2010/07/by_jonathan_simmons_guest_colu_2.html

Sean Roche wrote an astute "Battered Biker Syndrome" blog entry,
appended below.
    <_Jym_>
    
=------------8<-------------Cut-Here-------------8<------------=

http://newtonstreets.blogspot.com/2010/08/battered-biker-syndrome.html

Battered Biker Syndrome
    by Sean Roche
Newton Streets and Sidewalks | Tuesday, 03-Aug-2010 at 6:08 AM

A driver chatting on a cellphone almost hit Jonathan Simmons,
the _Globe_'s On Biking columnist. When confronted, she told him
he had no business on the road. His response? He wrote a column
wondering how biker behavior has contributed to the "road rage"
and proposing a 10-point share-the-road pledge, six of which
points apply exclusively to bikes and one of which applies only
to pedestrians.

Let's break this down. Biker nearly gets killed. Biker promises
to make drivers less angry.

These are classic symptoms of someone in an abusive
relationship. You harm me or threaten to harm me. It must
be psomething I'm doing. I'll be a better person. Promise.

Suggesting that there is some causal relationship between
cyclists' behavior and the woman's potentially fatal actions
is just wrong. Let's be clear. There is absolutely no behavior
on the part of a cyclist that excuses or explains a motorist
putting a cyclist in jeopardy. There is nothing that cyclists do
that excuses or explains a motorist being ignorant of cyclists'
right to the road.

Nothing.

Certainly, there are cyclists out there doing things that are
wrong and things that are technically illegal. Let's identify
and address those behaviors. But let's not even suggest that
those behaviors somehow justify the anti-bicycle sentiment
that's demonstrably out there on the road. Especially -- and
this also reflective of abusive relationships -- because of the
inherent power differential in the motorist/biker relationship:
motorists' attitudes and behaviors can get a cyclist killed or
seriously injured.

Perhaps most importantly, it's foolish to think that drivers are
going to respect cyclists and give them plenty of safe cushion
if we could just convince those pesky two-wheeled scofflaws to
stop at red lights. Dangerous driving, road rage, and rampant
violations of the rules of the road pre-date the recent surge in
bicycling. Cyclists have just become another target for the bad
actors in our car-dominated culture.

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