by Raymond L. Marr

Created on: August 04, 2008

The story of cycling and the attitude of the driving public at large. what has come to be affectionately termed cagers, for individuals who are stuck in a car aka cage. As a cycle commuter I have the opportunity to explore how drivers can be in close vicinity and I must say thus far most individuals are pretty good about it. That is as long as you travel just as a vehicle would. In part because that way you are more predictable, and you move with the flow of traffic. It is not to say every person who rides a bike takes the time to change the perspective from being a pedestrian on wheels to a vehicle traveling on public roads.

There is a couple different categories on a person who rides a bike, it is in these categories, that the attitude of the drivers also change. First let us explore the cyclist who travels as a vehicle, uses hand signals and goes with the flow of traffic. The majority of drivers at least in my experience are quite appreciative of that manner of cycle commuting. It is not to say every driver is an angel and wholly appreciative of a person riding a bike as a vehicle, just in my experience a majority of those in cars who come upon a bicyclist in the lane, stopping at lights, and using hand signals offer the same respect to this type of cyclist as they would another car on the road. Certainly a slower vehicle but still considered a vehicle because they are acting like a vehicle. It would be nice to say every driver I come upon in my commutes is great and wonderful though there are always the others. The ones who are stressed out, thinking they own the lane, and still perceive as a person on a bike as a pedestrian on wheels. It is these specific individuals that tend to honk the horn, or pass to close to the bicyclist in this supposed rush to the next red light. It makes little sense surely, but to counter that you just follow the common advice of driving defensively.

The second category, that I am sorry to say I see to often, is the recreational bicyclist, or the individual who perceives the false notion that they are just on a toy, a pedestrian on wheels. IT is these individuals that may be part of the reason that many a driver considers a person on a bicyclist as a pedestrian on wheels. In the sense that as a pedestrian you ride on the sidewalk, against traffic, ride across the street without any motion to let the drivers know what you are doing. The same individuals who tend to jump off curbs into traffic going against it.

These individuals

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