Yes, Virginia, be afraid of this leadfoot

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Virginia vs The Bicycle Scofflaw

Last time, we talked about the Bicycle Scofflaw and the two or three things they constantly do, like:

riding on sidewalks – often, kids are told by adults to better ride on the safer sidewalks
rolling through STOP signs – aka Idaho Stop, which is legal in 12 red and blue states

Local traffic engineers often tolerate and even promote these acts (“class 2 bikeway” or “bikeable walkway”) because they don’t want to provide real solutions and real safety. Basically, if you want to protect yourself, go for it.

Virginia vs. The Big Foot

We also talked about Sasquatch and learned that the Yeti, the Skunk Ape, or Big Foot really must exist because, without them, the world would be a sadder place. Should Virginia be afraid of them? Probably not. Just behave when you are out in the woods, and don’t venture too far into the wilderness.

Virginia vs. The LeadFoot

There is, however, one creature Virginia and everyone else should be very, very afraid of: The LeadFoot or simply The Driver.

“If somebody does something questionable on a bicycle, they shall be called bicycle scofflaw. If somebody is doing something criminal in a car, we just call them a driver.” [Zarathustra]

The “Bicycle Scofflaw” myth was basically created and repeated by drivers to distract from all the scofflaw things people in cars are committing, like …

driving without a license
driving without registration
driving without insurance
driving without seatbelt
driving without the required child seat(s)
driving without adapting to conditions
driving with tinted windows
all the other things you didn’t know are in the California Driver’s Handbook

These are very common misdemeanors, but how about drivers that are …

eating while driving
texting while driving
talking while driving
listening to music while driving
listening to eBooks and podcasts while driving
driving with children
driving with pets
pulling out their phones at intersections

Most people would consider this normal behavior and mostly safe. And yet these could be filed under Distracted Driving if anything happens. A conversation on the phone is many times more distracting than a conversation in the car. People sitting inside the car can adjust and shut up immediately or even warn the driver in case of dangerous situations. People on the phone will just keep talking. They might also be emailing or texting in the worst possible situations, again distracting a driver addicted to the sounds of that beep (aren’t we all?).

A driver killed a cyclist in Moss Beach along SR-1, apparently because his puppy jumped off his lap.

But wait, there is more, drivers are also …

killing >40,000 people per year
running over dogs, cats, deer, mountain lions, bears, …
reckless driving, in general
exceeding every speed limit by at least 5-10 mph everywhere
tailgating
driving under the influence (DUI)
driving while intoxicated (DWI)
rolling through STOP signs (aka California STOP)
rolling through Right-Turn-On-Red (RTOR)
crossing into the bike lane (this killed a woman in Los Altos)
driving on the wrong side of the road
going against one-way traffic
illegal lane changes
not using turn-signals
not yielding to pedestrians
violating the right-of-way of other vehicles
turning into parking lots without watching the bike lane (aka right-hook)
blocking a bikeway and also NOT blocking a bikeway (at intersections)
violating the 3-feet clearance law
parking on the sidewalk
parking in front of fire hydrants
parking (wrongfully) in handicapped spots
blocking handicapped spots
blocking intersections
blocking crosswalks
blocking sight-lines and therefore preventing daylighting
parking against the direction of traffic
using windshield wipers while having their headlights still off
headlight usage (low beam, high beam, etc.)
carpool violations
Toll Bridge cheating

90% of all collisions happen due to human error, and that is mostly speed and distraction. Some would even say less than 1% of collisions are real ‘Acts of God,’ which is when a branch falls out of the sky or lightning strikes.

Every time a motorist is doing something wrong, they are immediately also a danger to others. If bicyclists or pedestrians do something stupid, they usually just endanger themselves. If a driver pulls out their phone and is texting, they are just one second away from vehicular manslaughter and jail time. If somebody on a bicycle pulls out their phone and starts texting while riding, we should applaud that circus act; if something happens, we can award them the Darwin Awards posthumously. And just for the record, even the Darwin Awards are clearly won by people with motor vehicles. There are way, way more cases of numbnuts doing stupid car tricks than people on bicycles on that website.

Can it get worse?

we are not done here, we still haven’t covered

Oakland-style Sideshows
Fast and Furious Street Racing
road rage, in general
parking spot murders
parking lot shootings
highway shootings
drive-by killings
bank robberies, getaway cars
car kidnapping
car bombs

So, Virginia, while the bicycle scofflaw might have his moments, what you really need to look out for is The Evil LeadFoot.

You have to admit either one of those infractions would look somewhat stupid on a bicycle. Bicycle road rage seems pretty rare and probably looks funny. Few people in Redwood City have ever stolen a bicycle and then “repeatedly ram both officer’s vehicles, causing major damage.” Murders over bicycle parking are totally unheard of. Maybe there is the occasional ride-by petty crime going on, but how many drive-by shootings, killings, and bank robberies have been committed on bicycles? And did the perps actually get away?

There are studies from Denmark that have shown:

When bike paths are present, only 5% of cyclists break some laws
Without bike paths, that number might jump to 14%
Whereas 66% of motorists break laws

And when you consider the number of laws and codes a motorist can break, 66% sounds too low.

More Information

FDOT: Everyone on the road is a law-breaking jerk
DMV: California Driver’s Handbook
NHTSA: Traffic Safety Facts Publications
Bend: Study finds Rolling Stops are safer for Bicyclists
NHTSA: Bicyclist Yield As Stop Fact Sheet

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions expressed in all blog posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Redwood City Pulse or its staff.