IDIOT (definition): a cyclist riding along a busy unlit state highway with no separate bicycle lane, in the dark, in the rain.
The one I saw at 6:20 a.m. today was not the first such; I fear he will not be the last. Fear, because I feel sure that eventually one of these cyclists will be struck by a car at 45+ or 55+ miles per hour, and two lives will be destroyed.
The cyclist will be the lucky one: he or she will likely be dead. No more worries. The driver of the car, however, no matter what the circumstances, will be subject to the slings and arrows of our litigious, blame-someone society. No matter what the circumstances, the driver will likely be beset with guilt.
The only good to come from such an event is the possibility that the cyclist is young and hasn’t bred, and his or her death will remove some idiot DNA from the gene pool.
To these cyclists: if you are trying to make a case for bicycle lanes (which I fully support for many reasons), consider another method — perhaps letters to the editor and a letter-writing campaign to your state legislator.
But please, do not continue to create this risk to the lives of others.
Paul Lentz
Peachtree City, Ga.
