PG writer responds to angry motorists

The new safe passing legislation that went into effect on Monday really ruffled some feathers of motorists who used the opportunity to complain about cyclists breaking the law, with seemingly no consequence.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer, Jon Schmitz, adds some sanity to the debate with the following post.

You can join a discussion about the online commenting on the BikePGH Messageboard.

My story this week about the state’s new steer-clear-of-bicyclists law produced an outpouring of comments, by email, phone and on the Post-Gazette’s website. Many were from people complaining about bicyclists who disobey traffic laws, as if that should disqualify all cyclists from having a law that tries to prevent them from being maimed or killed.

Some perspective is in order. Let’s consider the risks associated with aggressive driving, distracted driving and speeding. We’ll call that the U.S. Steel Tower of safety risk. Now let’s consider the hazards caused by bicyclists not minding traffic laws.

It’s an anthill.

Read the rest of the article on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s website

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