An invitation to sit on Hughes Road and watch cyclists run stop signs. Don't say you weren't invited.

The letter to the editor fight at the Gazette continues. In addition to last week's action, there's another letter I missed. This one from Michael Klein of Poolesville. Mr. Klein is a remarkable man, who is apparantly able to know, by observation, where people come from and their relative level of humility.

come out to Poolesville and witness the arrogance and lack of law-abiding bicyclists. I have seen some of the most outrageous behavior from these bicyclists and they reside in Washington, D.C., and bike in Poolesville.

He adds

Sit on Hughes Road and watch groups of 10 to 20 cyclists blasting through stop signs at Hughes Road and Westerly Avenue, and giving the middle fingers to drivers that try to alert them when driving up behind them because they are too far out in the road and not using the tax-paid bike lanes. They need to pay road taxes, have an ID tag on their bike, so that we can contact the police and report them when they break the road rules. They need to be held accountable for their negligent actions.

I don't doubt that they run stop signs or give the middle finger to drivers who sit behind them and honk their horns at them. The middle finger is probably not very productive, but it's hard to distinguish a "hello, I am here behind you, FYI" horn from a "Get the f*** out of my douchkitty" horn. If you don't want the finger, don't honk your horn. I don't condone the finger, but last I checked, no one ever contracted psoriasis from it either.

Basically your boilerplate anti-cyclist screed with scofflaw cyclist complaints, misinformation about where cyclists are allowed, false free-rider claims and calls for license plates. It includes the "cyclists are a menace" line, which is standard in such writing. Of course, there likely has not been a single person in Poolesville injured, let along killed, by a cyclists in 50 years. Probably a different story for motor vehicles. Nonetheless, Klein is fed up.

Beatrice Fitch decides to help Klein out by making something up that is entirely untrue.

In almost every other country in the world, cyclists are obliged to register their bicycles, to pay for the registration and to affix a small license plate (ID tag) so that — in case of accidents or infractions — the owner of the bicycle can be held to account.

In London, I believe bike couriers have to have plates. I can't think of anywhere else. So, she's very close to right...IF a subset of cyclists in one city is close to the entire world.

it also brings in revenue to cover the costs of maintaining roads and bicycle paths. What's not to like?

I don't know, how about that it discourages cycling while bringing in very little revenue? And that Mongomery County, Maryland, the United States and the UN all have voiced support for encouraging (aka the opposite of discouraging) biking? Not to mention how difficult it would be to institute. What about out of state cyclists? How big would the plate be? Where would one affix it? Has the London program been effective? But that's just off the top of my head.

Frequent washcycle commenter (though not lately) Nancy Taylor responds with less vitriol, but more facts (7 of them to be correct - though they either cut 5 or she made a counting error).

First, there is no such thing as "road tax." Local county roads such as Hughes are constructed and maintained with money from Montgomery County's general fund, and the majority of money in the general fund comes from property and local income taxes. Second, there are no bike lanes on Hughes. Third, cyclists are not required to get out of the way of impatient motorists at the toot of a horn (and motorists who honk angrily at cyclists shouldn't be surprised to get an angry response in return). Fourth, no matter where the cyclists live, they are entitled to use public roads. (Mr. Klein, even though you reside in Poolesville, you are allowed to drive in Washington, D.C.). Sixth, most every cyclist Klein is complaining about also owns a car and is a licensed driver who pays gasoline taxes, registration fees and the like. In Maryland, even a portion of sales tax is now going toward state road construction and maintenance, because gax taxes and other vehicle fees don't cover all state road expenses. Seventh, though some cyclists may roll through stop signs (as I see motorists do every day), I have not heard of any incidents where drivers were endangered.

Finally, the cyclists on Hughes undoubtedly were on their way to or from businesses in Poolesville, where they spend money.

Oh no she didn't...

Mike Cavey, meanwhile, talks about the law

The cyclist, as a courtesy, is supposed to move over to the right as much as safely possible, but the cyclist can utilize just as much of the right lane if needed as a driver. Look that up in your Maryland Driver’s Handbook. Also, were you aware that a driver in Maryland, by law, has to give at least 3 feet of space, at least an arm’s length, when passing a cyclists?

And Denise Cohen of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance piles on some more

In several other respects, however, the writer seems to be manufacturing facts. For example, he claims that the cyclists he sees running stop signs "reside in Washington, D.C." If, as the writer points out, cyclists don't have "ID tags," how is he able to identify them as D.C. residents?

Klein also refers to additional myths like "tax-paid bike lanes" on Hughes Road and Westerly Avenue (there are none) and road taxes (there is no such thing). County road improvements are paid out of a general fund comprising, in part, property taxes.

