Ghost Riders: Way of Life

it is a sad ending to what sounds like a lovely life. Now i have to play devils advocate here. i do not believe cyclists should be allowed on road ways, i won't get into every reason why but i will state the ones that no bike riders can answer for me, thus far. maybe someone here can enlighten me. Why don't riders have cyclists insurance? why do they not have state&inspection stickers? i drive my car on the roadways. they were specifically made for my car. in order to use these roadways i have to pay the state for a sticker that says my car meets certain mechanical standards and i also pay for another sticker that registers my car and maintains the roads i drive on. then i pay my insurance co. to cover me and anyone/any place else i might run into. If you want to ride your bike on streets designed for vehicles, i'm going to need you to put in some money too, it's only fair. and I need you to get some insurance, becuase everyone scoffs at the 88' acura integra with no bumper and rope tying the door shut, because you know the person driving it is not insured, and if they hit you it will be coming out of your pocket. not just that, but also if they change lanes, swerve, turn from a far lane, stop short, anything. well a cyclist on the road is just as guilty. I consider cyclists to be on par with uninsured drivers. You may not think insurance is required since a bike crashing into something will cause less damage than a car crashing into something, or the speeds are much lower than in a car, but your missing the point. small actions others make can cause reactions from others on the roads, for example stopping short on a bike in front of me, or darting across my lane will make me swerve and hit another car, or swerve and end up at the bottom of a ditch. you may not be able to directly inflict much force on anything, but your actions may cause someone else to. I have to admit that I do believe cycling is a hobby/sport. No one would deny road access to a roller blader or a skateboarder, yet somehow some feel it is ok to cycle on the roads. I'm all for trails, but roads are for automobiles. I think accidents like this are trajic and unexplainable. I'm not sure why this young woman who sounds like a great person had to pass, but i do not think accidents like this can be prevented. I think we are much safer in our cars, and are much more aware of our surroundings. You would never think to run a stop sign in a car, yet cyclists do run these occasionally if not alot, not only are they assuming a great risk, but they are also risking the lives of others, just like bad drivers. I'm not saying this story or situation is like that, i'm saying because of these points we should reconsider letting bikes on our streets, no bike lanes which only squeeze car lanes even further and bikers don't stay within their bike lanes, most time they are right in the middle of the far lane. you can not go 35 miles an hour on your bike, you can not go from 0 to 35 in 2 seconds. my car can, and your now driving dangerously slow, this is why cars have to adhere to speed limits, whether min or max. I just do not believe hobbies should suffocate our infrastructure , i would be opposed to cars on a bike trail too. my condolences to the family of this girl, and much respect for her efforts to live a cleaner life, i just think there are other ways to cut pollution out of our lives that do not put either cyclists or the general public at a higher risk that what already exists.

I agree with Karina.

What the hell does any of that have to do with a fucking fire truck falling on Leigh? She was obeying the law. It could have happened to a pedestrian. The fire truck also fell on another vehicle.

It's still hard for me to go down that intersection. I miss her so much.

Leigh's Ghost Bikeis still at the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy. It has not been dismantled or removed.

Karina:

You sound like you are a rather privileged person. Not everyone can afford a car or even pubic transportation. If you came to my neighborhood in SW Houston (Gulfton area) you would see that 99% of bicyclist are not riding because it is a hobby. They are riding because it is the cheapest form of transportation to get to their job at the car wash where they make minimum wage washing "your" car. Suggesting that bicyclists take public transportation instead, makes me wonder how often you take Metro or ride your bike out on the streets. Metro is rather shitty and I can often get places faster on my bike than by bus. I pick up my kid from day care, buy groceries ,and get to work all on my bike, I made the choice to live close to my work and other places so that it could be easier for me to get around on my bike. Others make the choice to live in the suburbs and make the long commute to work etc.

I'm a bit baffled by Karina comments. Bikes are great urban transportation for all the reasons cited as to why they shouldn't be on the road. A poorly maintained bicycle is not going to (and doesn't have a history) of endangering the driver and other drivers like a car does. I think this is why the state imposed rules requiring inspection (not to mention pollution). Also insurance is required because driver of cars have a history of crashing often and doing more damage than most car owners can afford to pay for. This is why the state requires insurance. Bikes don't have that problem. And finally, the idea of drivers being more alert is ... not right. Not only are car drivers less attentive with their stereo's and other distractions, but car windows are more difficult to see out of with glare and blind spots. Also drivers have no sense of hearing for obvious reasons. I think the reason many people prefer bikes is because it allows them to be more aware and thus enjoy their surroundings more.
Yes, roads are now made primarily for cars. But that wasn't always the case and the car-centric phase in the evolution of road design (esp. in the urban area) is changing.