Bikers now daily risk life and limb in Anderson
Thats you're choice, go bike through a neighborhood....
It is sad that in this day & age of high fuel costs, poor Upstate air quality, obesity and lack of user-friendly roadways and bike paths that not one council person, business or political leader has taken to task the issue of safe ridership.
I come from big-city, USA, where bike lanes are the norm, not the exception. For every single major roadway extending along the county, there are bike paths in BOTH directions ( of course,they also beileve in sidewalks and safe walking areas too instead of being subject to walking in ditches or on the roadways...) Where bike racks outnumber parking spaces in a majority of areas and businesses. Where a glorious 35 mile bike path extends directly along one of Northern California's most-used rivers ( the American River, and the path goes from downtown Sacramento all the way to Folsom Dam). Here in Anderson, you are more likely to be run down using a bike in your yard than you are to see bikers riding to work or the stores. There are no bike-friendly areas here. Even with all the millions spent downtown for sidewalks and fancy brick-work, not ONE single bike path was established, nor are any bike racks or riding areas put into place. How bike-friendly is that? There are defunct rail lines which could allow for cross-town bike paths, branching off to schools, shopping and hospitals.
Not to be a pessismist, but we have problems getting folks to incorporate turn lanes where they are needed and eliminate road cuts where they are not needed.
Now we want a bicycle lane?
Don't get me wrong - I totally agree. In the absence of effective public transportation, finding a means by which more bicyclists can ride and ride safely is an approach we should investigate. While we are re-working the lay of the roadway, how about a lane for vehicles that meet certain MPG requirements? Similar to a HOV lane, it could help in keeping the large trucks, etc out of the way (improve safety, etc).
- SSHM
You want bike lanes? You pony up the cash to build them, I pay out enough already. My bike lanes are in the woods, with the way people drive around here you would have to be a total bonehead to risk riding a bike on the roads in a state where turn signals are optional and DUI is the state past time. Stay out of traffic, you'll live longer, and if you're out chasing an insurance settlement, $25,000 injury limits are what most people drive around with and the hospital will get just about all of it so its not worth it.
An HOV is fine for freeways, but not for roadslikeClemson or Greenville St.
The point being, the mindset will never change from being stuck in your car to getting off your fat derrierre and getting some excercise without being ableto do it safely. Shoot man, I have near-death experiences riding my 700 lb motorcycle!!!
For as many bike riders as we have in this county, and since they do qualify as fuel efficient vehicles, would you not support an HOV-esque lane for bikes and other fuel efficient autos? Think of the possibilities.
- SSHM
Sorry, JD, I have to disagree. But the bike laws in this state make no sense anyway. and Wyatt, I know you ride, so I know your position.I don't need to hear it again. Nobody makes less sense or is more determined to argue their side of the law than a biker. I know. I used to beone.
But to have a an optional helmet law and a mandatory seat belt law in the same state is the epitome of unequal application of the law. And sorry, guys, but a law that lets some of us run red lights and not others - it's a legal nightmare. Besides, guys, you're not the only ones that collect toys for kids at Christmas.
So do moderates and liberals. What's your point, Nick?
Bikers now daily risk life and limb in Anderson-Feed - Nick Charalambous
Plumbob, I actually support mandatory helmet laws for motorcyclists of any age. I know that sounds inconsistent for a "smaller government" conservative, but here's why:
Motorcyclists who get their dumb**es killed from riding without a helmet, well, that's no skin off my nose (although I have friends who have gotten killed on motorcycles, one while wearing a helmet and one not, and I did mourn them, and I do miss them.)
Motoryclists who break a bone here or there because they're not paying attention, or because they get careless, or because they just run out of talent while rounding a curve too fast (been there, done that) don't concern me.
Ah, but motorcyclists who suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) - now THAT's where it become my business. In many cases (I know of two personally in my extended circle of friends), the taxpayer winds up funding years, even decades, of medical and disability costs that could have so easily have been avoided if they had just wrapped their craniums before pounding their heads on the aspalt.
The government has absolutely no right to protect you from yourself. But the government does have an obligation to make sure I don't have to pay for your idiocy.
You and I may be on the same page in the hymnal on that one, Plumbbob. I don't know, nor do I particularly care. Personally, I've never ridden a motorcycle without a helmet, just as I've never jumped out of an airplane without a helmet (not that it would save me if I hit the ground at 120 mph, but there are reasons for having one.) It could just be why I not only still have almost all of my marbles at age 58 despite having landed on my head more than once, but I also know where they are most days. 
