Letters

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 BICYCLE RIDERS Transit driver has dangerous attitude The Tuesday letter, "They don't have any claim to rights" could be dismissed as pure ignorance except for the fact that the writer is "a professional transit driver." The fact of the matter is that bicycle riders do have rights, according to the Revised Code of Washington. We don't pay taxes to improve the road because a bicycle doesn't damage the road. We don't pay taxes on gasoline because bicycles don't consume gasoline and don't pollute. Finally, we don't pay insurance because any accident caused by us will result in our own harm, not someone else's. I know there are cyclists who don't follow the law, and I don't condone their behavior, but the same could be said for many of the motorists I encounter while on my bike. Considering that the majority of bicycle-automobile accidents are the fault of the motorist (Portland Transportation crash database 1998-2001), I find the writer's attitude decidedly "unprofessional" and, quite frankly, dangerous. Mark Papenhausen Mukilteo

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