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Pay
Attention!
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Gas prices are high;
tension between drivers and cyclists shouldn't also be.
by Stewart Dean Ebersole
Philadelphia City Paper, May 14, 2008
Really fucked up" is the expression that most accurately describes the
story of my co-worker JD, a cyclist, who was sent to the hospital
recently after being double-teamed and sucker-punched by a pissed-off
motorist and his passenger. Even more absurd is that the incident began
when the motorist, driving a large panel van and apparently unaware of
his surroundings, made an illegal U-turn on Market Street — in broad
daylight and without any warning.
As the story goes, JD was passing the van when it suddenly turned in
front of him. He impacted the back end of the truck and found himself
and his bike on the ground. Shaking loose the cobwebs from his head, JD
stood up and confronted the driver, who then climbed down from the cab
and stepped to him. A shoving match ensued. An anonymous hand grabbed
JD's arm, a punch was thrown and once again JD found himself on the
ground, this time out cold with the side of his nose torn clear from
his face. The van drove away as JD once again shook loose the cobwebs,
this time trying to stop his bleeding while calling for assistance on
his work radio. Yeah, "really fucked up." And for the record, JD never
did find his assailants.
We work in the city as bicycle messengers, professional cyclists if you
will. JD, I and about 50 or so other dedicated cyclists spend eight
hours of our day delivering anything that can be carried in our bags or
on our handlebars to businesses all over the city. We are pretty good
at what we do, but we are constantly vilified by pedestrians,
motorists, city employees, SEPTA drivers and cabbies for our aggressive
riding and supposedly bad attitudes. In the end, however, we are just
doing a job, and the people who rely on us love us. No matter your
feelings on bike messengers, please don't think that I am asking for
sympathy here, because I am not.
Here is my issue. While JD's story is extreme, lately I have been
noticing a marked increase in motorist violence toward cyclists. At a
time when gas prices, as well as motorists' tempers, are rising, it
seems we should be embracing alternative forms of transportation. But
instead of ditching the car, the masses of would-be cyclists are scared
shitless. Twenty-five pounds of steel powered by an unprotected human
body is no match against traffic powered by internal combustion and
human aggression — and a disdain for things that they don't understand
(like why any rational human would choose to ride a bike in the city).
To get more cyclists on the road and more motorized vehicles off the
road, we need to see far fewer examples like JD's. It is a catch-22 of
epic proportions. I know people who want to ride their bikes but are
scared to do so. As an avid city commuter and bike messenger, I know
that the aforementioned aggressive riding becomes necessary for mere
survival. But aggressive riding is not for everybody. Until something
really positive happens in our city's transportation culture, I fear
that seeing more bikes and fewer cars on Philadelphia city streets is
just not going to happen.
That said, I'd like to thank city drivers for giving cyclists a break
in the future. We deal with a life-threatening litany of doors opening
without warning, illegal U-turns, unsignaled lane changes and buses
pushing us off the roadways. So maybe you can deal with us shooting you
the middle finger, or giving your windshield a love tap, or confronting
you at a signal light occasionally because we're trying to remind you
that we're unprotected out there, and that you are just not fucking
paying attention.
Stewart Dean Ebersole is
an artist and bike messenger in Philadelphia.
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