NPR: Bike Lanes & The Internalized Rage of Cyclists

Frustration between drivers and cyclists is different in Davis than it is in most towns, where cars represent the vast majority and bikes must navigate the world accordingly.

“The toughest obstacle to bike lanes is the reputation of the cyclists themselves, who are often seen as rude and dismissive of the rules of the road,” according to an NPR story published Friday. 

As the editor of Davis Patch, I've watched this tension play out on these very pages. When I write about cyclists discussing the dangers of biking on Fifth Street, a driver comments about how the cyclists themselves are the danger. When I write about the city planning a , cyclists rally against the environmental damage caused by gas-powered vehicles. Rest assured, parking spaces are consistently a part of the conversation. 

The NPR story focuses specifically on bike lanes. It explores safety and the loss of urban parking spaces, mainly. Tom Vanderbilt, author of the book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What it Says About Us, said in the NPR story:

"In the U.S., sometimes, there's kind of this marginalization, almost criminalization that cyclists feel on the road, attributed to a sense of persecution ... When a car and a bike collide ... "the cyclist is immediately put into question first. Often [there are] no repercussions for the driver, even when they were clearly at fault. So I think sometimes cyclists can internalize some of that rage, if you will, and project it backward into kind of a law-breaking mentality."

Listen to the full story on NPR, which explores the tensions in less bike-friendly cities and check out DavisWiki for some safety tips. And please share your thoughts about the dynamic in Davis below.

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