You may have seen the following article elsewhere, but it’s worth sharing here, too. A few days ago, Slate published an article by Jim Saska, self-proclaimed “asshole cyclist”. In the article, he goes into the mechanics of what’s going on inside the minds of road users:
I’m an asshole cyclist. I’m that jerk weaving in and out of traffic, going the wrong way down a one-way street, and making a left on red. I’m truly a menace on the road.
But it’s not because I’m on a bike—I’m an asshole on the road no matter what. I’m also a stereotypical Jersey driver, someone who treats speed limits as speed minimums and curses those who disagree. And I’m just as bad as a pedestrian, another jaywalking smartphone zombie oblivious to the world beyond my glowing screen. If I’m moving, I’m an accident waiting to happen.
Biking is my primary means of transportation, so when someone defames cyclists, I feel particularly bad. The fact is, unlike me, most bicyclists are courteous, safe, law-abiding citizens who are quite willing and able to share the road.
Take a look at the rest of the article by visiting Slate’s page here.
Much like Tom Vanderbilt’s fascinating book Traffic, the Slate article offers a glimpse of what is really behind conflicts on the road. It’s worth a read.
