Our readers' views - Sept. 27

Bike rule makes sense

As a lifelong bicyclist, I must respond to Lorain Bowers’ Sept. 18 letter advocating a law that cyclists and pedestrians should travel facing traffic. This makes sense for pedestrians because a person is moving slowly enough to react to vehicles that may be too close to the edge of the road. But a bicyclist is traveling much faster, and cannot move safely out of the way.

If a bicycle collides with a car going in the opposite direction, the two velocities are added to calculate the damage. For example, a bicycle traveling at 15 mph hits a car going 30, the effective speed is 45. If the cyclist were hit from behind, the speed difference is only 15 mph, possibly survivable.

Many streets in our area do not have adequate bicycle lanes, requiring cyclists to travel in the actual roadway with vehicles. This is far safer when it is done in the same direction as the auto traffic.

Rick Scherer
Vancouver

Rear-end accidents prevail

When I was a youngster in New York (many, many years ago), young children rode on the sidewalk. As one got older, he or she moved to the street but always facing traffic. Never did anyone ride in the same direction as traffic.

When my wife and I moved to Phoenix, the “law of the west” was to ride with traffic, and the number of accidents rose as more folks were on bikes.

I insisted that my children break the rule by riding facing traffic. I told them that if they got a ticket, I would happily pay it if that is what keeps them alive.

Too many tragedies occur when a bicyclist is hit from the rear.

In the meantime, car drivers should gently tap the horn when they are approaching someone on a bike to give them a warning, and maybe save a life.

Paul S. Gans
Vancouver

Alarmist approach revealed

The front page headline Sept. 16, “Crime on the rise,” is sadly reflective of the alarmist approach the media use in addressing crime issues.

Crimes are relatively rare events, so it makes little sense to engage in year-to-year comparisons of statistics. For instance, the story reports that there were seven murders in Vancouver in 2007, compared to four in 2006 — a 75 percent increase. However, it might also have been noted that in 2005 there were eight murders.

Even more problematic, the story reports raw crime figures rather than rates. As is alluded to in the story, part of the reason for the increased number of crimes is an increase in population. Taking the increase in population into account, rates for aggravated assault, burglary, and larceny/theft actually declined from 2006 to 2007. To imply that residents of Vancouver should be concerned about what constitutes an overall 0.4 percent increase in crime is ludicrous.

Clayton Mosher
Vancouver

Not a dime to Wall Street

Not a dime from our already over-taxed citizenry should go to bail out the greedy, corrupt heads of Wall Street institutions.

We need to help our homeless, unemployed, uninsured and undereducated citizens, rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, restore honor and integrity to our government, and negotiate peace, not wage war.

Suzanne Ward
Camas

Private-sector bureaucrats

During this election cycle, we are hearing from the Republicans that they will keep us from having a “government bureaucrat” between you and your doctor.

What they aren’t saying is that if you have health insurance, you already have that dreaded bureaucrat between you and your doctor — an “insurance company bureaucrat.” His job is to maximize the profits of his company.

He often will deny benefits to people with preexisting conditions, and if your specific claim will adversely affect his company’s bottom line, he may deny your claim.

Most people on Medicare or people receiving care from the VA will tell you that they are quite satisfied with their health care, in spite of the “government bureaucrat.” And, I am sure that many of the millions of Americans without health care wouldn’t mind a government bureaucrat, if only they could get or afford health coverage.

Ted Hook
Vancouver

GOP should change name

In light of the last eight years and the horrid debt we have fallen into under the Republicans, I think they should no longer be called the GOP but should change their name to FIP, the Fiscally Irresponsible Party.

Roberta Upson
Vancouver

Accept culpability

Well, the political rhetorical continues about the mortgage situation. And all the Democrats are blaming the Bush administration.

OK, let’s make a point here.

Does anyone remember that under the Clinton administration, the Democratic Congress had demanded that banks, financial and mortgage companies loan to people who would not qualify under standard loan guidelines.

And now the Democrats are jumping up and down about their own stupidity. But, of course, they can never accept that.

Robert Kerr
Vancouver

Change the penny? Now?

This is fantastic. I never thought they would change the design of our pennies. We don’t have any other problems in this country, so why not? Wonder what that is going to cost? About a year ago, I read where the penny costs more to make than what it is worth.

How about some more of those Susan B. Anthony coins? Whatever happened to those?

It wouldn’t be a bad idea, I guess, to redesign the pennies, but gee, at a time like this?

Rich Mason
Vancouver