[NMCycling] The punishment pass and close calls

[Doug via Bike-racers]

Driver disdain of bicyclists is a form of discrimination directed specifically towards bicyclists, a minority group, by a majority group, motorists. Even government agencies such as DOT or municipal agencies discriminate against bicyclists. The discrimination may be conscious or not.

 

For whatever reason, some people believe that anyone who acts, looks, or thinks differently is not deserving of respect. I think respect, or lack thereof, for others different from one’s self is the core issue, as Chris Hereford pointed out.

 

There are many examples of disrespect and hatred towards others based on factors such as race (African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asians) and religion (Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and even conflicts within the respective religion, for example Shia vs. Sunni Muslims); in general, any group that is a minority relative to the majority. Motorcyclists are a minority group and are harassed similarly to bicyclists. Ironically, pedestrians are also a minority group, even though most people at one time or another are pedestrians.

 

As a result we have had the Crusades religious war, the Shia-Sunni conflicts in Middle Eastern countries, the Ku Klux Klan against African Americans, Germans against Jews, etc.

 

If people could be taught respect for others, many of the world’s problems would resolve. Tolerance or respect can be temporarily enforced, legally, by totalitarianism; i.e., the odds are great that undesirable behavior will be virtually 100% punished. Legal measures are mostly ineffective if undesirable behavior is not certain to be punished. A great example is speeding. Drivers speed because they are unlikely to be caught and punished; drivers who have never sped are a rarity. It is much easier to catch speeding drivers than drivers who pass a bicyclist with less than 5’ of clearance. If speeding cannot be suppressed; the probability of stopping driver harassment of bicyclists is near 0%. To my knowledge, no driver has been cited for this violation; not even when a bicyclist is hit from behind while riding on the shoulder of a road. However, if a pattern of harassment by a specific motorist can be established, such as with the Close Call Database, then said motorist may eventually be prosecuted and penalized.

 

 

From: Chris Hereford [mailto:cnhereford at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, October 26 2:13 PM
To: David Porter; David Porter via Bike-racers; New Mexico Sports Online; 'Doug'
Cc: bike-racers at swcp.com
Subject: Re: [NMCycling] The punishment pass and close calls

 

I think the problem in the US is that drivers care that cyclists don't stop. Why should a driver be concerned about that? What effect does that have on a driver? Or 30 drivers, when a bike cruises through an intersection? NONE! 

 

I'll bet it's not concern over the cyclist's safety either. It's 's general hatred for anyone who gets ahead, not waiting in line. The same hatred when a driver gets delayed by 15 seconds of reduced speed, waiting for room to pass a bike, but not a slow moving car. It's the same hatred drivers have while approaching a lane closure; one driver attempts to block vehicles from proceeding to the closure point.

 

Sitting at a redlight, waiting your turn, and staying off of the driver's road will not eliminate the punishment pass. it's about perceived privilege, and that breeds hate. This ignorance can only be educated away. 3 feet to pass, 5 feet to pass, it makes no difference, these rules will only cause more hate towards cyclists. The difference will come when all road users understand that all road users are humans, and we respect each other, and have no ill will towards anyone, no matter their effect on our path.

 

Can't teach respect with a driver's manual!

 

Moo!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8 

 

On Thu, Oct 27, 2016 at 1:27 AM, David Porter via Bike-racers

<bike-racers at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:

It's the "blowing through" that upsets them. If one comes to a stop first, then proceeds, the hackles come down a notch.. Consider the slow down an opportunity for a sprint interval and add to the training regimen. ;~)

 

On 10/26/2016 10:04 AM, New Mexico Sports Online via Bike-racers wrote:

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/bike-racers/attachments/20161027/07a87e03/attachment-0001.html>