This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As a motorist, I have often agreed with Sarah Collins' point ("Road Hoggers," Forum, July 2) that cyclists should stay single file and in their own bicycle lane and not straddle the white line, so annoying to motorists.
Then, about two years ago, I was persuaded to pursue the health benefits of biking and learned what it is like from the other side of the debate.
I now bike along Wasatch Boulevard, from Fort Union Boulevard to I-80. The bike lane is littered with broken glass, rocks, twigs, dead varmints and birds. Often, the choice is between chancing safety in obstructed bike lanes or riding the white line and sharing the safer roadway with motorists. These drivers can't see the road debris and some violate Utah's 3-foot clearance law in retaliation for a falsely perceived arrogance among cyclists.
My biking friends drive cars and larger vehicles, too. They appreciate both sides of the motorist-cyclist divide, where each is occasionally blind to the legitimate needs of the other.
Cyclists may inconvenience drivers on occasion, but when drivers are rigid in displeasure of sharing the road, we risk injuring and killing fellow citizens. And we are breaking the law.
Stan Rosenzweig
Cottonwood Heights