Braking bikers

THOSE WHOSE PRIMARY mode of transport is a bicycle enjoy many advantages. There are physical benefits, and the pure pleasure of moving through time and space unconstrained by anything other than the strength of one's leg muscles. Bicyclists also enjoy independence from foreign oil, high insurance rates, and traffic jams. Not to mention the political points they get for not contributing to global warming.

But the relationship between motorists and bicyclists in the city is rocky, to say the least: Cyclists complain that drivers are aggressive and hostile; motorists cry foul over the unpredictable patterns of cyclists who flout traffic laws and who make driving in the city, never pleasant, a dangerous obstacle course.

The bike issue took a more serious turn with the recent deaths of two people who lost their lives after being struck by bicyclists. So the announcement that the city was going to get serious about enforcing the traffic laws for bicyclists is welcome news. Police will be aggressively issuing tickets around Center City for cycle scofflaws; such tickets will surely be a fast-track education for bicyclists unaware that they are bound by the same traffic laws as motorists.