I saw this guy the other day, on a bike, seemingly following traffic laws, which was a good thing and something everyone who rides a bike should strive to do. Not because traffic laws always fit perfectly to riding a bike on the road, they sometimes don’t, but because doing so helps keep the peace. Violating traffic laws, running stop signs and the like, merely pulls a pin on a potential hand grenade.
Since I’ve been so obsessed over this asphalt dynamic lately I laid off the gas to watch this guy and his performance as he approached the biggest intersection in town (yeah, I know, I live in a small town, there is but one biggest intersection believe it or not). This intersection is so big if you can imagine, that it even has a left turn lane complete with a left arrow light to guide you on your way!
Okay, so this cyclist came over from the right shoulder in the northbound lane, as he should have, crossed two lanes of highway and came to stop behind three cars waiting in this left turn lane to go west onto the mountains. In a few seconds, the red arrow predictably turns bright green…and what does my impatient, spandex clad friend do? He out accelerates, out sprints if you will, the three cars in front of him and passes them on the left, in the intersection, as they were turning.
My switch flipped. WTF! I was trying to admire a responsible cyclist and then this…a real slap inmy motorist face. One minute driving along, then the next minute I was gripping and shaking the steering wheel like I’m trying to subdue a boa constrictor that found it’s way into my trucks cab. Then I caught myself, began running those thoughts of vehicular manslaughter through my rational brain, and calmed down. Mindfulness thankfully at work.
In my experience, the vigilante justice dished out on the street to an errant cyclist is often ill befitting of the crime, a felony conviction for the likes of jay walking. At times, it reeks of middle school, of the schoolyard, and the bullying that had me thrown in a big green dumpster more than once during recess. This guy, however, really crossed the line in my opinion and should have been ticketed somehow. Aside from the rule breaking, every driver there that day that witnessed that stupidity has a bad taste for cyclists thanks to his actions.
Let’s be honest. What are you really saying to the driver of an auto when you run a stop sign right past a guy who was looking both ways long before you were there? It’s like saying a big “Screw You Buddy!” that’s what, and it’s just not right in the moral sense. Why wouldn’t he be pissed? It’s like continually goading your overweight coworker about his morning cruller until he snaps while you fill up your mug at the office coffee pot and socks you one, squarely in your big, fat mouth. What did you expect?
Stay tuned…
MH