Much of this guy's rant is directed against the premise that bicycles are vehicles. Yet, bicycles are not vehicles.
He says he read an ad in the SP that said, "bikes are vehicles". If it said that, it was wrong.
You yourself refer to "cyclists needing to behave like vehicles"? Cyclists behaving like
vehicles? Do vehicles act? Do vehicles behave?
No. It's the
drivers who act. It's the
drivers who behave. And cyclists should act like
drivers of vehicles... in other words... cyclists should obey the
vehicular rules of the road.
If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their lights? Too often we cannot see them at night until we are almost on the riders. To make matters worse, these nincompoops usually dress in dark clothing.
No argument there. At night, cyclists should have lights.
If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their horns? You can't hear them until they are at your side, or worse, up your rear.
This is absurd. You can get pretty loud air Zound horns for bikes, but their usefullness is arguable.
If bikes are vehicles, too, where are their licences? If they wish equal treatment, then they must be prepared to pay the dues that all other vehicle owners must pay -- the annual licence fees.
Bike are not vehicles, that's why they don't need licenses. Never-the-less, when riding on the roadways, cyclists should act and be treated like vehicle drivers.
If bikes are vehicles, too, why don't they follow the rules of the road like other drivers do? We see bicyclists weaving in and out of traffic, seemingly oblivious to the oncoming vehicles. Perhaps they just don't care, or are subconsciously suicidal.
Can't argue with this. Cyclists should NOT weave in and out of traffic. Cyclists should follow the rules of the road like other drivers. And I can't blame him for not treating cyclists like drivers of vehicles when they don't act like drivers of vehicles. I do find that when I act like a vehicle driver, I am universally treated like one..
If bikes are vehicles, then their owners should be subject to fines for not having the required safety items that other vehicles require before being allowed on the road.
Within reason, I don't have a problem with this.
If they are not willing or able to adhere to the rules of the road, then perhaps cyclists should stop thinking of their bikes as vehicles and consider them really as glorified recreational toys.
Again, he's absolutely right. Every cyclist should pay heed to this:
If you don't act like a vehicle driver, then your bicycle is essentially a "glorified recreational toy", and you should expect to be treated as an operator of a toy.