Cyclist Reaches Height of Arrogance

* Jeffrey Rouder’s justifications for his unsafe and illegal actions as a cyclist surely must be a source of frustration for those of us who both ride bikes and drive cars and who therefore have witnessed bonehead moves by both drivers and riders.

To claim, as Rouder does, that his convenience justifies actions which run the risk of forcing a driver into a maneuver which threatens drivers, passengers and other cyclists is the height of arrogance. Drivers are no less inconvenienced than cyclists by such impediments as stop signs and traffic lights. Most drivers deal with them responsibly, as do most cyclists.

Rouder’s claim that there should be multiple sets of rules of the road is belied by his letter. He doesn’t want multiple rules; he wants to be able to make up the rules as he goes along and, one supposes, let the rest of us--cyclists and drivers--read his mind, assess his degree of inconvenience, and then try to avoid hitting him or someone else.

PHILLIP L. GIANOS

Fullerton