Spokesman-Review Letters to the editor
Bicycling laws beg enforcement

As a person who spends between four and six hours daily driving the streets of downtown Spokane, I’m pleading with our police chief to help me and the other drivers of this city deal with the ever-increasing bicyclists we face daily. It is rare that a day goes by that I don’t encounter a bicyclist ignoring traffic signals, cutting through lanes without signaling, and even driving the wrong way against traffic.

It is my understanding that bicyclists have the duty to obey the traffic laws just as those of us in cars or trucks. I know the law states that if a bicycle is ridden in the roadway they are subject to all the duties that other vehicles are and are granted the same rights as the other vehicles (RCW 46.61.755). If they choose to ride on sidewalks they become equal to a pedestrian in their rights and responsibilities.

With increasing bicycle traffic due to higher fuel prices, can we drivers get some help from the local authorities by encouraging them to enforce the laws so we don’t have to place ourselves in jeopardy in dealing with the bicyclists who choose to break the law?

Ray Moss
Spokane

We had this discussion around here last week; as a result of high gas prices and more people taking to the roads on bikes, a lot of us have recently seen bicyclists riding against the flow of traffic, darting out of nowhere, and fewer riders wearing helmets.

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