Revision-A Bad Idea?

So basically, the idea is to allow bikers to use their common sense and their judgement when deciding whether to yield or stop at stop signs and traffic lights. On the surface, it sounds like an excellent idea. After all, you would hope that most people could be trusted to make the correct choice in that particular situation, and I, like you, believe that they would. You see, my problem with this idea is not with the biker, or his decision, its with the driver.

In my lengthy experience with biking in urban areas, I have been the unfortunate witness (and sometimes victim) to many car vs. bike arguments. I have seen quite a few variations under quite a few circumstances, and one thing is almost universally applicable; and that's the obtuse driver.

Unfortunately for us (the bikers), we are simply an annoyance to most drivers on the road. We occupy space (granted, a small amount) that the driver could be using to pass that lumbering Lincoln ahead of them. Because were not stuck in traffic and not full of pavement-produced rage, the driver tends to look down his steering wheel at us (and that's if he even sees us in the first place). Either the driver is yelling at you for riding to close, or hes screeching on the brakes to avoid plowing into your chain guard (either way, its a bad situation).

As I see it, neither choice is a good one. Either the driver resents you for being on the road in the first place, or he doesn't even know your riding a foot away from him. So if this is the situation on most roadways, do we really want to pass a law that would make it easier for us to leave our safety in the motorists hands?

-guest post by Jack O'Neil