Cyclists

[Wayne Maybury]

Al

Maybe I didn't explain what I meant clearly. I can't speak for people in other towns but in the area of greater Montreal, cyclists virtually never stop at a stop sign or red light unless they can't cross due to on-coming (cross) traffic. I think that this is a clear statement.

I just saw (not more than 10 minutes ago) 3 teenagers going the wrong way (driving on the left side) of a divided secondary highway. They blew right through a red light jumped onto the left hand sidewalk and blew through another red light narrowly missing a car that was making a legal left hand turn. The driver never saw the kids as they were still on the wrong side of the road AND GOING THROUGH A RED LIGHT. Surely you cannot condone this behavior.

I didn't state that anyone should be shot or killed or anything else, I just stated that I am fed up with the reckless behavior of the vast majority of cyclists around where I live. As far as the car door thing goes, many times the cyclists are going the wrong way on a one way street, are driving on the wrong side of the road, or are weaving through traffic so the motorist has no idea that he may be opening his/her door when a cyclist is near by. I don't think that many people will purposely open their car door in front of a cyclist just for the fun of it.

I think that bicycles are a great form of transportation but I would like the cyclists to understand that the rules of the road apply to them as well as motor vehicles.

Wayne