If you were standing in line for lunch at your favorite restaurant, you would probably be surprised if the person behind you told you to get out of line. If you were sitting in a lecture hall, you might object to a neighbor instructing you to leave the room, despite your having registered for the class and paid your full tuition/fees. Seems logical, no? So I ask you, fellow Spartans – why would you tell another vehicle to get out of the road?

While riding to campus I’ve heard all sorts of variations of “Get on the sidewalk!” “Get out of the road!” some of which aren’t fit for reprinting here. As East Lansing has filled with returning students over the past few weeks, these angry outbursts have only increased in frequency. So – a word to the screaming, honking, swerving, gesturing crowd – not only are you being rather unpleasant, you also have no legal basis for your epithets and exclamations. Bicycles do, in fact, have a right to the road (see Michigan Vehicle Code section 257.657, or MSU ordinance 33.14). We follow the same rules, we have the same responsibilities and we have the same rights as other vehicles. Yes, we have just as much right to be in “your” lane – the whole lane, right there in front of your car – as any other vehicle.