Wrong Way Feldman

I think I broke the law this morning. My son's first day of sixth grade and we rode bicycles to school; I rode with him halfway then it was off to work for me, adding another mile and a half to my regular ride. I broke the law by not motoring him to school. Elk Grove children by law are forbidden to walk, bicycle, scoot, or skateboard to or from school.

Skateboards and scooters aren't allowed in the classroom, the principal's office forbids their storage, and lockers are a relic of the '80s...so they're illegal. Walking is unsafe, what with every third home housing a convicted sex offender, and besides, for ten years there weren't any sidewalks to Sheldon High School from Bradshaw Rd. Ten years. For ten years I biked on a 3-inch shoulder while dodging kids walking the other way. As for bicycling...well, that's not to be done for utilitarian purposes. It should be for recreation, not commuting. Competing with all the other vehicles driven by chronically late parents shuttling their own kids off to school, well, that's unsafe. Besides, the city just recently demolished the bike lanes on Bruceville Rd. to make more room for vehicles. Children in Elk Grove are expected to be motored.

The thing is, as gas rises to a sustained four dollars, then five, then six, we're going to see incrementally more kids breaking the law...because no one ever teaches them how to ride a bike.In many parts of Europe bicycle training is mandatory education. They teach children the rules of the road, how to signal, how to avoid accidents. Here, all we tell them is "you gotta wear a helmet! WEAR YOUR HELMET!" American children don't know the first damn thing about riding a bike. They grow up and they don't know the first damn thing about how to drive or how to ride a bike.

I gotta tell you, folks, all these new bicyclists are creating a danger for themselves and for others. On one hand you'd think I'd approve of all these new bike commuters; they displace one more motor vehicle each, our increased numbers mean increased awareness to drivers...but on the other hand, I don't approve; they are blowing through stop signs, riding on the wrong side of the road, not signaling passes or turns, riding on sidewalks, talking on cell phones, and blowing through stop lights.

One of the very first things a new bicyclist will do, almost universally, is ride into traffic. It feels safer. In reality, it's the most dangerous error to make:

• You increase the number of vehicles that pass by up to three times (150%).
  
• Increase in turning danger due to cars entering the roadway that don't look for wrong way bicyclists.
  
• Danger to other cyclists (ME!).
  
• Increase in closing speed.
  
• Limited time and space to react for drivers.
  
• Greater impact force and breaking distances.
  
• It's against the law (OK, this isn't dangerous).
  

The good news is that my son already knows about every one of these. At twelve he can ride better than most adults.