Then there’s this, from today’s front page.
Now the article focuses on one cyclist who was killed, likely running a light, but I refer you to this gem buried within:
“The number of cyclist deaths per capita for New Mexico was second only to that of Florida from 2010 to 2012, and 50 percent higher than the national rate, according to the state Department of Health. How many, one might wonder, were caused by a cyclist’s decision?”
I grow weary of the lazy inductive reasoning on the part of people who write the newspaper with something to the effect of “I saw a cyclist run a signal, therefore all cyclists run signals and deserve what they get.” But this is a staff member who is too lazy to do a simple Google search. Doesn’t take much effort to know, that of the few comprehensive studies of motorist/cyclist collisions, the single greatest cause of those collisions is “cyclist overtaken by vehicle from the rear.”
Robert L. Browning II
browning5800@comcast.net
From: Bike-racers [mailto:bike-racers-bounces@mailman.swcp.com] On Behalf Of John Vance via Bike-racers
Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2015 4:59 PM
To: Nathan Masek
Cc: NM Cycling
Subject: Re: [NMCycling] Singing Rd on NM 333....GABAC is against?????
Mentally unstable people write letters to the editor all the time. Sometimes newspapers publish them. I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Ok, so here is my position on the subject. I am a bike racer, I've been racing for over 25 yrs. I am also a transportation planner by profession.
My feeling is this - yes, drivers face many distractions and are quite irresponsible and in some cases, downright dangerous and worse, criminally negligent to the peril of innocent cyclists. That being said, the roads must be shared, by all vehicles as designated with signage, policy, posted speed, etc. The singing highway is one of two of its kind in the United States. It's an amazing feature that actually adds quite a bit of character and charm to an otherwise fairly boring roadway. I have friends from out of state who have noted it on social media, it's now part of the Rt 66 experience for the numerous of venturers that explore Rt 66 and happen to come upon it; it's a really cool thing! It is also a fairly short segment of the roadway. To call for its removal, to me, is quite misdirected, and fails to recognize the primary issue - that of careless drivers.
Now, to have the GABAC write a letter, well, look what it has spawned - a letter to the editor of the largest newspaper in the state, basically slamming the cycling community as a bunch of wackos. As a cyclist, I don't appreciate this. I speak out of experience of having been on the GABAC in the past, and I can attest that it is a delicate balance to reconcile the relationship between cars and bicycles. The cyclists have legislation behind them these day, and some times even that is not enough
Hey guys, so I just read in the paper this morning that the Greater Abq Bicycle Advisory Committee (GABAC) had submitted a letter against the "singing highway" in the Tijeras Canyon in NM 333 - is this true?
If so, would someone from that group care to respond?
Thx, Nathan
Sent from my iPhone
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