Legitimizing Cycling
In particular, we want to legitimize cycling as a form of transportation. In most of America, at least, cycling is not considered ‘legitimate’ - by regular people, by authorities, etc. From all that I’ve been reading on the international scene, there is a long way to go overseas, too.
We can build Google Maps mashups forever - and many of us will - as well we should - but we want cycling to be seen by tens of millions of people as a legitimate form of transportation. That process will take time, but Google can help us get there by including bicycling directions in the core Google Maps service.
Tuscon Bike Lawyer tells us about some of the things his clients have faced:
The Arizona Daily Star has an article today on Tucson’s “bicycle friendly” nature. It features comments by Richard Corbett and others about Tucson’s desire to be the second city in the entire nation to achieve “Platinum” status by the League of American Bicyclists. This would put us at the very top in terms of how “bike friendly” our city is.
I have lots of mixed feelings about this, as readers of this blog know. For one thing, once you are at the top there should be nowhere else to go, but I see lots of room for improvement. Particularly in terms of how local law enforcement handles bicyclists who get assaulted by motorists, but also how it handles those who are injured.
I have clients who were hit in left-hooks, right-hooks, hit by baseball bats, shot at by paint-ball guns, struck head-on, deliberately struck from behind, and hit with fists — all of whom got next to no help from the police department. I have a client who was charged with misdemeanor damage because his body left a dent in the car that swerved into him.
I have another who was cited for not having a bike light on his bike after a motorist did an illegal U-turn and plowed into him in broad daylight, sending him to the hospital.
Be sure to read the whole thing.
The idea of this post is not to attack one particular group or organization - it’s to show how serious the situation is.