Titanic Post

I have written several letters to the editors of our local newspaper about various topics and usually in response to letters from the knee-jerks population. To the best of my memory, these letters were all published (on slow news days) by our pretty good newspaper.

This letter is in reply to responses to a series of accidents on a local mountain road in which severa people were injured, including a good friend of mine.

Letters to the Editor
Alamogordo Daily News
518 24th Street
Alamogordo, NM 88310

March 6, 2002

Dear Sir:

Let’s see if I’ve got this right: due to the high number of accidents, injuries, and deaths on Hwy 82, one party wants to widen and straighten the highway while the other wants to ban trucks and bicycles. Bicycles? Bicycles cause accidents on Hwy 82?

I don’t have the statistics at hand, but anecdotal evidence of causes of accidents points primarily to someone driving beyond his or her abilities, which I take to mean, drunk driving, driving too fast for road conditions, and just plain mindless driving.

Some thoughts about roads, vehicles, and drivers:

• The wider the road, the more traffic it attracts.
• The later you leave home, the faster you drive.
• The more you drink, the drunker you get.
• Snow and ice are slick.
• You can’t see around a blind curve.
• Trucks are even bigger than your SUV.

No, it’s not the bicycles killing us, it’s careless (without care), incapacitated, and speeding drivers. But, if you still think it’s the bicycles, how about some bike lanes?

Sincerely,

Ken Nicholson
Concerned Biker & Driver