(David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/File 2007)
Meeting at the corner of road rage and road kill
RE “THE cure for road rage? Bike laws’’ by Monique Doyle Spencer (Op-ed, Aug. 13): Although Spencer’s tone is intended to be tongue-in-cheek, there is no humor in the way that motorists of all kinds treat bicyclists on city streets and suburban roads. The headline says that motorists’ road rage is the fault of cyclists, and that by curbing cyclists’ freedom on the road, motorists’ road rage would disappear. It is dispiriting to me that the Globe would print something so inflammatory.
I spend eight to 15 hours a week cycling in the Boston area. It is quite dangerous. Many motorists evidently think that the road is to be used only for cars and trucks, and bikes, animals, and pedestrians are only nuisances that should be eliminated. Drivers refer to this as “road kill.’’ Whether they are encountering a squirrel, a bicyclist, or a pedestrian, motorists as a rule (there are many exceptions) are rude and thoughtless.
How much of her precious time does Spencer lose on a weekly basis as a result of the obstructions that bicyclists create? A total of three minutes?
People and animals frequently lose their lives because drivers are afraid to lose a couple of seconds. Unfortunately, Spencer’s op-ed and your printing it only exacerbate the tensions and antagonisms that exist every day on the road.
Stephen D. Byron
Cambridge
AS A bicycle commuter, I’ve been preoccupied with the dangers of inattentive drivers talking on cellphones. I now realize that perhaps drivers’ road rage toward bicyclists, as gleefully encouraged in Monique Doyle Spencer’s Aug. 13 op-ed, poses far more of a threat to my safety.
More specifically, I now need to be on the lookout for Spencer and her hybrid car as she seeks to fulfill her fantasy of silently sneaking up on a cyclist and blasting her horn. If it is me she targets, I can only hope that she doesn’t actually hit me, and that I remain calm and do not swerve into traffic, a pedestrian, or a parked car.
While Spencer details a litany of laws she would like to pass for bicyclists, she clearly hasn’t bothered to learn the existing Massachusetts bike laws. Yes, it is illegal for bicyclists to run red lights. However, it is also illegal for cars to pass bicyclists when it is not safe to do so, as is often the case on narrow Boston city streets.
So, be patient, Spencer, and share the road. We’re trying to get to work safely - just like you.
Respect is a two-way street.
Rob Harris
Belmont 
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