And that goes for drivers' education as well. If we're going to have a region full of clowns on bikes, then drivers need to be made aware of what bike-oriented rules they need to follow, and the stupidity and inattentiveness they're going to encounter.

Some day it will become "bike driving" and not just "bike riding." Very sad for the family...also the auto driver who now has to live with this too.

Indeed. I feel for the motorist in this situation. The irresponsible cyclist? Almost as much.

Newton's law. F=MA. Force = Mass times acceleration. All bicyclists should learn this in school, not the hard way.

As someone who bikes a lot, and drives, and also walks and runs the city streets, I am amazed at how brazen so many cyclists are about stop signs. Heading down Tillamook toward Grant Park the other day, on my bike, I was almost run over by another cyclist when I slowed to a near full stop at the stop sign (there were no other cars at the four-way, so I guess the proper cycling protocol was to simply ignore the sign). The guy shouted, "What are you doing?" at me. "Following the law, a**hole!" I shouted back. But a lot of drivers are shockingly bad, as well. I see people who have no clue how to properly make a left turn at a green light (proceed into the intersection, wait for traffic to clear, turn); who roll through stop signs; who stop at intersections when the cross traffic has the stop and they don't, and then sit there waiting for the car that has properly stopped to go first, turning the whole intersection into a big clusterf**k; who open their doors into a bike lane without looking back to see if a bike is approaching; who make right turns without checking over their shoulder to see if bikes or pedestrians are advancing; who jam through red lights (seriously, this must happen two or three dozen times a day turning left off NE Glisan onto northbound NE 60th).... I think we'd do well to tighten up the driving requirements while we're educating the cyclists about safety and the drivers about the cyclists.

Another entry for the Darwin awards.

The optimal solution would be to get the police involved. But they stopped caring about traffic safety about 35 years ago. They're busy with other things -- it's just that nobody can figure out what the other things are.

Woah! Kind of hard words, Mr. Jack. But it seems obvious bicyclists have been given too much of the road by our city hall. Twenty somethings who go to school down town or populate the Mayor's office think everyone lives like they do with no families and living within a few miles of downtown work or school sites. When you get a family or get on in years, the bike plan the city drafted is fantasy land. What's cityhall expect grandpa and grandma with walkers and canes to ride bikes or walk several blocks and wait in the rain for a bus or god forbid a streetcar?

Kind of hard words, Mr. Jack.

Cyclists need to be licensed. Cyclists need to be taught, and accept, the rules of safe cycling, and acknowledge the hazards of their chosen means of transportation. Right now they're free to think that they can do whatever they feel comfortable doing on the public rights-of-way. Ride with no helmet, ride dressed in black and with no light at night, blow through red lights and stop signs... no wonder people are dying.

who stop at intersections when the cross traffic has the stop and they don't, and then sit there waiting for the car that has properly stopped to go first, turning the whole intersection into a big clusterf**k

This is one of the worst features of Portland driving. People, when the motorist has a stop sign and is stopped at it, don't wave them through. It's your duty to go. So effin' GO!

Waving at them, you're not being courteous. You're not being smart. You're being stupid, and you're creating an unnecessary hazard. GO!

O geez. Licensing bicyclists is not a good idea, Jack. More bigbrotherness, that's all. And politicians would just suck up the money to either waste it or channel it to their insider-buddies, or both. You may have given a toss-up to the SamRand finger puppets for another one of their pals' new "fee" schemes.

For all I care, the license could be free. But there ought to be mandatory training, or at least a test.

"The optimal solution would be to get the police involved. But they stopped caring about traffic safety about 35 years ago."

Cops have slowly given up enforcing anything in this town as far as I can tell. Unless you're young and black.

I'm seeing more of this bike manuever of taking a hard and fast right turn without stopping. Someone did it right in front of me the other day, turning quickly into my lane about ten feet in front of my bumper, before I even saw him. If he had gone down like this, he'd be dead. Terrifying to think about. I think we'll be hearing more of these stories.

Requiring bicyclists to have a license and a registration is a good conversation starter. How about proof of insurance?

I don't now if it makes a diff, but Pimlico is a steep downhill and there is not a stop sign on Willamette. I'd guess the bike didn't have enough brake to stop at the stop sign and ran into the street - FWIW.

"I'd guess the bike didn't have enough brake to stop at the stop sign" on Pimlico. Forgot that part.

You have to have a (free, lifetime) license to run any boat with a motor or over a certain size, on any water way these days. You must take a real test and pass it (70% correct answers) to have a passing knowledge of the rules of the waterways.
Seems to me that the bike riders should have to do the same thing.

