Should truckers crush cars? (An analogy)
2007-07-02 / 11:22 / dave
Crime and perception is an interesting article on Cyclelicious about bikes & breaking the law. The premise is that driver’s deride cyclists lane splitting and red-light running while conveniently ignoring their own red-light running, speeding, failure to yield, double parking, etc etc etc.
I agree. But it’s different than my personal justification for running lights: the effects of illegal biking are far less dangerous. I might scratch your hood and raise your car insurance, but I’d gladly swap for my ER trip. In short, car’s are more dangerous; their operation requires more responsibility. That’s probably why you need a license to drive one. By analogy, car + 18-wheeler = bad news for the car. Hence truckers need a commercial license.
Most driver’s acknowledge the discrepancy. How often have you heard “cyclists need to be careful because regardless of right or wrong it’s their life.” While this is completely true–which is why I approach every green light ready to stop–it places the responsibility of survival solely on the cyclist. Isn’t the responsibility of the large and deadly to protect the vulnerable?
To complete the analogy, are trucker’s running around saying “Those cars better get out of my way because if I’m not paying attention I’ll crush them like ants”?