By Colleen Stone Monday, October 16, 2006

Only most of the comments weren't about the specific incident itself, but the larger topic of drivers versus cyclists in general.

Emphasis on versus.

A lot of drivers had clearly had enough of dealing with cyclists on the road whom they saw as reckless. Someone posting with the handle "s" thought cyclists were putting themselves and drivers in peril by flouting the rules of the road:

"Cyclists are supposed to follow the same rules of the road are they not? Why then, do most continue thru stop signs and weave in and out and around thru traffic rather than wait like the rest of us? This does cause problems and irritation and is dangerous."

The anecdotes about poor cycling etiquette and plain old recklessness went on and on: Cyclists riding across the entire expanse of a lane, proceeding through red lights, not using turn signals and cutting across traffic. While such behavior isn't necessarily the rule among cyclists, it's common enough that many have developed a hate/hate relationship with bikes on the road.

Ben was one person calling for stricter regulation of bikes as a solution to such infractions: "You have (to) take a class and have a license to do anything on a public way. Why don't you have to have a bike license? Also who pays for the roads that the bikes ride on? Isn't that why we have to register our vehicles to pay for roads to be maintained?"

More education Ð for cyclists and drivers alike Ð about the rules of the road concerning bikes and vehicles would be helpful. But as some of you were quick to point out, making licensing a condition of operating a motor vehicle doesn't weed out all of the horrific drivers on the road.

And as Rick pointed out, a lot of cyclists do pay for road maintenance, through vehicle fees and other taxes:

"Little did I know all the cyclists I see have no vehicle and are apparently jobless & homeless thus not contributing to state or local taxes."

Another visitor questioned why anyone would ride a bike in the dark anyway, saying cyclists difficult enough for drivers to spot during the day. To that, Jesse had this to say:

"Perhaps the cyclist had a job, but no car. That's what someone would be doing on the road at 6:00 in the morning. If you have trouble seeing cyclists in broad daylight, maybe YOU should be riding (or walking)."

Some drivers seem to forget that for some cyclists, bikes aren't just a means of getting in some exercise or recreation; they're also a mode of transportation. For some people, their only mode of transportation. Of course, that doesn't mean that cyclists shouldn't take all possible precautions to make sure they're visible to drivers. Some weren't so sure even taking those precautions would be enough to satisfy what they see as inconsiderate drivers.

To mock some drivers' apparent lack of consideration for bikers, one poster slipped into character and launched into a tirade against those pesky bikers:

"While I'm putting down the phone and finishing my donut, this bicyclist comes out of nowhere!! If I had waited just a couple of more seconds to turn off the "Men in Black 2" video, he would have run right into me, probably scratching my new paint job."

Of course, the satire was lost on some and a few indignant comments followed. So maybe there's hope yet.

LW pointed out that no matter who's at fault in an accident involving a car and a bike, drivers have one big advantage over cyclists: a steel cage.

"As a driver, I keep in check that my vehicle out weighs a human being by a couple thousand pounds. Regardless if an accident I am in is caused by me or a walker/runner/bicyclist, that person is likely to suffer more damage getting hit by my car, than my car would suffer in such an accident."

All the more reason for drivers and cyclists to exercise caution and courtesy.

Another user, Reason, wondered why people were discussing bikes and cars competing for road real estate at all. As in: Why are bikes on the road, anyway?

"Get them off the roads Ð the bikes, that is. Stand-alone paths that commuters and families can use safely. I'd love to see bike paths crisscross the city and extend beyond to neighboring towns Ð Freeport, Brunswick."

In an ideal world, a bike would never touch a road. But as we all know, the world is far from ideal. And when that's the case, such clashes as the ones we see between drivers and cyclists occur.

CU, remarking on the South Portland accident, urged people to stop blaming and start working toward solutions:

"I hope we can find a way to work together, without blame, to make sure no other drivers or emergency personnel have to see that ever again."

On that, I think everyone can agree.