No News is Good News...
this is an old saying that holds a great deal of truth
especially if your news alerts pertain to bikes
I run a less than sophisticated GOOGLE ALERT on the topic of BIKE
this gives me a daily feed of news related topics that contain the word BIKE
sadly... each day my GOOGLE ALERTS bring me all sorts of stories
why is this sad?
because each and every day there is a short blurb from somewhere in the country where a child has been hit and killed on the bike
these stories pain me
these stories give me grief
these stories build stress and tension
I want to stop reading these stories
I want these stories to stop
well... it is not the stories... it is the incidents I want to stop
the stories are almost always written from the perspective of a car driver
there is always a bit of a slant to it
perhaps I could become the editor of these stories before they go to print
better yet... maybe I could be the Crime Scene Investigator who asks the questions and gathers the facts
I live in the city... I ride my bike in the city... I ride my bike with my kids in the city
when riding with my two boys I try to teach them to ride safely and to expect the car traffic
but honestly... there is only so much I can do
we need car traffic to hold up their end of the bargain
if I were to ask for three simple things of car drivers it would be this
1. LOWER SPEEDS
2. COMPLETE STOPS AT STOP SIGNS AT THE STOP LINE
and
3. GREATER FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND (no phone... no texting... etc.)
these three simple things would have a positive ripple effect that would make the streets better for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists
is asking people to behave too much to ask?
it is not that I am asking people to live by the letter of the law
all I am asking is that they behave under the guidance of COMMON SENSE and COMMON COURTESY
this is an old saying that holds a great deal of truth
especially if your news alerts pertain to bikes
I run a less than sophisticated GOOGLE ALERT on the topic of BIKE
this gives me a daily feed of news related topics that contain the word BIKE
sadly... each day my GOOGLE ALERTS bring me all sorts of stories
why is this sad?
because each and every day there is a short blurb from somewhere in the country where a child has been hit and killed on the bike
these stories pain me
these stories give me grief
these stories build stress and tension
I want to stop reading these stories
I want these stories to stop
well... it is not the stories... it is the incidents I want to stop
the stories are almost always written from the perspective of a car driver
there is always a bit of a slant to it
perhaps I could become the editor of these stories before they go to print
better yet... maybe I could be the Crime Scene Investigator who asks the questions and gathers the facts
I live in the city... I ride my bike in the city... I ride my bike with my kids in the city
when riding with my two boys I try to teach them to ride safely and to expect the car traffic
but honestly... there is only so much I can do
we need car traffic to hold up their end of the bargain
if I were to ask for three simple things of car drivers it would be this
1. LOWER SPEEDS
2. COMPLETE STOPS AT STOP SIGNS AT THE STOP LINE
and
3. GREATER FOCUS ON THE TASK AT HAND (no phone... no texting... etc.)
these three simple things would have a positive ripple effect that would make the streets better for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists
is asking people to behave too much to ask?
it is not that I am asking people to live by the letter of the law
all I am asking is that they behave under the guidance of COMMON SENSE and COMMON COURTESY