We’ve all seen it on campus: the collision between a car and a bike. More often than not, the car wins. If the cyclist still can pedal, he or she might be able to ride or walk away with a few scratches and some sore body parts, but it’s not pretty.
The House of Representatives might be able to make the streets a little safer for bikers and drivers alike by amending the Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act, which would require more education about laws pertaining to bicycles during the classroom instruction of segment one of driver’s education.
Although it sounds like a good idea, apparently not everyone is sure whether driver’s training is the best place to teach new drivers rules about bicycle laws.
Keep in mind, the bill passed 74-30, and individuals such as Ken Silfven, spokesman for the Michigan Department of State, disagree with the bill.
“There’s a short window of opportunity for instructors to teach youngsters the fundamentals of driving, and that should be the focus,” Silfven said. “If you try to cram every possible issue into the course, it will become overwhelming for students.”
Driver’s training programs are full of new drivers who will soon take to the road with little experience. It might be a great idea to prepare them for everyday situations they might encounter.
If programs prepare drivers to handle a raging driver or a tractor on the road they also should include cyclists, whom drivers would be much more likely to encounter in daily life.
Both MSU and the city of East Lansing are encouraging more people to ride bikes, and with more bikes on the road, drivers need to know what to do.
One dedicated page in a driver’s training manual and some discussion time about bike safety won’t derail the entire program or make it significantly longer.
This knowledge could be seen as common sense, just as stopping at a stop sign is obvious; still, one can’t always assume people know what to do. Giving new drivers proper instruction on what to do when a cyclist enters the road would ease the nerves of everyone involved.
Cyclists need to be prepared as well because understanding the rules of the road doesn’t only fall to drivers.
According to nolo.com, a website that offers legal information, it’s a good idea to learn basic legal rules of liability as a driver and a cyclist, because the blame could be the responsibility of either party.
If a cyclist is not following road rules, such as driving against traffic and not keeping a proper lookout, he or she is to blame.
Cars are dangerous. Knowing exactly what to do as a driver or a cyclist — especially in the MSU community — will further protect and save lives. As communities encourage more people to use two wheels instead of four, they must do so responsibly.
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