Washington Post is on an Anti-Bike Roll

[Starduster]

From WTOP: http://wtop.com/109/3659840/Bicyclists-plan-ride-in-response-to-The-Washington-Post-column

[PotomacCyclist]

OK, this is why I thought the Milloy column was a joke at first, because of all the recent driver-caused deaths and crashes just in the past week. I kept reading these articles, one after another, and slowly realized how much carnage was taking place. I had been expecting an anti-car column in the local media, not an anti-cyclist rant. Just makes Milloy look even more ridiculous and callous for not giving a damn about all of these deaths, but being so over-the-top in his reaction to what he admits are mere annoyances by cyclists. (Cyclists filtering through stopped cars does not threaten to kill anyone, or force anyone into an accident.)

The following may not even be a complete list, but it’s what I was able to track down just now, from looking through the article/video index on NBC Washington.com.

Wed. July 10, One person dead in a hit-and-run involving four cars on Columbia Pike in Montgomery County
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Driver-Dead-After-4-Car-Crash-on-Columbia-Pike-266619971.html

Tue. July 8, An Uber driver kidnaps three passengers as he tries to flee from taxi inspectors, exceeds the speed limit and narrowly avoids hitting other cars
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Claims-He-Was-Kidnapped-by-DC-Uber-Driver-266567921.html

Tue. July 8, A pedestrian in a crosswalk was struck during the afternoon by a driver who may have run a red light. That driver stopped. But a truck driver also struck the woman and fled the scene.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Witnesses-Pedestrian-Hit-Twice-in-Crosswalk-266290631.html

Tue. July 8, In the morning, a driver in Seat Pleasant suffered a medical emergency and crashed into a tow truck. The driver died. The tow truck driver and his young son were taken to the hospital and are recovering from injuries.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Driver-Suffered-Medical-Emergency-Before-Wrong-Way-Crash-266230111.html

Mon. July 7, A 52-yr-old man lured a 12-yr-old girl into his car in Annapolis, MD, and tried to assault her. She was able to escape and police later arrested the driver.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/52-Year-Old-Man-Charged-With-Abducting-12-Year-Old-in-Annapolis-266044741.html

Independence Day weekend, July 4-6, Eight people died on Virginia highways over the holiday weekend. Four fatalities involved motorcycles, two involved ATVs and one involved alcohol. There were 566 crashes statewide over that weekend. 11,710 drivers were cited for speeding. 2,670 were cited for reckless driving. Police cited 77 impaired drivers.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/July-Fourth-Deaths-up-From-2013-266187621.html

Sun. July 6, A driver in Woodbridge, VA, with a blood alcohol level two times above the legal limit ran a red light, killed a 13-yr-old girl, injured three others in the other car, and fled the scene on foot, though he was arrested almost immediately.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/266112041.html

Sun. July 6, A drunk driver killed a woman as she was trying to cross Rte. 1 near the University of Maryland campus in College Park.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Woman-Killed-in-Hit-And-Run-Incident-on-Route-1-265943321.html

Fri. July 4, A 3-yr-old girl was struck and killed by a car driver on Alabama Ave. SE in DC.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Child-Struck-by-Car-in-DC-Critically-Injured-265870361.html

Fri. July 4, A pedestrian was struck and killed in District Heights, MD.

Fri. July 4, A male passenger in a single-car crash died in Glenn Dale, MD. The female driver was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Pedestrian-Killed-in-District-Heights-265868121.html

Fri. July 4, A driver crashed his SUV into an apartment complex in Germantown, MD.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Driver-Crashes-Into-Germantown-Apartments-265866021.html

***

Seriously, Milloy picks this week to post an anti-cyclist tirade? Really?

[PotomacCyclist]

Here’s a bit of humor on the story:

https://twitter.com/ctmilloy/status/486645758985515009

“I actually like bicycles. Really. I do.” – Courtland Milloy, July 8, 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bicyclist-bullies-try-to-rule-the-road-in-dc/2014/07/08/f7843560-06e3-11e4-bbf1-cc51275e7f8f_story.html …

---

Try to read that and not laugh. Or grit your teeth. Or look over your shoulder the next time you’re riding, in case Milloy (or one of his followers) might be chasing you down in his car.

