Opinion: Seacoastonline.com,  October 07, 2009 2:00 AM

"Share the road" is not an empty philosophy. To share the road means to actually share it and be respectful of one another, and not doing so can have deadly consequences.

There has to be an understanding that roads, without bicycle lanes, are primarily for motorized vehicles, especially when they are so narrow as to create risk for both driver and cyclist.

Drivers can be more cautious and more considerate and they must obey state law requiring them to allow for three feet between their car and the bicyclist. Bicyclists must also obey state law requiring them to ride single file when a car is approaching. Those on either side of this issue are sure to blame the other, but once more sharing the road implies a need for equal consideration.

Unfortunately, we know inattentive drivers can do irreversible harm. This past July, former Seacoast resident Carolyn "Cary" Girod was killed when a car struck her while she was riding her bike in Washington state. Police listed the cause as driver inattention.

A recent spat in Rye between bicyclists and a motorist ended with town police charging two cyclists with criminal offenses and citing the driver a violation-level count of reckless operation. Does it have to come to this?

Police allege driver Richard Macintosh, 67, was driving behind and around a group of cyclists in a reckless manner. Angry words and hand gestures were exchanged. The cyclists, who included the arrested Duane Foster, 43, and Kevin Tonkin, 39, then allegedly took a short cut to meet Macintosh up the road, where some of them put their bikes across the road to stop him. One of the cyclists allegedly jumped on top of Macintosh's car, causing damage.

The actions as alleged are so unacceptable as to be condemned simply by saying two wrongs don't make a right. As if our police are not so overworked, and our courts so overcrowded that we need to deal with this type of behavio r. For proof, Rye police said they were forced to deal with the Sept. 9 road rage incident while already dealing with a more serious alleged crime in town.

What part of the actions by either the motorist or the cyclists suggest a sharing of the road?

This incident is not an isolated one, and we're talking only about the town of Rye in this case. In March, Rye police were called to the Foye's Corner roundabout after witnesses saw a motorist and a cyclist arguing on the side of the road. Police Chief Kevin Walsh said the driver was going north on Route 1A when she approached a group of cyclists and beeped to let them know she was approaching. As she passed, one cyclist made a vulgar hand gesture, according to Walsh.

In an ideal world, there would be dedicated bicycle lanes on all streets allowing bicyclists to ride safely. Hopefully, at least, there will come a day when Rye's scenic Ocean Boulevard and Pioneer Road will have dedicated bike lanes. The winding Pioneer Road makes drivers just as nervous and at risk as bicyclists when they must share this narrow way.

But short of the day of an ideal world, there is enough room on the road for sharing, common sense and decency. No one, not a bicyclist nor a driver, want to see the tragic loss of Cary Girod repeated.

Source: Seacoastonline.com