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Letters: For cyclists, violating traffic laws can be safer

The rules of the road should not apply to city cyclists. Any experienced, safety-conscious bike rider who rides defensively and with a whole lot of common sense is safer navigating city streets using a different set of rules than those that apply to motor

The rules of the road should not apply to city cyclists. Any experienced, safety-conscious bike rider who rides defensively and with a whole lot of common sense is safer navigating city streets using a different set of rules than those that apply to motorists. And while Bernard Brown argues for a crackdown on "lawless bike riding" and questions why cops look the other way when cyclists commit traffic violations, he never questions or challenges the laws themselves ("All city cyclist wants for Christmas: A ticket," Dec. 22).

Just as pedestrians don't adhere to the same rules of the road as motorists, cyclists, too, are unique. Contrary to Brown's speculation that cops look the other way because they may feel it is not worth it or not real police work to ticket cyclists, I think cops are exercising common sense.

Reckless cyclists should be ticketed, but for most who ride smart, violating "traffic laws" is, ironically, safer. It gets the cyclists out and around congested traffic - pedestrian and motorist alike. Short of rewriting the laws, looking the other way may be the better bet.

Christopher J. Dean

Wyncote

idyinc@comcast.net