Commuting by Bike: Let's Curb the Hate

I am not a hardcore biking addict. In fact, I may only bike to work several weeks out of the year when the weather is particularly nice (and I don’t wear Spandex).  I’d honestly like to ride more, but, every once and a while, I am reminded how unsafe it is to do so.  In light of the recent accidents on the Fahy Bridge in Bethlehem (where and ), I wanted to share my thoughts as a part-time rider here in South Whitehall.

First, let me describe the lay of the land. I live in Green Hills and work in downtown Allentown. The safest and fasted route I found into the downtown starts on Chapmans Road in Upper Macungie (close to the South Whitehall border) and winds down to in South Whitehall, where I make a right onto Hausman Road and cross 309 on Crackersport. I then follow Crackersport down past and onto Highland Street until 20th street in Allentown. Once I’m in the Allentown grid system, I meander my way toward the downtown mostly on quiet streets and alleys.

When I tell people about my trip, they generally say, “It must be so dangerous crossing 309 or Cedar Crest Boulevard,” or “Biking in Allentown must be so dangerous.” Not really, I’ve never had an issue at an intersection or in the downtown. The only time I have serious close calls and the stress goes up is a quarter mile length of Chapmans Road in South Whitehall — from a little past Blue Barn Road to Church Road. During that section, Chapmans has no shoulder, there are a series of blind curves, and motorists are often traveling in excess of 50 mph., and it is why, in that section only, I ride defensively.

Riding defensively, in this case, means edging away from the shoulder to prevent motorists from passing me when we are in blind curves. It has the result, sometimes, of trapping a motorist behind me for periods of up to thirty seconds before we get to a straight-away that lets them safely pass or Eck Road where I pull over if anyone is behind me. While this seems reasonable to me, the reactions from motorists are often anything but. One particular woman in a minivan once pulled up alongside of me, screamed through her closed window, all the while talking on her cell phone. Another man not wanting to wait during a blind curve tried to pass me in the other lane and was forced over into my lane, running me off the road when another car approached from the other direction. What’s with the anger? Are we so self-centered that we can’t reasonably wait 30 seconds to safely pass someone when it could easily be a matter of life and death?

That may seem like a silly question, but, the Morning Call’s message boards were filled with myriad hateful comments about the Faye Bridge accident.  Many shared the sentiment of a person called Allentonian who stated, “I don't care if he's (the victim is) the USA’s head of bicycle safety. He’s an unnecessary road obstacle and hazard.  No better than litter.”  Another person called localjustice noted that “bicyclists are freakin idiots, plain and simple!!! why be so ignorant and arrogant to think you, in your Peter Pan riding tights on a 20-pound piece of aluminum going 10 mph WITHOUT insurance have a right to half the road a car is traveling.”

Aside from the obvious question of why a person driving a car is entitled to more road than a person peddling a bicycle, I am again left to wonder, where is this hate coming from? Why after a man was killed earlier this year and another person was just injured would someone feel so entitled to “their road” — to the point of wishing physical harm and death upon another?

From an ethical standpoint, there is really only one consideration in taking these hate-filled comments seriously, and that is, as a question of utilitarian policy, bikes may reduce the economic productivity of the road slightly. But, that point may not even be true. The primary reason I enjoy riding my bike is because it means I am one less car sitting in the parking lot that has become US 22 at rush hour. It also means that I am helping to keep gas prices low by not burning petroleum, or creating pollution, or wearing out my car. It also means that I can have more contact with my community because I’m not trapped in a glass and steel cage — I often stop at little shops in Allentown and buy things on my ride home. These are all positive things for our community.

Other commenters have said that bikes should not be permitted on the roads because they don’t pay gasoline excise taxes that help fund roads, or that bike riders don’t pay licensure fees or insurance premiums. These are fallacious arguments. Car drivers need to pay excise taxes, and have insurance and licensure because cars create externalities. That is, driving a car places costs on others.  Consider the uninsured motorist who hits my car. The damage to my car and myself could easily run to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Not only that, but, car accidents happen all the time.  When was the last time you heard about a tragic accident occurring between two bicyclists? The externalized costs are not great enough to require insurance. Likewise, car owners pay an excise tax in gasoline because cars and trucks require massive amounts of infrastructure to support them. Bike riders need practically nothing in comparison. Additionally, bike riders still pay property taxes, sales taxes, and incomes taxes which help pay for massive road infrastructure they don’t require.

I don’t want to make this an article about all the positive benefits of riding a bike compared to driving. I mainly want to remind people that the person on the bike is constantly thinking about their safety because, in any accident, they are going to be the loser. Let’s try to curb the hate and realize that the person on the bike is a human being and is entitled to their safety and our concern as drivers and people — that’s not a political statement, it’s a moral and religious one.