How can a mode of transport have a dedicated road lane for its use, but have no requirements for the qualifications of its users--like every single other road use?

It's a basic issue of safety, not rights. Paying taxes does not give you the "right" to use the road any way you like--you're required to be licensed, to follow traffic safety rules, and to obey traffic signals and signage.

If we're going to be safe, shouldn't *everybody* have to meet basic safety qualifications (test, license) and obey the same basic traffic rules?

I get the same thing out here, and it's always from the same beardos who espouse bicycling. Stop signs, stop lights, yield signs...I watched one idiot last week who decided he wanted to cut across traffic with no warning and then screamed at the guy who (luckily for the beardo, not for the gene pool) stopped just in time. I always find it interesting that the same dolts who promote Critical Mass events to "take back the streets" are the same morons who think that traffic laws are vague recommendations that don't apply to them if they don't feel like it. (And I say this as a 30-year bike commuter, so I'm particularly ticked off by the morons who make sensible cyclists look bad.)

Cyclists need to be licensed. Cyclists need to be taught, and accept, the rules of safe cycling, and acknowledge the hazards of their chosen means of transportation. Right now they're free to think that they can do whatever they feel comfortable doing on the public rights-of-way. Ride with no helmet, ride dressed in black and with no light at night, blow through red lights and stop signs... no wonder people are dying.

I've been saying this for years. I'm glad to see somebody else is seeing the wisdom of it.

Required rider education, rider licensing, and bicycle registration, all backed up with stringent and more than just adequate enforcement. There is a lot of reform necessary amongst the bicycle user population. The fees collected could be a token portion of the costs of bicycle lanes, signage, training, enforcement,and whatnot.

And...I agree that more stringent testing requirements are needed for motor vehicle licensing.

This only emphasizes the need for bicycle-only infrastructure.

-Sam Adams

{Another entry for the Darwin awards.} My sentiments exactly. If people don't have enough sense to behave in a way that is consistent with self preservation then they bear the consequences of their own stupidity.

Does my four year old need a bike license? How about my two year olds who just started riding push bikes? They all ride in the street in front of our house and so do the kids down the street.

You guys are getting carried away and losing perspective.

Cars are big, heavy, powerful machines that can, and do, kill lots of people - every day. They need to be regulated. Bikes just aren't anywhere near as dangerous.

I think bike education classes for kids, and adults, too, may be worthwhile but requiring bike licenses is probably not.

People do stupid stuff. Whether they are on a bike, in a car, on a unicycle, etc. is immaterial.

uh dg.... I started operating powerboats (in a state on the East coast) before I was 10 but in order to do that legally I had to pass a test proving I knew the rules of waterways and safe operation. I also had to take a safety class and pass a test to shoot a gun before I was 16.

I, for one, don't see anything wrong with having some accountability and responsibility with a privilege like operating any vehicle on a public roadway.

And personally your kids are too young to be out playing on city streets.... your driveway and playgrounds are far safer and more appropriate.

Does my four year old need a bike license? How about my two year olds who just started riding push bikes?

No, they need close supervision at that age, and *training*. And, different streets (say, a cul-de-sac vs. a lower Hawthorne bike lane) need different rules.

Bikes just aren't anywhere near as dangerous.

Wrong, and I'll explain it to you in words used by DOTs all over the country: vehicles can cause accidents in two ways--by striking another vehicle, or by acting in such a manner as to *cause* an accident of one or more vehicles.

This story of a bicyclist's death illustrates the latter method. He blew through the stop sign--for whatever reason--and collided with the auto.

Bicyclists all over town routinely blow through stops, move randomly into and out of the flow of traffic, disobey the rules of the road concerning speed, ride onto and off of sidewalks with little warning, and a host of other unpredictable, nerve-wracking behaviors. Those can *cause accidents*, or near accidents--that might include one car striking another to avoid the bicyclist who just blew the stop sigh, for example.

In other words,

...trying to justify matters by comparing the relative weight of the vehicle in the roadway is nonsensical. It's the operation of the vehicle that causes accidents.

What a preventable tragedy for the cyclist, his family and the driver. I cycle a lot, and just don't understand the denial of vulnerability that many riders exhibit. The cyclist always loses, whether it's to the car or the road.

uh LucsAdvo...I'm an experienced, and licensed boater, too. And a former member of the US Power Squadron. Boats are big, heavy, powerful machines. They should be regulated. I've seen some of the dumbest human behavior in my life from people operating boats. That said, the licensing of boaters is pretty much a waste. I've seen no enforcement of the license requirement and no improvement in operation by most recreational boaters. What helps make people safer on the water? Putting law enforcement out there.

