Part 2: Blame Everybody...

If you didn't read yesterdays, scroll down and read that one first...

Today's opinion is written by Randy O'Toole:

The question: Bike riders and auto drivers frequently come into conflict on L.A.’s roads. Who’s to blame?

Will, you can't blame everything on auto drivers. The truth is, there is plenty of blame to go around. First of all, sheer numbers are not a reason to blame automobiles. We have to take a more systematic look at the problem.

I have never had the privilege of cycling in Los Angeles. But I have cycled thousands of miles each in Portland, Ore.; Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area. Drivers (and cyclists) are about the same everywhere. There are a few rude ones, a few careless ones and lots of polite ones who observe the rules of the road.

Many drivers are annoyed that too many cyclists act as though the rules of the road don't apply to them. They run red lights, ride through stop signs without even slowing down and ride on the wrong side of the road. While I am sure that you aren't guilty of these things, some drivers end up blaming all cyclists for the faults of a few. Don't make the same mistake yourself.

One of the most detailed studies of bike-auto accidents was a California report that found that 46% of accidents for which blame could be ascribed were the fault of the cyclist, while 54% were the fault of the motorist. This shows that motorists, while not completely innocent, are not the only ones to blame.

While drivers have to take a test to get a license to drive, cyclists do not. So, many cyclists have no opportunity to learn how the rules of the road apply to them. I am always appalled when I see cyclists riding on the wrong side of two-way streets. Statistics show this is many times more dangerous than riding on the right, but I suspect some parents still teach their children to ride on the left.

But it would be simplistic to blame just the road users. Some of the blame must fall on road and street designers. I have always believed that cyclists and autos can share the same streets, but highway and street designers need to make some minimal efforts to account for cyclists.

More than half of all auto-bike collisions take place at intersections, yet city planners have made almost no effort to figure out how to design intersections that are safe for cyclists. Instead, they frequently install traffic lights that change only when they detect the presence of an automobile. Try as I might, I and my carbon-fiber bike sometimes simply cannot trip whatever magnetic, heat or electrical sensors are in the road. In such situations, even I have been known to run red lights.

So let's admit that the problem is one we all share and try to find a solution that is fair to everyone. That solution should include better street and road designs, better-educated cyclists and more motorists who are willing to share the road with those cyclists.

Wow, this guy is totally sitting on the fence. He's like that king in the bible who threatens to cut a baby in half so both women who claim to be the mother can have the child. It's not the drivers fault, and the cyclist also break the law.

He does state that everywhere he has ridden, "Drivers (and cyclists) are about the same everywhere. There are a few rude ones, a few careless ones and lots of polite ones who observe the rules of the road."

I've ridden in a lot of places myself since riding my bike on tour. And he is right, there are lots of rude people everywhere, and lots of polite people everywhere. Well dude, you said it yourself, "I have never had the privilege of cycling in Los Angeles." Try it sometime, the people there are the worst. Nicole and I came to a revelation while in Hawai'i over the holidays. The people in L.A. are rude, and only concerned with one thing, themselves. We're not saying it's everyone in L.A., but it's pretty obvious that there are a greater number of self-centered egotistical boobs in the L.A. basin than anywhere else. I think it just comes with the industry. Most people (not all), in the entertainment industry have a really large egos and are terribly vain. And they become oblivious to everyone else in the world, because there is no one more important than, "Me". If speeding up and cutting off one car gets me one car ahead, great, I'm one car ahead. If I need to make a right turn, speeding up and cutting off a cyclist on the right side the road is fine, because I have to make a right turn.

The other half of the revelation we had while on vacation was that Hawai'i drivers are more oblivious. They don't mean to be rude, they don't intentionally cut you off. They often just aren't aware that you're there. I find riding my bike in Hawai'i to be a safe affair. There are times when I've been side swiped, or cut off, but it's never been malicious. I don't ride in L.A. because the number of times I've been intentionally run off the road.

I guess what I've learned, there are rude people everywhere, and nice people everywhere. And the only persons actions you can control are your own. So if you're nice, there's at least one other nice person in this world besides my wife.