Dear Editor,
I am grateful to Captain Claude Weyant for his letter in the April 22 edition advising cyclists, especially children, of the safety measures and traffic laws they should observe. All of his advice is correct and useful. But what bothers me is that it makes cycling sound inherently dangerous, and places all of the responsibility for road safety on the cyclist.
The officer is completely right to emphasize the rules of the road that minors may not know but of which they should be aware: yielding to pedestrians, slowing down and being cautious at intersections, making signals, etc.
If only all drivers met this standard! My point is that our traffic law enforcement officers would do well to ensure that all of the vehicular traffic obeyed these principles. My experience, as a cyclist and as a driver (as nearly all adult cyclists are), is that most Vermont drivers are careful and considerate when encountering bicycle riders.
But all cyclists live in dread of the distracted driver, especially the one looking at their phone and texting as they drive. We can’t tell child cyclists to avoid these drivers; they’re just out there, a lethal menace.
We rely on our sheriff’s department and police departments to reinforce the message to drivers that they are the ones in charge of a potentially deadly object, and they have to operate it responsibly, with due consideration to more vulnerable but equally entitled road users. Which means not checking the phone while they drive.
I look forward to Captain Weyant letters to the editor driving home that message.
Yours faithfully,
Matt Seaton
Cavendish, Vt.