Posted: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:00 am
Nobody wants to get into an argument with a guy who has endured six months of rehabilitation after being hit by an SUV while riding his bicycle. That's just what happened to 58-year-old Jim Bombardier as he was pedaling along Highway 30.
But with all due respect, we have to take
exception to Bombardier's statement about a bill being kicked around in the Legislature that would require motorists to give bicyclists a three-foot safety buffer when passing them from behind:
"If it's enforced and people take it conscientiously, it will save lives" Bombardier told The Associated Press.
Well, we doubt it. Three feet is not much room at all. In fact, we'd be reluctant to let motorists think that a yard is enough room to give bicyclists on the road.
But what's really off-putting about this proposal is the wrong-headed assumption that passing laws is an effective way to reach those reckless, clueless, drunk, tired, distracted, vision-impaired or downright careless motorists who cause traffic accidents in the first place.
It's already illegal to drive in such a way as to cause injury to another, whether that person is a pedestrian, another motorist or riding a bicycle, skateboard or a desert camel, for that matter.
Writing more laws that now define a "safety buffer" likely will delight lawyers, but it will do little to ensure the safety of the public. Cases that come down to a "Yes, you were; no, I wasn't" argument could crowd the court docket without advancing the cause of bicycle safety.
More, safer bicycle pathways are a good answer, and so this is a good time to thank the state Transportation Enhancement Committee for recommending to the Oregon Department of Transportation that a 9-mile "rail-to-trail" bicycle route along railroad tracks between Corvallis and Albany get a green light.
We won't know until Feb. 21 whether the Oregon Transportation Commission gives the $460,000 initial expenditure the go-ahead, and final completion will cost much more, but it is a great idea. It would ease congestion and provide bike commuters and pedestrians with a safer alternative than the sometimes-narrow and winding Highway 20.
We applaud Mr. Bombardier's impulse in trying to save others from the misfortune he suffered. But the best way to decrease the chances of a crash between bicycles and motorizied vehicles is to provide as big a buffer between those forms of transportation as possible. One yard just isn't enough.