Editor:
Re: Road rules apply to cyclists, too, Aug. 21 letters
While I agree with the headline, my agreement with Mr. Por slowly evaporated the further I read into his letter. Yes, there are inconsiderate cyclists, just as there are inconsiderate motorists.
Yes, the rules of the road apply equally to cyclists and motorists (so don’t tell them to “get on the sidewalk where you belong,” because that’s a violation of the motor vehicle act).
It appears that the incident that inspired Mr. Por’s letter was two cyclists who had the sheer gall to not “get out of his way” on 8 Avenue, west of 160 Street.
Well, that is essentially a single-lane road in each direction, due to vehicles parking on the side of the road. If Mr. Por were following a tractor or a hearse or another slow-moving vehicle, I’m not sure that his first response would be “Road rules apply to tractors, too.”
Finally, Mr Por’s closing remark “If the RCMP paid as much attention to cyclists as they do to autos, it would make the strip a much safer place,” strikes me as wild exaggeration.
Motor vehicle traffic in the most heavily travelled bicycle routes exceeds bike traffic by a factor of 10. In any collision between a bicycle and a car, it is pretty much a given that the cyclist loses.
Safety will be increased when all vehicular traffic (and, yes, I include bicycles in that statement) show respect for each other and they all follow the rules of the road.
Ralph Barone, Surrey