Jen Sorensen for February 25, 2014

I assume this is in response to the Austin, TX woman who was recently arrested for disobeying a police officer after jaywalking.She had head phones on too loud to hear the police orders to stop(another reason not to jaywalk) and then when they had to grab her arm to stop her she said “I don’t care if you’re the F&%#ing cops! Get your f’n hands off me!”.Sorry Jen, you’re backing the wrong horse here.

“Also, what’s with the bike helmets? They all wear one like that will do anything when they get hit by a car for being stupid.”For the same reason motorcyclists wear helmets. Getting hit by a car isn’t the only potential accident cyclists face, and cyclists aren’t always the cause of an accident between them and a car. Sometimes it’s the fault of the car driver. Not all cyclists act like they own the road.

Good cartoon, Jen. Wish I had not read other’s comments. So many hyperactive imaginations at play.

It does seem to me that requesting that pedestrians cross at the crosswalk is a fair trade for requesting that drivers stop at the crosswalk.

I used to do newspaper deliveries at one point, and still frequently find myself out and about at night.[]Over the last several years, I’ve had an absolutely absurd number of near-misses involving pedestrians that refused to follow proper protocol for being pedestrians.[]I’ve seen about a dozen people walking along the side of the road at night wearing dark clothing. []I’ve seen people walk in the road – including the actual lane of traffic – even when a perfectly good sidewalk was just a foot or two away. []I’ve seen people jaywalk without even once stopping to check for traffic. []Et cetra.[]Fortunately, raw experience and learned reflexes are enough to where if I think I see something out of the ordinary, I either stop dead (if possible) or swerve out of the way (if not).

Come on, that was one of Michael wme’s more obvious works of sarcasm.

& Uncle Joe is vanished. *sigh

Hey human; I’m a cyclist and am a member of the L.C.C – London Cycling Campaign. We’re slowly getting some traction in getting the London mayor to adopt better & safe cycling initiatives in London. But I also take cycle safety personally. When I ride in London I’m lit like a xmas tree, make sure I’m seen before making lane changes or turning etc. I ensure motorists are aware of my intentions and that they bloody see me before I make them.

Despite that, cyclists are still getting killed. This morning we’ve had 2 seriously injured cyclists. One hit by a bus, another by a car. The biggest threat we face are left-turning lorries/trucks/buses (we ride on the left side of the road ;-) ). I never, ever make my way on the inside of a bus or lorry but I often see others do this. Red-light jumper cyclists screw our reputation as do those that ride on pavements(sidewalks) not designed to be shared with cyclists; and many drivers and cyclists take an adversarial approach to each other. The crappy attitudes of everyone needs to be addressed, not just the one side.

MIchael as, of course, using satire, so don’t take it personally. In fact, if you reread it as satire you will see where his (probable) opinion lies.

Hello human,Yep, England certainly isn’t continental Europe but I have ridden in Portugal, Northern France, Belgium, Austria, South Tyrol in Italy & the Netherlands.

For sheer animosity none of the countries I’ve ridden in beats England (I’ve never ridden in Scotland nor Wales) but to be more specific: London. Scares me silly sometimes. BUT things are improving. I have often done organised countryside rides, between 30 to 60 milers and generaly countryside folks give you room, don’t cut you off etc…Londoners can be very abusive, will swear at you, will cut you off. Like you, I’ve had a few near calls. Buses are the worst, probably because they resent cyclists using their bus-lanes. Motor-cyclists treat you with contempt, occupy our advanced stop lines and bully you off the front. The last few years we have campaigned for better awareness of cyclists, especially by lorries, getting them to install more mirrors to avoid blind spots, and advising cyclists NOT to ride on the inside of large vehicles. Most deaths amongst cyclists in London are left turning vehicles crushing the cyclist. But the motorists’ biggest gripe (and mine) against cyclists are the red-light jumpers. They really do not do us cyclists any favours. And the cyclist who hop on pavements [sidewalks] because they’re afraid to ride on the roads, but in turn scare the daylights out of pedestrians.

France & Belgium are great to ride in, motorists respect you far more than in England. I’ve ridden just once in Paris and while traffic was hectic and no-one signals, the motorists actually gave you room. Austria is also the same. Vienna is a pleasure if you can avoid getting trapped in their tram lines, the Netherlands is, well, everyone knows the Netherlands is pro cyclist ;-) Portugal…hmm, well, let’s just say the Portuguese are not, hmm, not quite hostile towards the cyclist, but just ignorant of what they should do near a cyclist. You are constantly cut off, nearly crushed etc. But not through abuse or animosity…I think they think you just shouldn’t be there. And don’t see you or take you into account. Funnily, cycling is the biggest fan supported sport after football in Portugal.