Cyclists are not invincible

With warm weather here, more and more people are breaking out the bikes. 

While, as a driver, I do my best to be courteous of cyclists out on the streets, it seems more and more like the majority of them can't do me the same favour.

I see cyclists on the sidewalk, cyclists riding two or three abreast so that cars have to dodge around them, cyclists riding in the bike lanes riding against traffic rather than with it, cyclists riding in the street riding against traffic, cyclists who can't be bothered to signal (yes, you DO need to hand signal if you want to use the roads!) and cyclists who dart out into traffic with nary a care for lights or stop signs. 

They seem to think they're invincible, especially as a lot of them don't seem to think they need to wear a helmet.  And they mostly seem to think that anyone in a car needs to yield to them.

Cyclists are required to follow the rules of the road just as cars do. That means if there's a stop sign, you stop. If you have a red light, you stop. You don't dart out into the pedestrian crossing and cut off traffic. You aren't a pedestrian! And even pedestrians are required to not enter the crossing when they see they red "Don't Walk" symbol, so why on earth do you think you can just cut across?

I honestly am beginning to think we need to start licensing cyclists – and fine them accordingly when they break the law. Clearly we can't trust the majority of Kelowna cyclists to understand the rules of the road.

Lisa Johnson, Kelowna