Bicycle Board Members,
Thanks to Chip, Ryan and gunnar for helping me craft the following response to Mr. Smith.
Frank
Begin forwarded message:
From: BikeMorgantown bikemorgantown@gmail.com Date: August 15, 2011 3:57:00 PM EDT To: Bryan_C_Smith@nerdshack.com Bryan_C_Smith@nerdshack.com Subject: Re: Complaint - Rule Breaking Bikers
Dear Mr. Smith,
Thank you for your message. I'm delighted that you have seen the ads and appreciate your comments.
You are correct, the ads do not show cyclists disobeying rules. We chose to show cyclists obeying rules. The purpose of the ads is to educate.
The first three spots: "Always Ride with the Flow of Traffic", "Obey Intersection Rules" and "Always Scan, Signal and Negotiate" are aimed directly at cyclists and are intended to show cyclists proper behavior to avoid the most common cyclist errors that cause crashes. Spots 4-7: "Treat Bicycles the Same as Other Vehicles", "Passing Cyclists Safely", "Yield to Traffic that has the Right of Way" and "Watch for Cyclists" address key motorist errors that cause crashes with bicycles. In each of these cases, first the motorist error is shown and then the correct motorist action is shown. In these spots, the intention is to show each error from a cyclist's eye view to make both cyclists and motorists aware of the jeopardy in which these movements put the cyclist and then to show the proper movement. If you're interested in viewing these video spots at your leisure, you can see them at http://bikemorgantown.com/articles.php?str=2010/08/psas-complete.html
I too have observed bicyclists violating the rules of the road. Teaching the rules of the road is the primary emphasis of the Confident City Cycling Traffic Skills 101 classes that we teach every Monday night and one weekend each month. Please check the calendar at http://bikemorgantown.com/calendar.php for the schedule and more complete course descriptions.
Your statement, "Since this campaign kicked off, I’ve seen no real world examples of such behavior." prompts me to ask how much you ride and where. As both a bicyclist and a motorcyclist, I have frequently observed the shown motorist errors. Talk with a seasoned cyclist or go into any bike shop and I'm sure you'll hear plentiful tales of motorists pulling out in front of cyclists, passing them too closely and cutting in front of them. Federal Highway Administration studies have shown such errors to be major causes of crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles. In addition to the rules of the road, in Traffic Skills 101 we also teach bicycle handling skills to prevent motorists making these errors and to avoid crashes caused by them.
If you ride a bike or are considering riding a bike, I hope you will scan the BikeMorgantown.com website and perhaps register for one or our classes. If you send me your surface mail address, I'll send you some hard copies of other educational materials that we are distributing. Perhaps you could help us convert some of those rule breaking jerks into model cyclists.
In any case, I am grateful for your interest and hope you will tell others about Morgantown's Confident City Cycling program.
Frank D. Gmeindl Chairman, Morgantown Municipal Bicycle Board LCI #1703 491 WilsonAvenue Morgantown, WV 26501 304-376-0446 Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles
On Aug 9, 2011, at 5:06 PM, Bryan_C_Smith@nerdshack.com Bryan_C_Smith@nerdshack.com wrote:
Dear sir or ma’am,
Pardon me for disturbing you, but I have a complaint about your ad campaign. In the “Same Roads, Same Rules, Same Rights” ads, all of the examples of carelessness/malfeasance involve the drivers of automobiles disrespecting (or putting at risk) bicyclists – but none showing the reverse. Since this campaign kicked off, I’ve seen no real world examples of such behavior. However, I have seen bikers flagrantly disrespecting the rules of the road. For example, at the 4-way stop by the WVU Business School, I recently saw a man on a bicycle mixed in with a line of cars stopped at the red light. Rather than wait, he got out of line, passed the five cars in front of him, and then turned left on the red light. Luckily, there wasn’t any oncoming traffic at the moment – but that’s pretty flagrant, dangerous, and hardly an example of the “same rules” applying to both vehicle types. Now, I respect the goal your trying to reach. But please try for a slightly more balanced tone – bikers can be every bit the rule breaking jerks that automobile drivers can be. And if you could remind the local bicyclists that they have to follow the rules of the road too, it would be nice. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Bryan Smith