Once again there has been an accident on a bicycle involving a foreign worker. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/07/07/3574200/police-charge-man-who-hit-bicyclist.html. Some would point at the fact she was riding the wrong way in the bike lane. Some blame the driver of the vehicle due to alcohol consumption. Many of us have been hit by a car through no fault of our own (me included) and we tend to blame drivers for all of our problems. If either the driver or the rider in this case had been doing what they ought or not doing what they ought then this would not have happened.
But what is our responsibility as cyclists in our community? Getting angry at drivers is counterproductive. we will in no way change the attitude of drivers by yelling or flipping them off (I’ve been guilty of both.) And it only may serve to antagonize them even further for the next encounter they have with a cyclist. And yelling really doesn’t make us feel better. I like the idea of carrying the SC regulations and having them handy. I think it servers us well when we wave thank you to drivers who yield us their right of way and are courteous. The best course of action may be to say nothing at all to those drivers who accost us. And if it’s a truly dangerous situation to take the license number and report them to law enforcement. Whatever we do we need to ride defensively. In a battle with a 3500 pound car and a sub 20 pound bike, the bike looses every time.
Be safe, be courteous and ride defensively.
Rich
