[tbc] letter to the editor

[Moni]

For all who missed a good letter to the editor at the Tulsa World

-- 
Moni


 Stay off the sidewalks!           10/11/2007

Tulsa bicycle riders should get off the sidewalks! That isn't where
they are supposed to ride. They have every right to be on the roadway.
State law declares they are operating a human powered vehicle. They
are not pedestrians. It's illegal to ride on sidewalks in any business
district. In a sidewalk accident, guess who's at fault? The cyclists.

Research shows sidewalk cyclists have higher accident rates than road
cyclists. Sidewalks aren't smooth, seldom have ramps, are narrow and
have poor visibility. This 4-foot-wide strip is not designed to handle
wheeled vehicles flying along.

About 80 percent of accidents happen at intersections -- that's any
point where traffic turns or crosses, including side streets and
driveways. Flying down that little ribbon of cement with no right of
way, every driveway, every side-street, every major or minor road that
it crosses increases their chance of an accident.

Sidewalk cyclists must yield to pedestrians, dodge the cracks and
crevices, swerve around the poles and trash cans, and yield to cars at
every crossing. The round wheels don't fit in the rectangle walkway.

Take a bicycle education course through Tulsa Parks.
Same rights, same rules, same roads.

Brian Potter, Tulsa