Troubles in Philly

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/troubles-in-philly-lessons-for-new-york/

BSNYC has already covered this, but I'm more interested in the familiar argument that a few readers' comments present, which, were it an Aristotelian syllogism, would run like this:

Major Premise: Things that are injurious or lethal should be banned.

Minor Premise: Many bicyclists in urban environments fail to obey the rules of traffic and this leads to injury and, in extreme cases, death.

Conclusion: Bicycles should be banned.

Granted, this is a bit on an oversimplification, but I see versions of this argument time and time again. Most often, because people know I ride a bike on the road, the version I hear is that I shouldn't be allowed to ride in traffic for my own protection. In fact, I wish I had Campagnolo Retro Wool Cycling Jersey for every time someone had shaken a head and said to me with husky-voiced concern "People are just crazy out there on the road." While I appreciate this often earnest concern for my safety, this attitude also brings me to my point. If the—sometimes very large—portion of urban cyclists who break the rules (whether through arrogance or a mistaken sense that it's "safer") are dangerous, what does that make the population of drivers who do the same in vehicles that weigh 2000 pounds and are capable of speeds five times that of the ordinary cyclist?

I would never argue that riding against traffic, or skipping red lights, or any of the other bad behaviors some cyclists practice on a regular basis is justifiable. I actually try to correct riders who seem to be doing these things out of ignorance (as opposed to arrogance) when I see them on the street. But if breaking the laws of traffic and being generally irresponsible are grounds for being removed from the streets, it seems clear to me that we would be obliged to ban most vehicles—especially cars—from our roads. Car crashes account for about 40,000 deaths in the US alone, which is about 2.5 times the number of deaths we can pin on drug abuse. Where is the outrage? Hell, cars kill almost twice as many people every year in the country as guns. Where's the outcry for better car control?

Ultimately irresponsible behavior leads to preventable accidents. It doesn't matter if the jerk is on a bike or in a car: people get hurt. Since the problem is behavioral, the solution must address the loose nut behind the steering wheel or handle bars. As long as cities continue to write off bikes as something other than vehicles with less than full rights on the road, a portion of cyclists will respond by continuing to ignore the rules of traffic. At the same time, the longer we’re distracted by the various car v. bike arguments that dominate the discourse surrounding this issue, the longer we'll take to reach a sensible solution that address the real problems with how we move from A to B in much of this country.