BikeSD Staff

NPR Story on Aggressive Drivers Normalizes Motorists

This story was originally posted on vélo-flâneur by Esteban who lives, works and rides in San Diego.
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In a story on All Things Considered, NPR reporter Mandalit del Barco uses the road rage conviction of Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson to discuss the perceived growing tensions between cyclists and drivers in Southern California, and by implication, how the “problem” unfolds nationally.

(I listened to the first edition on the East Coast feed on WFCR, Amherst MA - ed.) The transcript can be found here.

The story begins with some numbers regarding cyclist fatalities and injuries:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic crashes killed 716 cyclists last year and injured 52,000 people riding bikes, trikes and unicycles. That includes recent fatalities from Brookline, Mass., to Portland, Ore. But unlike the Los Angeles case, Mooney says drivers who kill or injure cyclists are rarely convicted.

The problem of driver convictions is made plain. Importantly, the story does not mention that there were 39,800 total motor vehicle-related deaths in 2008 (a record low!). Certainly, cars and trucks represent a threat to cyclists. But the numbers make clear the fact that motor vehicles are deadly for tens of thousands of people every year – a vast majority traveling in cars and trucks.

Yet, del Barco uses the Thompson case from early this year to dig into the issue of motorists’ growing resentment toward cyclists:

The Mandeville Canyon driver’s reaction was perhaps an extreme example of the everyday resentment heard from other motorists.

"These bicyclists are extremely rude, and they take up the road — four, five people at a time," complained one caller to NPR member station KPCC’s show AirTalk. The caller said he lives in Mandeville Canyon, and he has had it with cyclists.

"When you pull up alongside them and ask them to stay out of your way, they yell at you," he said. "They’re extremely provocative, they’re asking for trouble, and this is not the worst case that’s going to happen. Someone’s going to get killed, and to be frank with you, the residents aren’t going to feel too bad about it."

This story constructs the problem as cyclist behavior, not the aggressive driving, honking, and impatience. This frame is strengthened by two subsequent passages: the first tells of reasonable but lawless behavior:

"When I see the light turn red, I try to race as fast as I can through it," she says, "because I know I will have a block of peace and quiet, where there won’t be cars behind me."

And the second provides an example of cyclists complaining bout law-breaking cyclists:

But even Thompson and another bike blogger, Ted Rogers, disapprove of reckless bike riders who maneuver through traffic as if playing a video game.
"Oh, we hate these guys," says Rogers. "We absolutely hate them. The driver you tick off is the one who’s going to run me off the road."

These instances are not out of the ordinary. For responsible and safe cyclists, sometimes running a red light is safer (like waiting to make a left turn) than standing in the middle of an active intersection like a sitting duck. And much of the "problem" of cyclist behavior comes from irresponsible riders who flaunt both safety and the law.

This story has some real positives for cyclist safety – it gives advocates a voice and lays out the danger that motorists facilitate. But the overall tone of the story is that the problem lies in cycling, if not specific cyclists. We have a right to be on the road, and we should be treated as normal. Most motorists are patient and friendly in my own experience. But also in my own experience, far too many drivers are aggressive, rude, and outright dangerous. Why aren’t motorists and motor vehicles treated as a variable here? In this story, it is the cyclist who causes things, not the drivers. del Barco, in effect, further normalizes "motorism" and implicitly marginalizes cycling as a normal, appropriate, and legal method of travel.

by BikeSD Staff

Sky Boyer: One Visionary Behind a San Diego Bicycling Renaissance

Sky Boyer, the owner of Velo Cult, is a visionary in San Diego when it comes to the growing bicycle scene. His bicycle store specializes in steel bikes and ensuring that every rider gets the right bike for themselves. BikeSD had the opportunity to ask Sky a few questions about him self, his philosophy and about his vision for bicycling in San Diego.

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BikeSD: Tell us a little bit about yourself: how long have you been a cyclist? How long have you been a bicycle commuter?

BikeSD: Why did you decide to focus on catering to the bicycle commuting population?What have the rewards been like? What about the challenges?

Sky: Five years from now I think the huge abundance of new cyclists this city just fostered recently will mature in their cycling and we'll hit a real Renaissance. I've seen this in other cities. For example, people get really excited using their bicycles for commuting and then a few years later they become well rounded cyclists with all the correct nice gear and they become the gurus to everyone around them. It will leave us with a very bike knowledgeable town similar to what San Francisco and Portland have right now.

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Thanks Sky for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions. The bicycling scene in San Diego is definetly beginning to pick up. There has been a convergence of ideas, activism and events all of which began fairly recently. It is exciting to be part of this wave as it is starting to pick up steam.

Velo Cult is located in the neighborhood of South Park in San Diego. The address is:

2220 Fern St
San Diego, CA 92104
619.819.8569

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Photo of Velo Cult was taken by Matt Lingo.

by BikeSD Staff

Links and News from around the web

Here are a few news items that caught my eye recently:

Since our last post about the San Diego road standards hearing, the Planning Commission has rescheduled its hearing to December 18, 2009. At the last hearing, Kathy Keehan, Executive Director for the bicycle coalition, had spoken noting that new or widened roads needed to accommodate bicycle traffic.

The city of San Diego has a $179 million budget shortfall. To ease the gap, the city's police horses are on their way out. They were be replaced by bicycles and foot patrol.

Further north, the LAPD used its time to tackle the problem that is critical mass.

by BikeSD Staff