Bicycle riders are not all bad. They are not all good either. The ones who write letters appear to be from the good group but there are so few of them in Lahaina. The question really is: Which ones are asking for respect and sharing of the road? Let's assume they are from the second.
In the other group are the ones who ride in and out of storefronts with people walking, ride side by side on roadways and won't yield to cars in back of them and run stop signs and red lights while riding in pedestrian crosswalks when they're supposed to be walking their bikes across. The law says bicycles are covered by the same laws as automobiles and other vehicles, so why do these people think they're different?
Those who write letters asking for respect and sharing of the road should really police their own and then come asking for something like that. We don't know which ones belong to either group.
I remember driving north on Wainee Street approaching Dickenson Street one day, and a bicycle was ridden by a local guy in the crosswalk going across Dickenson. So he and I were parallel to each other with him on my left side. To my amazement, the guy got to the other side and made a right turn in front of me to cross Wainee Street without stopping.
Gordon C. Cockett
Lahaina
