Bicyclists Who Dont Follow Rules in NYC - Term Paper Example

Bicyclists Who Don’t Follow Traffic Rules in NYC Bicyclists Who Don’t Follow Traffic Rules in NYC Bicycling has seen a lot of takers in the recent years, and more and more people are taking up cycling. The cycling boom of the last century has not subsided and has gained more momentum in the recent years. One of the main reasons for the attractiveness of cycling for commuting is its positive effects on environment and the health benefits. The negative effects of automobiles can be greatly reduced by using cycles. Cycling has had a great impact on New York City. New York today has seen an increase in the number of people using cycles. According to a report there is a 4 times increase in the people using bicycles for commuting and the last year alone has seen an increase of 8 percent (Smiley, 2011). Utility cycling is seen commonly in New York while it is also used for regular commuting and recreation by many. To support and encourage the use of cycles, there were numerous bike ways or bike lanes created. There has been an increase in the number of bike lanes in New York City. This increase in bike lanes has attracted mixed reactions for different elements of the society. Many have criticised this and cycling in general for the reason that cyclists do not follow the rules. This paper is aimed at finding out what the media is writing about bicyclists who do not follow traffic rules in New York City. There has been a lot written in the media about bicyclists not following traffic rules. The criticism of bicyclists is not just limited to breaking of traffic rules but also has attracted religious criticism. Various quarters of the society have reacted differently to the issue and each has a different opinion. But the popular view in the media is that the cyclists have to be blamed. The opinion of the public that has dominated the media is that cyclists are hated. There are various instances and reasons that are pinpointed to show that cyclists do not follow rules and as a result have caused troubled to the commuters and motorists in the city. An article in Gothamist has published the views of the people who hate the cyclists (OGrady, 2011). Following are the various reasons that people give which go on to prove that cyclists are in fact not following the rules. Some are of the view that cyclists over speed on the bicycles. The speed of the cyclists is such that bystanders compare them to the cyclists in Tour De France. With their gear and helmets, cyclists try to imitate those in the race and try to hit high speeds. This threatens the safety of others on the road. Cyclists must be bound by the law to drive under certain speed limit (OGrady, 2011). Another argument against the cyclists is that they do not see cycles as automobiles and hence have no regards to any rules. They take this privilege of not being considered as riding an automobile and hence do not follow any of the rules. Be it speed or hand signalling or lane discipline. This frustrates the other commuters on the road and at the same made them to take drastic steps to have the bike lanes removed from certain streets in the city. The responsibility is not just that of the cyclists but also the ones responsible for them. For example, parents at home do not teach their kids to follow the rules while cycling. This has made these cyclists very dangerous (OGrady, 2011). Parking is another issue that has been affected by the cyclists. The fact that cyclists do not follow the rules and bike lanes has made it very hard for the motorists while parking. The motorists must be always on the look for cyclists while parking and ensure that are not in the way of a speeding cycle when they open the doors of their cars. There have been many accidents while drivers open the doors of their cars and end up hitting a cyclist jumping lanes and coming from behind another vehicle. It is not just the responsibility of the motorists but also the responsibility of the cyclists to be careful and follow the rules while driving. They need to slow down when they are behind a car are passing by a parked car. The most important rule while in traffic is to stop at a red light. But cyclists do not seem to follow this. Not many cyclists stop at a red light in traffic instead continue cycling. This has lead to many accidents not just injuring the cyclists but also others on the road. It would be a lot safer for everyone if cyclists would follow the same rules that are followed by other commuters on the roads (OGrady, 2011). Bike lanes have increased over the last few years in New York. This has posed a major problem for the pedestrians on the road. Pedestrians crossing the roads, be it a dog walker or a old person or someone with a bay, have to be careful while crossing the roads and must pay extra attention to the bike lane. The cyclists who do not follow the rules are more dangerous than the automobiles on the street. Many people have been run down by cyclists and the number is constantly increasing every year. As mentioned earlier, cyclists have also attracted religious criticism. The conflict between the Jews and cyclists over the bike lane at Bedford Avenue has been widely covered in the media. What mainly started as a regular “bicyclists not following the rules” problem has