Which leads me to my next point. The writer is annoyed that non-county cyclists use county roads for cycling. "How dare they," he implies. "I pay Maryland taxes, and they don't. Therefore they have no right to use county roads." He doesn't complain about non-county motorists using county roads. If it makes the writer feel better, I own a house Montgomery County that serves as my main residence. I can assemble a list (numbering in the hundreds) of people who cycle in Poolesville and who are Montgomery County residents.

Public roads are a shared resource. Motorists and cyclists would do well to learn how they are maintained and how to use them legally.

So, is that to be the last of it or will it drag on like The Facts of Life did when they had the season with just Blair and she owned the school? I hope not.

Comments

[ontarioroader]

If we do go out and count cyclists running stop signs, can we stop by to give him the results at

[Jim Titus]

I suggest just inviting him along for the videography, get him to explain his concern on camera, and then carry on an educational dialogue with him as you photograph things that are both legal and illegal.

[Michael D.]

When DC can start collecting a commuter tax, like many cities in the USA do, I'll be happy to pay any cycling tax Michael Klein of Poolesville can dream up.

[Nancy]

I wanted to say they took out point number 6 because it was so powerfully true it would've caused riots, but in reality, I simply miscounted. (Argh! I hate accusing someone else of being "error-ridden" while making my own mistakes.) They cleaned up the count in the print edition, at least.

[Jeff]

A common yet never commented on part of this rant is "they need tags so we can report them." Given that I've never had police respond when motorists endanger me or drive illegally in my presence- then sure, report me for California stopping. I'm sure the police will get right on that. They'll have 'em working in shifts!

[Aaron]

Jeff - seriously, I've called in and reported dangerous passing with license #s, state of registration, and description of the vehicle and have each time been told there is nothing they can do. Good luck with those tags.

Ontarioroader, out of line - Mr. Washcycle I hope you'll delete that info.

[Joe Franken]

I am all for paying a registration/road tax. I am embarrassed at the behavior we bicyclists display on the road. We are concerned for our safety and want to return home our family, but we choose dangerous roads to ride on and play Lance Armstrong. I too have ridden in Poolesville and what I think Klein meant was the majority are from D.C. People park at the schools and have bike racks on them. There are a lot of D.C. tags on those cars, as well as Virginia. We also play a role and make it dangerous for the typical vehicle. I know I have been concerned when driving at the posted sppeed limit and come accross a bike without any mirrors or headlight/taillight. If we are that concerned about our safety, shouldn't we be more proactive and have similar safety items on our bicycles that automobiles have? Or, are we that cheap and rather spout out on automobiles? You know, I have to laugh at the latest article that someone thought they brought in a lot of revenue to Poolesville. I seriously doubt our purchase of Gatorade, water, and energy bars are making a big difference. Also, I think they have an issue with shopping there because they have said we are unsanitary. I know I have walked into the CVS with sweat drenched tights and was dripping sweat on the floor. We are a guest when we ride in their town. We need to be more considerate of others and not feel we own the road. If we are to share, we need to equip our bicycles with Lights and mirrors. It is a team effort and we need to take responsibility for our own safety and not just blame the cars. We are all entitled to our opinions and putting someone's address out there is immature. Just be careful because that town does watch and you never know who owns surveillance cameras.

[Jerry]

I live on the corner of Fletchall and Hughes and do see bikes running stop signs. You may end up on the hood of a car. Why would you think nothing would happen to you if you ran a stop sign? There have been a few deaths of bicyclists because they ran a stop sign on River Road extended. Looks at the memorials on the side of the roads. Always thinking about yourself and not others? Did you ever stop to actually use thought in that brain and consider the danger being so unlawful? Poolesville is a township and very tight knit. Be very careful.

[washcycle]

Joe, mirrors don't really make you any safer. For me, they make me queasy and I have to stare in them to see behind me. Way better to turn around. And lights are only needed at night. I think cyclists do a very good job of sharing the road in the vast majority of cases. When they start running cars off the road, let me know.

Jerry, I think nothing will happen to me if I run a stop sign because that's what actually happens. Cyclists run 90% of stop signs according to some studies and yet failure to obey them is a small category of crashes.

What's with the threats by the way?

[Nancy]

There are only a couple of bike fatalities I can recall out on River Rd. One was Judith Love, a triathlete who was killed by a drunk driver who crossed the yellow line and went all the way over into the opposing lane and shoulder, hitting her head on.

There was also the more recent case of a young boy trying to cross River at Travilah, I think (where the posted speed limit is 50}. There is no indication that he ran a stop sign, just that he misjudged the speed of the driver who hit and killed him.

Jerry, do you have any other cases to mention? The car crashes that happen out that way that have nothing to do with cyclists are too numerous to list.

[Nancy]

Ack! I meant Judy Flannery (not Judith Love). Here's an item in the NYT about her:
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/05/us/auto-kills-judy-flannery-57-a-powerhouse-in-triathlon.html