Notice the NRA guys stand BEHIND him.

Listening to the Iowa Public Radio program The Exchange on Monday, I heard the tail end of a broadcast dealing with the proposed bill and amendments involving cyclists and the vehicle passing law.  The first half of the program is dealing with parks, so you can forward to the halfway point of the show.

The Exchange MP3 Click here to download the MP3

Mason City's own State Representative Sharon Steckman was on the program talking about an amendment she wrote.  Another Representative, Buford T. Justice, was on the program to speak his mind about the the bill.

I had thoughts of anger, thoughts of agreement, and thoughts of "You got to be kidding me".  

I agree that there are laws and regulations that cyclists just don't understand.  I agree that when cycling, two abreast, three abreast, and riding near the center line isn't the best plan when traffic is near.  I agree that some form of education on the laws needs to happen.  I strongly feel however, that a licensing program, or "Cycling License" isn't the answer.  What are we going to start, The Iowa DUMB (Department of Un Motorized Bicycles)?  Show up there, get your vanity plates with your favorite state song bird or university?  Give me a break.  I guess the only upside if they were to initiate a cycling license program - is once you get the damn thing - it will never be taken away.  Just ask this guy.

And the tax/license fee bogusness?  How we as cyclists don't pay taxes at the pump or in the DMV - and as such, don't pay for the roads we use.  Give me a show of hands - all those reading this blog - WHO DON'T OWN A MOTOR VEHICLE OF SOME SORT - RAISE YOUR HANDS.  What?!?  None of you?  (or maybe just one) You all have at least one vehicle?  Does that mean that you occasionally buy fuel?  Once a year pay your registration fees for the  gas guzzler?  Man.  Sounds like maybe you are footing some of the bill - wether the non cyclists like it or not.  Their your roads too

I am thinking of charging all walkers who walk down my sidewalk a tax.  Hey, it's my sidewalk.  I have to maintain it.  Salt costs money.  Shovels cost money.  Here you are enjoying my sidewalk at no cost to you - using your rubber soled shoes - tearing up my cement.  Let's not even get into the roller bladders and skateboarders on my sidewalk, or the cross country skiers who may pass through my backyard.  That's my snow!  Took me all winter to get it to that state.  Leave your 25 cents, and move on.

The call for cyclists to display slow moving triangles, moped style flags, or to have half of the cycling kit be "hunter orange" or "school bus yellow" is totally not the answer.  Representative Justice's liking cycling to hunting, where pheasant and deer hunters are required to display hunter orange while in the field just doesn't jive with our sport.  First of all, unless you are in the film Easy Rider, I don't think any vehicles are "gunning" for someone on two wheels.  

When hunting, everyone is out to shoot something.  The reason for the orange is so that someone doesn't accidentally shoot another person - either by mistaking that person for the intended huntee or by not seeing the other person when shooting the weapon.  Using the hunting analogy, it would be like saying that motorized vehicles are out on the road "looking to hit something", and cyclists better wear orange to make sure they are not mistaken for something worth hitting.

To steal a quote from a good friend "I guess that we better have every motorized vehicle on the road painted hunter orange or school bus yellow".  In the bike vs car - car wins.  Car vs semi - semi wins.  Semi vs train - train wins - verbiage vomit - if everything out there was hunter orange or school bus yellow.  Everyone would always see everyone else!  Bang - no more accidents.

Keep the kids safe at any costs.  Even in a roll over.

Don't even get me started on camo vehicles.  Good god.  What do we do with them?  Vehicles TRYING not to be seen.  That's a danger - just think.  A truck sneaking up on an unsuspecting cyclists.  And if that cyclists doesn't have their 50' of reflective tape wrapped around their entire body.  79 square feet of hunter blaze orange poncho.  That sneaky little bastard is going to run them over.

Hardly even noticed this thing coming down the road.  How about this one?

Again.  I am not against safety.  I am not telling people on bikes to have reverse road rage against their fellow auto drivers.  Don't TRY to take up as much room on the road as you can because you think you are allowed to.  Be courteous, move over when you can, treat drivers with the same respect that you would ask for yourself.  Have lights on your bike when it is dark.  And the difficult one, obey traffic laws.  I break them all the time.  I hardly never stop for a stop sign.  But I am going to try.  I am going to make an attempt to follow the rules that are written.  I want the auto brethren to see that at least one cyclist is trying.  Can you try?