Bicycling should be a more respected mode of transportation
No matter what time of day you walk around campus, multiple people are traveling on bikes. For many college students, it’s their most reliable mode of transportation. So why is it that bikers have such a hard time getting around without hassle from their peers?
Idaho Law declares “Every person operating a vehicle propelled by human power or riding a bicycle should have all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle.”
The only exception for this is biking on the freeway, for obvious reasons.
This means a cyclist is allowed to ride on the right side of the road, and is entitled to a three-feet safe distance by passing cars. If a person on a bike is riding down a one-way road, they too, are allowed to change lanes. That goes with preparing for a left turn as well. Of course, one must remember to use their hand signals, much like a vehicle’s turn signals.
Biking has its advantages when it comes to rules on the road. When bikers approach a stop sign, if the roadways are clear, they are allowed to yield, and then go. When a biker is at a red light, they are permitted to use this as a stop sign, because many stoplights have sensors that bikers are not large enough to trigger.
People who drive cars become frustrated with these rules, because they have places to go, and bicycles “in their way” can slow them down. Yet, bicycles have strict rules to follow as well. They cannot just go anywhere they please on their bikes, and they also have to yield to pedestrians, even when riding on a sidewalk.
You can see how this slows them down as well. Drivers have more space to pass a bike on the wide road than a biker has to pass a pedestrian on the sidewalk.
Another reason biking should be respected is the little impact it has on our fragile environment. Pollutants caused by car emissions become nonexistent when riding a bike.
No harm can be done to the planet by a bicycle on the road, and it gets our bodies moving more. Something that is important in a nation that’s obesity rate ranks No.1 compared with other countries, according to the World Health Organization.
Biking also doesn’t add extra time to the commute, in some cases. I once compared the time it took to drive from a friend’s house versus how long it took to ride my bike there. The surprising news is that, it took the same amount of time — nine minutes. The reason for this is there is so much more traffic when it comes to driving places.
Finally, biking is cheaper than driving. Even buying an expensive bike can cost less than a rundown vehicle. Choosing to ride your bike instead of driving saves enormous amounts of money on gas.
Paying the campus fee for parking tickets with the little amount of space to park, makes it almost pointless to even drive. If you don’t believe that biking can really save you a good chunk of change, there are apps that calculate the difference between biking vs. driving, which allows you to plug in numbers and see how much both systems of transportation cost. I urge you to try it and see what difference biking can make in your life.
Biking is more efficient, not only for the person, but for the environment. Next time you drive past a biker within a foot from you, don’t rev your engine and roll your eyes. Think about the good they are doing for themselves and the world, and give them their space and a smile instead.
Emily Lowe can be reached at [email protected]