A Tale of Two Cyclists
So here’s a little GMAT grindstone question for you this Tuesday morning:
Say cyclist A is heading south on Mt Vernon Trail, yes the one were fools forget their other left, at 10 miles per hour. Cyclist B is heading north on the very same trail at 12 miles per hour.
If they round a curve, at the very same time, and cross the bright yellow line, smashing into each other head-on, I have a wonder: Which cyclist walks away and which one takes a ride in the ambulance, strapped to a head-injury board?
No one biked home
Why, yes, the missed connection – asphalt and your head is finally made with the fool who wasn’t wearing the helmet. Off to the emergency room he went, while the helmet-wearing cyclist walked away, talking on his cell the whole time.
The lesson we learn here – always wear your helmet kids. Like a seatbelt, its common safety sense.
To be honest, my question would more likely be: Why did they both cross that bright yellow line? This post seems less about the inherent safety of wearing a helmet and more a lesson that those yellow lines serve an obvious purpose.
Yes, Martin, staying to the right of the yellow line is what folks should do, can do, need to do, but like last night’s foolishness shows, is not always done.
Until then, helmets, please.
Yellow lines, my friend, are the law. Martin’s right on.
I only wish yellow lines on the trail were the law, and if so, enforced. Too many folks think they can swerve, weave, walk, wander from side to side on the Mt Vernon Trail (among others) at will.
This is why I, as a fellow cyclist, steer clear of the Mt. Vernon trail. I feel much safer on the Capital Crescent Trail, where there are less people and cyclists ignoring the basic rules of shared paths.
Having run for the first time on the Mt. Vernon Trail last week, it’s high on my “never again” list. It’s far too narrow to begin with, and when coupled with people unable to stay on their side of the yellow line, pretty deadly. Not my idea of a good time; it’s got a lovely view, but clearly I’ve been spoiled by the W&OD Trail’s reasonable setup and people who use it. Ah well.