[PotomacCyclist]

And more people on his Facebook page who are horrified if a cyclist ever causes a single non-fatal accident, but OK with the fact that drivers kill tens of thousands nationwide every year.

https://www.facebook.com/courtland.milloyjr

Note that Mr. Milloy limits comments on his Facebook page to just his friends. Thus, the reason why everyone is almost unanimously horrified because of a near-miss with a jerk cyclist, but unconcerned with all of the driver-caused deaths.

[PotomacCyclist]

Some interesting links related to the controversy, from Greater Greater Washington:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/23517/links-roundup-bicyclists-bullied/

[mstone]

Yeah, but this one time a cyclist ran a stop sign, and what are you going to do about that?

[VikingMariner]

Not really into the critical mass hatred of cars thing but yes car drivers need better education about how to drive a car. The WP had a goal–more clicks on the page through controversy. They achieved it. No doubt they hoped for a larger protest. Playing one group against another is just gravy. They manipulated people rather than report real news. They will do it again.

Respectfully,
The cyclist and driver for 45- and 35-years, respectively

[PotomacCyclist]

FYI – I don’t actually like Critical Mass and I don’t hate cars or all car drivers. Most people I know are car drivers, not cyclists. What I can’t stand are all the deaths and the common acceptance that so many deaths are supposed to be normal, especially when so many drivers speed, text, run red lights and drive drunk (especially last weekend).

Although I bike and I post on this forum, my perspective is almost as much as a pedestrian as a cyclist. I’ve had far more near misses as a pedestrian than as a cyclist, while I am walking in crosswalks, either with the WALK signal or in crosswalks where there is no signal at all. I get that many cyclists and pedestrians also disregard traffic rules. I see this every day. But the fact remains that a car (or truck) is far more deadly than a bike or a pedestrian. One week, I nearly got hit three times, while walking in crosswalks when I waited for the walk signal, looked for traffic in both directions, then proceeded through the crosswalk as a pedestrian. I’ve seen drivers take right turns on red at what I estimated to be 40 mph or so. No thought about looking for pedestrians in the other sidewalks. I’ve seen drivers blow through crosswalks on Wilson Blvd., even with pedestrians in the crosswalks, in mid-afternoon, nearly striking the pedestrians and apparently not concerned in the least. I know that not every driver behaves like this, and that many pedestrians jaywalk. But the Montgomery County traffic enforcement sting from last year shows why I get so concerned about these attitudes and behavior. Basically, almost not a single driver stopped for pedestrians in the crosswalk unless they saw another driver getting pulled over by police. The “undercover” officers were wearing bright shirts while waiting or walking in the crosswalk, in midday on a sunny day. Police had to cite a driver every 2 minutes.

I’ve posted this video before, but I think it’s appropriate here as well:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Failing-to-Yield-to-Pedestrians-in-Montgomery-Co-Could-Cost-You-206557651.html

If these post annoy some drivers, well, if it gets some people to think more about safety, then I’ve accomplished my goal. I also yell at cyclists who ride aggressively on trails and on roads, and I also call out to pedestrians who jaywalk and endanger themselves and others. But yelling at speeding drivers does nothing because they cannot hear me. I can only post about it online and in person, away from the roads. However, I do try to point out dangerous behavior if I have an opportunity to do so, while on the road and when it’s practical and safe to do so.

[PotomacCyclist]

I sent an email to Martin Baron, the Executive Editor at The post. He replied fairly quickly. He said that he made clear to Milloy “that there’s no place for language even hinting that violent behavior is understandable.”

