Reader: Bicyclists should pay their fair share, lose license points when they break traffic laws

Sam Levin's post about former Denver City Councilman Doug Linkhart being hit by a vehicle while participating in Bike to Work Day prompted an interesting conversation about the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists on the roadways. Below, a reader suggests that most peddlers don't follow the law...

By Michael Roberts

June 29, 2012

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Sam Levin's post about former Denver City Councilman Doug Linkhart being hit by a vehicle while participating in Bike to Work Day prompted an interesting conversation about the rights and responsibilities of bicyclists on the roadways.

Below, a reader suggests that most peddlers don't follow the law.

AgendaBuster writes:

Right or wrong, I have a hard time blaming motor vehicle drivers for bicycles accidents, when bicyclist almost never signal, never stop for red lights and never follow standard traffic laws.

I'm not saying ex-councilman Doug Linkhart was in the wrong, I'm saying, generally speaking, bicyclists do not follow the laws we all share, and until Colorado traffic fines and POINTs are added to Bicyclist drivers licenses, there is no incentive for bicyclists to follow Colorado traffic laws.

I'm happy to continue to support bicycling. However, traffic laws and vehicles both need to be licensed and pay road usage taxes. That said, much as each motor vehicle owned pays a tax with each set of plates, each bicycle owned would also pay usage tax with their license plate. That goes for Vehicle Insurance, too. No more claims that my homeowners policy covers bikes. Really, it does not cover all vehicle damages. If it did, automobiles wouldn't need car insurance either!

In closing, I hope ex-councilman Doug Linkhart is ok, doesn't sound like he did anything wrong. Bicyclist will get the same respect as cars when they pay the same fees of vehicle ownership and the state of Colorado installs the Point System for ignoring Colorado traffic laws!!!

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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