Cycle of Fear

You know those New Year's Resolutions that people make with the best of intentions? I left home this afternoon with a new resolve firmly in mind. I decided to ride my bike from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village in Manhattan on an errand while obeying every traffic law. As a long-time car driver, I am very familiar with all these laws. This is necessary, because bike riders in NYC are subject to all rules governing motor vehicles, plus additional rules which the typical car driver would not need to consider, such as no travel on sidewalks.

My motivation was not due to a sudden burst of civic virtue. Rather, the impetus was this morning's newspaper, which contained a detailed article about the recent crackdown by the NYPD on bikers who fail to obey the Vehicle & Traffic Law. The article discussed the fines now imposed on errant bikers for going through red lights or traveling the wrong way on a one-way street, which could easily exceed the value of one's bike. The article included a picture of young bikers ordered to attend a one day training session to teach proper riding practices. The final motivator was learning that punishment now sometimes included the requirement of community service, which might mean cleaning the streets for a whole day. Wow! An urban Cool Hand Luke!

So off I went on my 14 mile round trip. In the past, I've loved the exercise and the freedom which biking afforded. This time, however, there was no joy in Mudville. It isn't that I got a ticket, but by the time I got home I was frustrated and exhausted trying to obey rules designed primarily for automobiles, cabs, and trucks.

At first it was easy, though in my mind senseless. I stopped at every red traffic light, even at corners where there were no cars and watched pedestrians cross all around me. I imagined they were quietly smirking and laughing at me. In general, I put myself in more danger than ever before to reach my destination. When I spotted cops or police patrol cars, I imagined I still did something wrong, and notwithstanding my best efforts would get a ticket for something I missed--e.g.,failure to signal a turn or to ride in a designated bike lane. My common sense and good judgment had become irrelevant. By the time I got home, I was like a nervous wreck. This routine trip almost ranked with times I've had a flat tire miles from home or gotten caught in a sudden downpour with no place to stay dry.

Hopefully, the supporters of increased biking at the City's Dept of Transportation, who have dramatically increased the number of dedicated bike lanes in the City, will champion a reasonable modification of the rules to make them more accommodating to the growing number of bike enthusiasts in the City.