However, he also claims that there’s nothing in Milloy’s post that is racist or encourages racist violence. I have to disagree with him there. Milloy tries to skirt the line but his rage comes through very clearly. He only focuses on the transgressions of white millennial cyclists, even though cyclists of all races have engaged in problematic behavior. He ignores the aggressive riding that I still see from what I assume are bike messengers. A group of messengers hang around downtown, with messenger bags, while waiting for assignments. They tend to have a noticeable style of dress. (Maybe I’m imagining things, but I like to think that I can spot a bike messenger easily by now.) The racial balance is mixed. About once a week, I see a breathtakingly dangerous move from one of the riders (whom I perceive to be bike messengers), screaming through busy downtown intersections and weaving through traffic and turning into and through traffic in different directions while weaving among moving cars. Scares the crap out of me, and I’m just watching while standing on a nearby sidewalk as a pedestrian. The messengers no longer make up a large part of total cyclists in D.C., but it’s disingenuous for Milloy to ignore this behavior in his rant. Another reason why I think Baron is wrong and why it’s clear to me that Milloy is playing the race card again.

Milloy and The Post got the point that people are upset. Will this week change their minds? Probably not. I only hope that Milloy thinks about all this the next time a driver tries to ram a cyclist (or a pedestrian). It will happen, probably within the next week or two. Maybe one of them will have even been inspired by Milloy (or the fanatics who post at sites like The Daily Caller).

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Those mass bike protests would be more effective if they rode to the letter of the regulations: single file (max 2 abreast but go single file if being overtaken), outside the door zone and taking your lane, no filtering at reds and stops (because of course that’s “unsafe”), each bike takes their own turn at 4-way stops. Better yet, use streets without bike lanes. That would cause huge traffic back-ups, but hey, bikes are just following the letter of the regs or doing what drivers are always yelling at us to do.

[lordofthemark]

@VikingMariner 89980 wrote:

Not really into the critical mass hatred of cars thing

I love my Civic (I was gonna say you will pry it away from my cold dead hands, but Japanese engineering isn’t THAT good, and if we were ever to manage a nice condo in a particularly convenient location in DC, we MIGHT go car free) I drive it regularly. Very useful in many ways.

But if I had had the time, I would have gone to the protest. I don’t think militant bike advocacy really is connected to car hatred – as I said I love my car. I just hate the way our society makes it hard for me to walk and bike where I want to, because so many people have lives built around going relatively long distances quickly by car.

[lordofthemark]

@Brendan von Buckingham 89998 wrote:

Those mass bike protests would be more effective if they rode to the letter of the regulations: single file (max 2 abreast but go single file if being overtaken), outside the door zone and taking your lane, no filtering at reds and stops (because of course that’s “unsafe”), each bike takes their own turn at 4-way stops. Better yet, use streets without bike lanes. That would cause huge traffic back-ups, but hey, bikes are just following the letter of the regs or doing what drivers are always yelling at us to do.

That would harm not just the Post, but lots of drivers who are our allies. With things still moving in our direction (see MoveDC for example) I don’t see any reason for radical tactics. “Bike to rule” is an arrow to hold in the quiver till needed.

[baiskeli]

@lordofthemark 90004 wrote:

That would harm not just the Post, but lots of drivers who are our allies. With things still moving in our direction (see MoveDC for example) I don’t see any reason for radical tactics. “Bike to rule” is an arrow to hold in the quiver till needed.

Bike to Rule could also complicate the debate, because some people simply think bikes shouldn’t be on roads even when they do follow the law because they (by their thinking) get in the way of the rightful users of roads.

[cyclingfool]

Just to make it abundantly clear, in case it’s not, the protest ride to the Post yesterday was completely PAL. Single file. Appropriate hand signals. Full stop at all red lights. We ended up arriving in three or four smaller groups because of traffic lights along the route. The closest thing to an infraction of the law was when we arrived at the Post and the sidewalk became a little blocked. BUT, that was because of the media and the cameras that met us, not us cyclists ourselves, as all were asked to park or stand with their bikes such as not to block the sidewalk, and did so.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I see the mass bike protest as already the radical tactic. That’s why I don’t ride in them. But if you’re going to do it right, do it right.

[Author]

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