As a cyclist, I think W.K. Cycling Coalition president Anna Lamb Yorski should find better ways to use her time than writing rambling, emotive “open letters” to the newspapers and residents of the region.
(“All road users have a role in safety” - Tuesday, June 9.)
While The Times headline succinctly makes her case, she instead focuses on trying to muzzle the RCMP because a spokesman pointed out in a story on a traffic accident that a sign indicating cyclists should dismount and use the sidewalk means it would be a good idea if they dismounted and used the sidewalk.
She asserts that “the comments (of the RCMP) would not have been considered acceptable if those injured or killed had been the victims in any other type of incident, and the comments add to the suffering of victims families and the broader community.”
I wonder if she reads anything other than cycling association newsletters and her Facebook feed?
Police commenting to reporters are continually noting that “alcohol was a factor” in traffic accidents, that drivers made an “unsafe left turn” or that houses and vehicles broken into were not locked.
Blaming the victims?
No, it is part of a decades-old initiative known as community policing which, among others things, involves trying to educate the public in ways other than beating them over the head with billy clubs.
Are there many people out there that need to be better informed on how they can drive in a safer and more thoughtful manner? Certainly?
But commentaries that reinforce the not-uncommon notion that cyclists are a bunch of flakes is part of the problem, not the solution.
By the way, I had one of my bikes stolen this spring because I forgot to close the garage door when I drove out, slowly, looking both ways.
If the crime had made the police briefs, I would not have been offended by the usual reminder that people should keep their valuables locked at all times.
Raymond Masleck
Warfield