manslaughter on a bike, part 2

Joshua Taj Bozeman at The Blue Site thinks the man who committed manslaughter on his bicycle when he blew through a stop sign and killed a 71-year-old woman (see my earlier post) got a bum rap:

CLEARLY, police and attorneys in this city are INSANE. You CANNOT equate a bike with a car! This sort of thing is scary, because it could happen to any of us, and that’s when we’re screwed plain and simple. If this arrest stands, we’re screwed in general, because it’s that slipper slope. To say that any vehicle is the same is totally nuts, and the police captain should be tossed out on his boot for even trying to claim they’re equal. What’s next? A kid on a tricyle knocks down a woman…is that manslaughter as well? How about a pogo stick? How about a wheelchair? What if a wheelchair-bound citizen hits someone on accident, is THAT manslaughter? Is a walker a vehicle? A atroller? See the problem when we start making absurd statements about how two things that are completely different are somehow anywhere near close to being the same? Are rollerskaters a vehicle?

I feel quite sorry for Mr. Bozeman; here he is, a grown man, and he has no clue that bicyclists are supposed to follow the rules of the road, just like cars. I will try to answer some of his questions, since he is clearly confused:

No, someone in a wheelchair is technically a pedestrian, and he presumably won't be whizzing through an intersection in the middle of the street.

"Is a walker a vehicle? A atroller?". Again, pedestrians, as are the tricycle, walker and pogo stick. Pedestrians, of course, have to follow rules as well, such as not jaywalking, not crossing against the light, etc. But when crossing a street where the cross traffic has stop signs, the pedestrian always has the right of way.

True, a car and a bicycle are not the same thing; but they are both vehicles, and both must follow the rules for vehicles in all states, though there are slight differences in the rules for bikes and cars. The requirement to stop at stop signs is NOT one of those differences.

Yes, you are "screwed" if you are one of those arrogant people who thinks the rules don't apply to you, but not as screwed as the innocent bystanders who get mowed down because of that arrogance.

Not only that, but who on earth knew it was illegal (is it?!) to go thru a stop sign on a bicycle? I wouldn’t think that was illegal, and I see people go thru stop signs all the time (as well as red lights) on bikes, because that’s the nature of the “vehicle.”

Well, let's see, I knew it was illegal when I was in grade school, and I'm sure millions of other people did to. Yes, I see many cyclists blow through stop signs too; guess what? That doesn't make it legal.