. . In response to the previous "
Obey Traffic Laws" post
Christy thought FOGBEES needed to be made aware of the town of
Black Hawk banning ALL bicycling riding in town. I put the details on the
Bike Walk Tennessee Blog. My guess is the
Black Hawk City Council did not implement their ordinance out of altruistic concerns for the bicyclists. More than likely the bicyclists were not "Obeying Black Hawk Traffic Laws" and the Council found an out-right ban to be THEIR simplest solution.
5 comments:
Just my two cents here. Black Hawk, Colorado, is a town of just over 100 people. It is a former gold-mining town that developed gambling to save the town from vanishing. The main streets are 19th century and were designed for horses and carriages. The law was enacted bc the town had a surge in town traffic to the Casino following a law that was passed this year increasing the maximum betting limit from $5 to $100. There was concern that this additional traffic would increase the odds of vehicle/bike crashes. The ban does not apply to all streets in the town. (you can read this info by Googling the article "that's all, spokes: Colorado town ...bans cyclists). The cyclists did nothing wrong in that town. I think the law is ridiculous. As far as our area goes I can say this. Our Fogbee cyclists are far more informed about the rules of the road than some of the drivers of vehicles who have honked, yelled, thrown things, come within a foot of your bike, pushed you off the road trying to pass you on a hill with a double yellow no pass line (as I witnesses recently with Mike n Sherri), stopped in the middle of the road to talk to a car going the opposite direction so you can't pass- then tell you that bikes should not be allowed on the road (happened in Gallatin this summer), etc. There are many very polite and patient drivers here but let's face it; some drivers feel like the road was made for cars not bikes. I also agree that we need to do our best to obey the rules of the road. (Sorry: That was probably more like five cents)
Unfortunately, Black Hawk is not the best example of what is frequently happening. Locally similar actions to ban bicycling have occurred in Rutherford, Davidson, and Williamson County. In dialogue with commissioners the primary point of irritation is excessive law violation or lack of courtesy by bicyclists.
We look to the bike clubs to promulgate the rules of the road, not to set the example for violation. Posting the "Obey Traffic Laws" is a result of watching this failure become routine. Such violation can have unattended consequences for ALL of us, such as having some jerk run me off the road because of rage for other jerk on two wheels who ran a Stop Light.
I found this of interest because it sets a dangerous precedent. If a community can flaunt state statute anywhere, it can happen here.
Well all I can say is that if cycling is banned in Hendersonville I'm moving to France.
As a post mark:
On this mornings ride with Miley, Jon and a new rider, we were riding single file on a two lane, long straightaway with a double yellow line (no pass zone). There was absolutely no shoulder. There were two vehicles behind us and a car coming in the opposite direction. We were going about 20mph and there was a red light about 100 yards or more ahead of us which we were approaching. Unbelievably these two vehicles behind us went around us with the second vehcle behind us almost hitting the approaching car HEAD ON. By the time we got to the light this idiot in the second car was still at the light. We did not yell at him nor did we call our civic leaders. More than likely he will call his commisioner and tell him/her we shouldn't have been on the road. This behavior by drivers is COMMON. I call this more than a lack of courtesy by the driver but a dangerous act that endangered himself, the other driver and ALL of us on the bikes. I don't see, in my experiance, a lack of courtesy or excessive law violations by our Fogbees but, to the contrary, just the opposite. That's just my point of view. Nothing more, nothing less.
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