Bikes should go on sidewalks, against traffic and thru red lights

This is in response to the inflammatory article "Boston's unruly riders" in the Boston Globe (Aug 7, 2009).

(Full disclosure: I love riding bikes and have been doing it almost all my life. I'm equally happy riding on the sidewalk or weaving through incredibly dangerous traffic in New Delhi)

THE MAIN POINT: bicyclists tend to disregard laws that disregard common sense. furthermore, there are nice bikers are not-so-nice bikers. ditto for pedestrians and cars. And Segway riders, joggers (man, they're annoying!) and wheelchair/scooter riders. Don't penalize the whole crowd for the actions of a few.

0. BICYCLES ARE NOT THAT DANGEROUS. Lets look at numbers. motorcycle liability insurance is about $140 a year, a TENTH of what car insurance costs. why? probably because cars are TEN TIMES more likely to cause serious accidents. I would argue that bikes on sidewalks are less dangerous than motorcycles on streets. Wonder if any insurance company offers liability for bicycles.

1. ON SIDEWALKS, pedestrians should have right of way over anything on wheels. this includes bikes, trikes, wheelchairs, scooters, motorized wheelchairs and segways. or should everything on wheels be sent to the street? okay then, there goes 80-year old grandpa in his wheelchair, in the bike lane, with an SUV next to him, belching out fumes, keeping him company. there's always a disrespectful fellow or two out there who goes on sidewalks too fast, but the majority don't behave this way, and educating the others would help keep the "risky" situations down. What about joggers? Some of them are quite annoying, brushing past you, slamming into you, expecting you to get out of their way (no, they should run around you).

2. SIDEWALKS ARE SAFER. riding on sidewalks is safer. bicyclists intuitively calculate the risks, which is why they do it: bicyclist + car = death. bicyclist + pedestrian = a few minor scrapes.

3. GOING AGAINST TRAFFIC. being able to see oncoming traffic that weighs a lot more than you do is safer for the bicyclist, especially when there is a bike lane. Flip side: approach velocity is higher, so in case of a collision, the damage to the biker is higher.

4. RUNNING THRU STOP LIGHTS & STOP SIGNS. stop lights and signs are annoying enough for people in cars. they are quite costly for bicyclists (in terms of energy) who have to lose momentum and build it up again. again, if they're safe and careful, they can use common sense to figure out if the oncoming traffic is low or high, slow or fast, and decide whether to go thru the red light or not. don't pedestrians do this all the time? jaywalking happens. so does "jayriding".

5. WHAT ABOUT LOUIE? finally, should Louie (boston's famous shouting tricyclist) be given a ticket because he barrels down a sidewalk? or are pedestrians just understanding, smile a bit, and get out of his way?

IN SUMMATION, we don't need ham-handed laws because of a few idiots. we're rule and law happy as a nation and perhaps need to revert to simpler principles that revolve around common sense. Just like boats do: big boats give way to the smaller boat. If you see a bigger boat, try to get out of its way. Similarly, pedestrians are #1 on the sidewalk. Everyone else should go around them.