TO THE EDITOR:
In light of the recent accidents and fatalities involving bicyclists and motorists in the Greater Boston area, especially the Aug. 24 accident that killed Alexander Motsenigos of Wellesley, it is outrageous that we bicyclists still encounter motorists who have no regard for us and are ignorant of Massachusetts’s bicycling laws.
Last Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m., as two friends and I were cycling on Pine Street in Dover, a woman in a white Mercedes SUV chose to pass us on a blind curve, putting herself and us at risk. She came within a foot of hitting us just as a car was coming in the other direction. After we yelled at her in anger, she stopped the car and told us, “I live here, you don’t belong on the road.”
She was oblivious to the Massachusetts bicycling law, which includes these rules:
· Bicycles are vehicles and have the same rights as cars.
· Bicyclists cannot be excluded from any road where other vehicles are permitted, except roads with on-off ramps rather than intersections, such as I-93, I-95 or I-90.
Motorists are not always at fault and unfortunately there are bicyclists who are ignorant of the Massachusetts bicycling law or choose to ignore it.
Whether you drive a car or ride a bike, I highly recommend going online (www.sameroadssamerules.org) to find an easy-to-read guide to safer driving and bicycling in Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Bicycling Coalition (MassBike).
If we all work together to raise awareness around safer driving and promote mutual respect between motorists and bicyclists, we can hopefully avoid further tragedies such as the one that took the life of Mr. Motsenigos. – Alicia Abad, Walker Street