Who really has the right to the road?

Submitted by jtackett on Fri, 2010-08-20 17:15

Interesting comment from a bicycling attorney...

"Where the roads are dominated by the automobile, it is because they have been usurped. Many motorists — specifically, those who refuse to share the roads — mistakenly believe that possession of a driver’s license gives them a superior claim to the road. These are the motorists who exclaim that, 'Until cyclists are licensed and insured, they don’t have a right to the road.' In fact, the right to travel is an ancient right, now recognized as one of our constitutional rights, and the roads are the commons, open to all for travel and other uses. Rather than signifying a superior claim to the road, a driver’s license merely grants the holder the revocable privilege of operating a motor vehicle on the commons. Because other road users are not required to be licensed (and that tacitly means this right cannot be revoked) their right to use the roads is in fact superior to that of the motorist."

(SOURCE: http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2010/06/24/an-illegal-bike-ban-%E2...)

Comments

Having a driver's license

Submitted by Andy N on Fri, 2010-09-10 03:16.

Having a driver's license doesn't mean having the authority to superior on the road. Driver's license is just a proof that you have the right to drive any vehicle, there's still some rules and regulations on the road that you have to follow. Some reckless motorists don't consider this or sometimes forgot to. If they keep on doing such wrongdoing, then rules would be useless. In some states, a number of traffic ticket is on the rise, which shows people are becoming disobedient. So, I guess rules and regulations on the road must be strictly imposed so that driver would follow it.

Road rights

Submitted by crankymule on Tue, 2010-08-24 16:11.

I have also heard the argument that taxes paid at the pump give the motorist the "superior claim to the road" when in fact most roads used by cyclists are built and maintained by the state local governments which get their funds largely from sales and income taxes. Everyone pays sales tax. The idea the a driver's license gives someone something more than license to drive is well, preposterous.

Key message: ROADS ARE MADE

Submitted by henrys on Mon, 2010-08-23 21:35.

Key message: ROADS ARE MADE FOR TRAVELERS. I don't have any right to set up a tent in the roadway, but if I am moving (or intend to move, traffic permitting), I have a right to be there.

I once had a silly argument with a guy who insisted that bicyclists interfered with his right to drive at the speed limit. Of course, there is no such right. JUst because you get onto a road, doesn't mean that you get to choose your speed.