And Thank God you had to take a class and pass a test to shoot a gun before you were 16. Guns are incredibly dangerous and kill lots of people - every day.

Bicycles just aren't as dangerous as cars, boats, or guns. And bicyclists can be ticketed / arrested for violating traffic laws - there's your accountability. Licensing won't do much to change behavior without enforcement. And operating a motor vehicle on a publice roadway is a far, far greater privilege than riding a bike, or a skateboard, or a wheelchair, or walking, etc. on a public roadway.

As far as my kids, I live on a quiet, dead-end residential street. As much fun as riding a bike in the driveway is, the kids still prefer to actually go somewhere. So the street is often where they ride. It's the kind of street kids should be able to play safely on. Of course we're always out with them - usually with the neighbors and their kids, too. I just don't think kids should have to get a license to ride bikes on the street in front of their houses.

Bicycles just aren't as dangerous as cars, boats, or guns.

Now you're attempting to conflate bicycles with guns. And also--are you suggesting that only the "more" dangerous vehicle on a roadway is the only one needing regulation? Why does it matter which one is dangerous? Last year, there were several hundred deaths from scooter riders (scooters that have an average speed barely higher than a bicycle).

And bicyclists can be ticketed / arrested for violating traffic laws - there's your accountability.

Accountability isn't the only problem. Knowing the rules of the road and how safety works is another part. If you think accountability is all that's needed, then let's drop licensing for all road vehicles.

Licensing won't do much to change behavior without enforcement.

You're off in the woods. The purpose of licensing is not behavior modification, it's to ensure a basic level of knowledge and training for users. Hence the testing.

And operating a motor vehicle on a publice roadway is a far, far greater privilege than riding a bike, or a skateboard, or a wheelchair, or walking, etc. on a public roadway.

What does that even mean? What "privilege"? Never mind the cognitive dissonance you exhibit by claiming it's a "privilege" to operate on a roadway, but at the same time claiming that licensing wouldn't have any effect. What effect does labeling it a "privilege" have, then?

dg,

There are very few "accidental" gun deaths in the US every year. Most of gun related deaths are from people pointing a gun at someone on purpose then pulling the trigger. Apples and Oranges when compared to road deaths.

Bicycles are just as dangerous as any other vehicle on the road as already explained. They may not directly cause and accident but they sure do provoke accidents due to action. The only group of people that but me in more dangerouse situations then cyclists is idiots talking on their cell phones.

As for enforcement how do you enforce the laws when there is no real way to track down the offender? Yes officer, a bicyclist wearing spandex caused this accident by their actions but rode away so go find them! That description fits how many bicyclist in the area? I'm guessing hundreds myself.

While I am ok with some of the points on both sides , none of it matters because there is no police enforcement of the laws , of bike licenses , of anything short of a gang war.

dg... I had to pass the test to go hunting before I was 16. I fired my first pistol when I was 4 yol with my old man standing next me. And I grew up in a house with unsecured and loaded guns. But since we observed hunting we knew that guns killed and did not think they were toys. Guns are not dangerous per se; if a moron is shooting one s/he can be dangerous.

And not all boats are huge and dangerous... ever operate a 10 hp outboard on a rowboat? The first boat I operated frequently was a 35 hp Evinrude outboard on a small aluminim boat. Not exactly naval material and nothing you could die from if you could swim. And maybe locally there is no enforcement but in my youth, one summer my brother pissed off a county deputy and every time he was out in a boat, it got pulled over for a safety check, life perservers, etc. There was later some pay-back for that and that's all I am saying.

I've never known anyone killed from operating a small power boat. I've known both fatalities and severe injuries to cyclists, including a co-workers 7 yol who was hit on a quiet residential street.

I actually live on a dead end cul-de-sac and parents like you piss me off. Why do you and others who don't live on my street think it's OK for your little darlings, mostly unsupervised, to be playing in the middle of the street when I am coming home from work? And my street has a sharp bend coming in so even going slow it's hard to anticipate a kid in the street.

Bike licensing is the key. It will provide education and minimum knowledge. It will provide a license plate on bikes which will provide ability for enforcement by citizens as well as police. Enforcement is the real key. And that is what we are lacking in many of our laws. We don't need many more laws but enforcement.

I used to work in West Linn, and the hills prevented me from doing much bike riding to or from work. But I can say that racing down Pimlico at top speed and hitting Highway 43 by blowing through the stop sign or going too fast to properly operate bike brakes is a pretty stupid move. The street has a downhill slope approaching 15% - the few times I rode down that street I had my hands gripping my brakes the whole way.