Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sharing the road (or not) in Fauquier County
Roads in Fauquier County are some of the most scenic in Virginia. Located in the county are the towns of Warrenton, Remington, and The Plains. Many cyclists ride there to enjoy the scenic views and challenging hills. Others ride to travel to work, the store, or other destinations. The Blue Ridge Challenge ride that starts in the town of Marshall is listed as one of the best rides in the Washington, DC area by Bike Washington.However, motorists and bicyclists don't always get along on some of the county's narrow, high speed roads. According to the Fauquier County Connections Plan:
Specific hazards that bicyclists have mentioned include:
That hostility is clearly evident in a recent letter to the Fauquier Times-Democrat. Since there is no free online version, I've retyped the letter below:- Narrow, rural roadways with high speed traffic and a lack of paved shoulders, conditions which force bicyclists to share the lanes with motor vehicles.
- Hostility from motorists who do not respect bicyclists' legal right to share the road
Cyclists make road more dangerous—Cyclists have no rights to be on our major roads. There are plenty of side streets, neighborhoods and trails available to them.
I do not want to share the road with them.
For one thing, they do not pay for the privilege to use the road as motorists do in paying vehicle registrations, taxes on our vehicles, state inspections that make sure our vehicles are safe for highway travel or even road-worthy, and, most importantly, the insurance that motor vehicle operators are required by law to have.
I have no personal vendetta for these people and can understand their desire to ride some of our scenic byways.
The problem is, most of these scenic roads are winding with many blind curves and speed limits at 45 mph and higher.
A couple of days ago, I was driving east on Route 55 from Front Royal and encountered two cyclists riding side by side, taking up almost my entire east-bound lane and forcing me to cross, illegally, the double solid line.
"If these people want to risk their own lives with this dangerous activity and did not put anyone else in harm's way, then we could say that was their own choice. But for a bicycle to come through my windshield at 60 mph is unacceptable.
Ward Rowe
Broad Run
This is an amazing letter. It's not a good sign when a letter to the editor contains a factual error in the first sentence. Shouldn't a legitimate newspaper have a policy not to publish an inflammatory letter that contains so many factual errors?I do not want to share the road with them.
For one thing, they do not pay for the privilege to use the road as motorists do in paying vehicle registrations, taxes on our vehicles, state inspections that make sure our vehicles are safe for highway travel or even road-worthy, and, most importantly, the insurance that motor vehicle operators are required by law to have.
I have no personal vendetta for these people and can understand their desire to ride some of our scenic byways.
The problem is, most of these scenic roads are winding with many blind curves and speed limits at 45 mph and higher.
A couple of days ago, I was driving east on Route 55 from Front Royal and encountered two cyclists riding side by side, taking up almost my entire east-bound lane and forcing me to cross, illegally, the double solid line.
"If these people want to risk their own lives with this dangerous activity and did not put anyone else in harm's way, then we could say that was their own choice. But for a bicycle to come through my windshield at 60 mph is unacceptable.
Ward Rowe
Broad Run
We think it's irresponsible for the Fauquier-Times Democrat to publish a letter like this, and we're told it's not the first time a hostile anti-bicyclist letter has appeared.
There is so much wrong with this letter that we're going to have to dissect it line by line:
"Cyclists have no rights to be on our major roads" In every state in the U.S. cyclists have the right to travel on all roads unless otherwise prohibited, such as on many limited access highways. See: VA code 46.2-800: "Every person riding a bicycle, ...on a highway shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall have all of the rights and duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle, unless the context of the provision clearly indicates otherwise. "
"There are plenty of side streets, neighborhoods and trails available to them." Even if there were, this has no relevance regarding Mr. Rowe's duty to respect bicyclists rights to the road. Using the example that appears later in the letter regarding cyclists on Route 55, there are no connecting streets other than Route 55. Since Fauquier County and many other counties have few on-road bicycle facilities and most trails do not connect to major destinations, cyclists must use most roads, not to mention the fact that riding on most roads is legal behavior.
"I do not want to share the road with them." See above, Mr. Rowe has no legal option other than to share the road.
"For one thing, they do not pay for the privilege to use the road as motorists do in paying vehicle registrations, taxes on our vehicles, state inspections that make sure our vehicles are safe for highway travel or even road-worthy, and, most importantly, the insurance that motor vehicle operators are required by law to have."
The Wash Cycle recently covered this ground, with comments from "Contrarian". According to Federal Highway Administration statistics, 51 percent of the nation's $193 billion set aside for highway construction and maintenance was generated through user fees-down from 10 years earlier when user fees made up 61 percent of total spending on roads. The rest came from other sources, including revenue generated by income, sales and property taxes, as well as bond issues.
Also keep in mind that the majority of gas taxes go to roads like interstates and expressways where cyclists often prohibited. Almost all other roads that cyclists prefer are overwhelmingly paid for by local and state taxes on property and sales. Also, most bicyclists own cars and pay all of the above-mentioned vehicle-related taxes.
I have no personal vendetta for these people. Then Mr. Rowe goes on to talk about a specific case in which he confronted two bicyclists.
"A couple of days ago, I was driving east on Route 55 from Front Royal and encountered two cyclists riding side by side, taking up almost my entire east-bound lane and forcing me to cross, illegally, the double solid line." Mr. Rowe was not forced to do anything. Legally, if the lane is not wide enough to share with a cyclist, he is obliged to wait until it is safe and legal to pass.
See VA code 46.2-905 that states cyclists must ride as far right as practicable with several exceptions, including when "...substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right curb or edge"
"If these people want to risk their own lives with this dangerous activity and did not put anyone else in harm's way, then we could say that was their own choice. But for a bicycle to come through my windshield at 60 mph is unacceptable." I'm at a loss for words.
We plan to contact the Editor of the Fauquier Times Democrat to complain about their publication of this letter.
Labels: fauquier county, share the road
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