now turned religious. Initially, the problem rose due to the complaint that bicyclists do not follow the rules. One of the main reasons for this is that the bike lane has been removed from the street but still bicyclists have been using (Short, 2011). School bus drivers have complained that the cyclists do not stop when they see a school bus pulling over. The responsibility of the school children is that of the driver and the drivers say that they were forced to pull over on the bike lane to stop the cyclists. This has angered the drivers as well as the parents. Residents of the community complain that cyclists have knocked over many school children. They have said that the cyclists have absolutely no respect for the safety of the people on road. Cyclists do not follow even the simple rules and regulations that would make it easy and safe for both the cyclists and other commuters on the street. Some say that on questioning the cyclists, they behave arrogantly and there are no rules for cycling on a street that has no bike lane. As it is a overcrowded and tight community out there, constant disrespect of the cyclists of the traffic rules forced the community to put pressure and have the bike lane removed previously. It is also said that cyclists use foul language and use inappropriate gestures when confronted (Signore, 2011). The clash between the cyclists and orthodox Jews has now become physical with reports of cyclists being manhandled. The conflict now has turned religious as the Jews from the community had complained that cyclists have hurt religious sentiments as they bare too much skin. In response to this, the cyclists had proposed to protest by cycling naked on the streets (Raymond, 2009). But they did not go through with it, instead rode with their jackets (Raymond, 2009). Irrespective of the various viewpoints the cyclists have been blamed in the media for not following rules that has lead to all these problems. Another viewpoint that is very interesting is the one written by Felix Salmon his detailed take on cycling in New York. His writing is very interesting and throws light on how cyclists who do follow rules make it extremely hard for those legitimate cyclists. It has become very difficult for cyclists who follow rules to gain the confidence of the motorists and pedestrians. He makes following three points with respect to those cyclists who do not follow traffic rules, mainly those who ride the wrong way in a bike lane: Their misdeeds have no justification. Their actions cannot be justified by any kind of reasoning. Hence, what they do rubs on other cyclists who follow the rules but have to take the heat because of a few (Tiku, 2010). They set a bad example for those who follow them. That is, they cannot be good role models. He gives an example of a lady who was riding in the wrong way with her child at the back on the seat. She was not wearing a helmet and instead had iPod headphones in her ears. Apart from making the life of the motorist hard, she also sent a wrong message to her child. She set a bad example for her child. The child growing would do the same (Tiku, 2010). The cyclists who do not follow rules have lead to a negative attitude of motorists towards all cyclists. Due to a few all cyclists are seen as irresponsible and an obstacle. The immediate reaction on seeing a cyclist, is that they do not follow rules and are dangerous (Tiku, 2010). This is the popular view expressed in the media about the cyclists who do not follow rules in the NYC. The cyclists do not consider themselves as automobiles and hence do not follow any of the rules, as a result risking the lives of others. They have attracted hatred from the general public. References OGrady, B. (2011). Five Prospect Park West Bike Lane Haters Explain Why The Bike Lane Sucks. [Online]. Available at: http://gothamist.com/2011/08/18/five_angry_men_on_citys_bike_lane_v.php#photo-1. Accessed on 19 December 2011. Raymond, A.K. (2009). Bedford Bike Lane Battle Takes Next Logical Step: A Nude Protest. [Online]. Available at: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/12/bedford_bike_lane_battle_takes.html. Accessed on 17 December 2011. Raymond, A.K. (2009). Bike Lane Protesters Decide Offending Orthodox Jews Isnt Worth Frost Bite. [Online]. Available at: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/12/bike_lane_protestors_decide_of.html. Accessed on 17 December 2011. Signore, J.D. (2011). Hasidim Vs. Cyclist War Rages On In Williamsburg. [Online]. Available at: http://gothamist.com/2011/05/04/hasidic_cyclist_williamsburg_war.php. Accessed on 17 December 2011. Short, A. (2011). Bike lane? What bike lane? Drivers, cyclists clash over Bedford Avenue. [Online]. Available at: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/34/18/wb_bikeconflict_2011_5_6_bk.html. Accessed on 18 December 2011. Smiley, B. (2011). Number of New Yorkers Commuting on Bikes Continues to Rise. [Online]. Available at: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/number-of-nyc-bike-commuters-continues-to-rise.html. Accessed on 18 December 2011. Tiku, N. (2010). Evil Bike Salmon Ruining the Roads for Reuters’ Felix Salmon (No Relation). [Online]. Available at: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/09/evil_bike_salmon_ruining_the_r.html. Accessed on 18 December 2011. Read More