Editorial 2.8, August 2000, by Deirdre Helfferich Jogging in the Fast Lane A serious traffic problem has come to light in recent months, caused by such ruffians as bikers, joggers, walkers, skaters, skiers, snowshoers and the like. These hooligans are cluttering up the roadsides and hogging the trails, preventing those who have traditional-use rights, such as snowmachiners, ATV drivers, and other motorists, from exercising their god-given right to make a racket untrammeled by fools leaping under their wheels every time they go around a corner. Really, now--what is it with these folks? Do they think they own the bike paths or something? This seems to be the attitude evinced by off-road (and some on-road) vehicle drivers. A coworker of mine is a jogger, and tells me that it is not uncommon for drivers to purposely swerve toward him as he runs along the shoulder of the road, expressing ire with gestures and the use of the deadly weapon usually known as a "truck." A couple of times a truck driven by these nuts has come so close that my coworker thought he was toast for sure. When I asked if he’d reported it to the police, he replied that the laws are such here that if a person was tracked down, he would be unlikely to receive anything more than a misdemeanor charge--unless the driver actually hit the pedestrian and then split the scene. My coworker is not the only person I’ve heard this from--I’ve heard variants of the same story from bicyclists, walkers, skiers, snowmachiners, ATV drivers, motorcyclists. Personally, I think that someone who threatens another person with a half-ton of steel ought to be incarcerated for assault, have their weapon confiscated, and should be barred from owning or using such a weapon for the rest of their life, just like any other felon. When a kid on a four-wheeler ran over some people on a bike trail recently, the News-Miner suggested in its editorial that concerned citizens should call the troopers when they saw someone driving an ATV on the bike path. Naturally, the troopers were inundated with tons of reports of motorized vehicles driving where they shouldn’t, and of course, the troopers don’t have the manpower or the time to go after them all. Or even any of them. And even if they were able to send someone out, the driver would most likely be long gone, with no way to trace them. Off-road vehicles don’t have license plates. It doesn’t make sense for vehicles such as snowmachines and ATVs to be on the same trail as pedestrians, skiers, and human-powered wheeled whatnots such as bikes and skates, and it isn’t fair--or safe--that there aren’t lanes for these two basic types of off-road traffic. Off-road vehicles are gaining in popularity, and bicyclists and joggers seem to be increasing in population, too. Cars and trucks are not the only constituents of traffic, and the sooner this is taken into account in future road construction, the better. Trails and paths can be put on both sides of a highway, with two lanes each, one for motorized traffic and one for nonmotorized, and separated a bit for even more safety. This, of course, requires a bit more money, but it would save lives and emergency room visits and police investigation time. But even with trails, paths, sidewalks, and other means of accomodating the real world, we will not be safe from the rash, the inexperienced, or the belligerent. We could require licensing of drivers of all motor vehicle drivers, rather than simply those who drive automobiles, planes, motorcycles, or heavy equipment. A nine-year-old racing a snowmachine at 50 miles per hour along a city sidewalk is a fearsome sight, and he is pushing his chances of making it to his tenth birthday. Yet, in the bush, a nine-year-old driving along at such speeds is not likely to meet a pickup truck turning out of a side street or a winter bicyclist, so he is less likely get killed doing it. (Of course, there are always such things as moose.) Perhaps requiring licensing for driving in populated areas, combined with vehicle registration and plates, would make more sense. We could also, as I suggested above, treat people who use their vehicles as weapons with the severity they deserve and an eye toward prevention of future abuses. Other places have extensive networks that are designed with ALL traffic in mind. Transportation networks are not a simplistic matter, and take careful planning. They also take a commitment from the government to do it right--and this means putting money and thought into it. People’s lives are at stake, not their convenience. Providing only part of the necessary ingredients will not get the show on the road--just upside down in the ditch. There will always be twits who hate everyone else on or near the road. We can’t get rid of them, but we can certainly protect ourselves better from them, and we don’t have to give up our right to persue health and happiness to do so. I’m sure that we can come up with a something to help prevent these kinds of incidents--before they become commonplace. | ||
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