bullshit bike “story” tonight on Channel 5
Here’s the promo link.
Here’s my letter to the station:
I watched with dismay the promo for the story on “dangerous bicycles” you’re planning to air tonight. As a year-round bicycle commuter, I am well-aware of the danger a small minority of cyclists can be on the road and certainly don’t condone their behavior. In my experience, it’s largely young cyclists who are simply transferring the same bad habits they would have driving to bicycle use. I and many of my fellow year-round bicycle commuters in the Twin Cities do follow the rules of the road and ride responsibly, and we feel that the sort of inflammatory “investigation” you’re broadcasting makes the road a less safe place for ALL cyclists to ride. Nobody, neither drivers nor cyclists, needs to have any fuel added to the tension on the road between these twin legitimate road uses. It’s hard enough to battle the attitude that a driver owns the road without painting all cyclists with the broad brush of lawlessness that your story depicts. Encouraging new bike commuters is good for the personal and environmental health of our community, but your story will go far to discourage people from trying a wonderful alternative to driving and ever-higher fuel costs.
I suggest producing an additional story to provide the balanced reporting that responsible journalists strive for. Have a reporter commute by bicycle to work and for basic errands for one month, with a daily commute of no less than 10 miles total. This would provide some sorely needed first-hand experience of what it’s like to be a cyclist on the roads every day in the Twin Cities. It would also, coincidentally, make for a great story. Additional angles could include any near-collisions from inattentive or aggressive drivers, the best cycling routes for commuters, the stores that best serve customers who arrive by bicycle, and some of the many local bicycle-related companies who are working to promote expanded bicycle use.
Bicycle commuting is an increasingly important story in our environmental and economic climate. As record numbers of bicycle commuters hit the road, responsible and balanced reporters should be giving equal weight to both the dangers and benefits that bicycle riding and commuting can bring.
–
Bill Connell
St. Paul, MN
6 Responses to “bullshit bike “story” tonight on Channel 5”
This is exactly the reaction that is the core of the problem. Just one more reason for drivers to look at us and shake their head and wag their fingers that we don’t belong.
You should do your bike story idea–you would be awesome!
Fuck it. To compare bikes to cars is bullshit. They don’t issue “running red light” tickets to pedestrians crossing the street. To compare cyclists to automobiles in intectually dishonest. It’s a money grab the same way loitering or j-walking is. The laws need to be reformed.
mb - Thanks, I would love to produce a story like that, but it would have to feature someone who is experiencing all of this fresh. There are questions and observations i’d never think of myself because i’m a bitter, jaded old man.
jeff - i’ve often thought that cyclists should have the right to roll through stops when there is no opposing traffic, and similarly treat red lights as yields when there is no/low traffic. Unfortunately, this will just never happen, as drivers will never allow this sort of “special treatment”, citing the inevitable slippery slope. The best we can do is to follow the laws we have, and encourage enforcement of dangerous behavior for all road users (cars speeding and driving aggressively are at the top of my list).
Nicely written. I’m not going to watch the clip, not sure what good it would do me. I have had several people at work come up to me today sort of pointing their finger at me as ‘one of those.’