Letter to the Editor RE "Reading This While Walking? It Could Cost You" -- More thoughts on bike & pedestrian safety

I enjoyed the recent articles in the Tuesday, October 24 issue of the
Times that dealt with street safety. On the one hand, they seemed to
admonish both pedestrians and cyclists to be safer: cyclists, by
wearing helmets to protect themselves and pedestrians, by not using
smartphones while crossing the street. While these are reasonable,
they detract from the real villain: cars and trucks. Fundamentally,
streets should be made safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, by
enforcing driving regulations (and also by protecting pedestrians from
rule-breaking bikers.) Obviously, it's not an equal interaction
between a pedestrian and a car, and I think the laws should reflect
this fundamental, asymmetry.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/well/buckle-up-a-helmet-to-save-a-life.html
WELL
Buckle Up a Helmet to Save a Life
Personal Health
By JANE E. BRODY
OCT. 23, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/business/honolulu-walking-and-texting-fine.html
BUSINESS DAY
Reading This While Walking? In Honolulu, It Could Cost You
By TANYA MOHN
OCT. 23, 2017

Letters commenting on the safety of bikers (& drivers & pedestrians), given the recent increase in urban cycling

Letter #1

I read the recent Times article on the upswing in cycle commuting with
great interest. Certainly, from the perspective of a technocratic
transportation planner, this is a great thing. However, it cannot
relieve the terror one feels at night when a lightless bike zooms by,
narrowingly missing a collision, or when one has to wrench the
steering wheel and swerve almost into another car, to avoid a cyclist
going the wrong way down a street. There must be a way to fix this.
Perhaps give licenses to cycle commuters? Or maybe technology can
help: Trackers on bicycles or cameras monitoring sidewalks to flag bad
behavior?

Letter #2

I read with great interest the recent Times Op. Ed. about a
65-year-old pedestrian killed by a cyclist. I sympathize as I am often
terrified walking down sidewalks by careening cycles, coming out of
nowhere. Also, there's the scary situation of the driver who swerves,
nearly getting into an accident, to avoid a cyclist going the wrong
way. A fundamental issue underlying cyclists' unsafe behavior is that
it's often ambiguous -- from their perspective -- whether they are
motorists or pedestrians. It's often better for the cyclist to ride on
safer sidewalks than on more perilous roads or to ride through a red
light to keep momentum. What can be done? A cyclist needs to be given
clear rules, and they need to be enforced. If a bike becomes a loose
canon, perhaps it is possible to take it away before damage is done.

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Unpublished letter in response to:

Wheels of Misfortune - NYTimes.com
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/traffic-bike-laws.html

More New Yorkers Opting for Life in the Bike Lane - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/nyregion/new-yorkers-bike-lanes-commuting.html