We all have to share the roads-something you inattentive cyclists need to remember

Kyle Chrisholm, Opinion Writer Thursday, 24 January 2008

It’s a cold and placid morning. The sun slowly creeps over the horizon and taunts my bleary eyes, etched with throbbing red veins from a night of whiskey-soaked debauchery. I’m the undergraduate everyman, simply too hung over and preoccupied with printing off notes before a gruelling 9am class to realize that daring bicyclists patiently await a chance to tempt fate and challenge my reflexes as I make my way to campus.

That’s right; I’m driving down 112 Street in the general direction of HUB mall.

I have no problems with cyclists, or with any of the reasons one would choose that form of transport (such as health, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendliness). However, I do have a problem with those same people that believe being on a bike gives them some sort of greater visibility or exemption from the rules of the road.

More often than not, the bicyclists I see cyclists around campus completely fail to give drivers any kind of warning about the lane changes or turns that they’re going to make. This really inhibits a driver’s ability to anticipate and respond to a cyclist’s actions—making it, in turn, harder for them to prevent their bumpers from making back-end love to some unfortunate’s Norco in the toe-to-tit rush of Monday morning traffic.

The cruel injustice here is that the University area is laden with clearly marked bicycle paths designed to minimize the interference with vehicular traffic and danger to cyclists. These pathways provide an extremely convenient way of getting around, and in many circumstances are faster than taking conventional heavy-traffic routes.

To me, these seem like a much better choice, especially in winter. In such slick road conditions, I don’t know how some cyclists manage not to slip under the hungry tires of a meandering Volkswagen.

The dangers of travel on main thoroughfares are compounded by the fact that there just simply isn’t any space for bicycles. All too often, I’ve seen cars fly by within inches of a cyclist, either eliciting colourful language or, more alarmingly, no response at all. Many of these people aren’t wearing helmets either though; perhaps their careless behaviour is due to having been struck on their bare noggin on previous occasions.

So please, cyclists, next time you feel the urge to ride down those main roads at the annoyance of motorists everywhere, consider the alternative options that will get you to your destination in comparable time. Campus is designed with a large volume of bicycle traffic in mind, so make use of the infrastructure.

At the very least, give drivers some warning before making erratic moves and try to be more conscious of the motorists around you, because they’re not necessarily paying any attention either.