Group: ba.bicycles




Subject: Is a law requiring drivers to pass bicycle riders by at leastthreefeet a good idea?
From: Don Freeman
Date: 1/31/2007 8:56:12 AM
"CJ" <cje20@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:12s06un6gvv7u2c@corp.supernews.com... > > Apples and oranges. The original thrust of this thread was about the > newly proposed three foot buffer that motor vechicles must maintain > when overtaking a bicyclist. You have morphed this into a discussion of > relative amount of damage caused by bicyclists and motorists. . Um, it was cje20@hotmail.com (that's you isn't it?) that morphed this thread: "CJ" <cje20@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:12rvs1dtlqgg3ab@corp.supernews.com... > Doc O'Leary wrote: > >> ...The problem is not that the laws aren't bicycle-friendly >> enough, but that they are too car-friendly. > > > Could that be because bicycles are not registered, licensed, or taxed > so they and their riders can contribute to the pool of money used for > road construction and maintenance as are cars and trucks. Nah... > couldn't be. >

Subject: Is a law requiring drivers to pass bicycle riders by at leastthreefeet a good idea?
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Date: 1/31/2007 7:52:40 PM
> Apples and oranges. The original thrust of this thread was about the > newly proposed three foot buffer that motor vechicles must maintain > when overtaking a bicyclist. You have morphed this into a discussion of > relative amount of damage caused by bicyclists and motorists. Tax > bicyclists and bicycles to create a seperate "bicycle infrastructure" > and you eliminate interference between the two types of transportation. What apples & oranges? It's already been explained that most of the costs for the "car infrastructure" are paid for out of general funds, not user taxes & fees. Using your argument, the "bicycle infrastructure" should be getting funds that have previously been going to the "car infrastructure." But it's an argument that has little to do with the new law. The facts are that bicyclists and motorists (and horse & buggies for that matter) have co-existed on the same roads for over 100 years. There is need for a comprehensive and integrated transportation infrastructure, but any talk of separate facilities for bikes & cars etc leads us further down a path of disconnected transportation options, and we eventually end up... pretty much where we are today. --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA