Last week’s “Pearls Before Swine” had a cartoon about bikers that is so appropriate for Davis. The pig asks the biker, “Shouldn’t traffic laws apply to everyone equally?” He replies that bikers are the top of the pyramid and the rest are scum.
Every time I walk through the UC Davis campus, I see a bikers coast through stop signs or not look at corners or ignore pedestrians. I cringe inside. Is it ignorance or defiance? As a believer in everyone’s basic goodness, I assume ignorance.
Two of my friends have had horrendous accidents where a bicyclist ran into them. And if I know two, how many more are there out there?
We must train students at UCD to ride bikes properly, bike safely and obey the traffic laws. Most students don’t realize that traffic laws protect everyone. If we require bikes to be licensed on campus, why not require safety training for students before they can ride them? Are campus police giving tickets for bike traffic violations? Why not get concerned students, faculty and staff to help with orientation or new biker training?
Although the problem is not limited to UCD campus, the volume of bikers there makes it extremely important to address. We can educate for bike safety and prevent the next serious accident from happening.