The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-17
THE DRIVERS FAVORED.
Police Only Give Heed to BicycIists in
Making Arrests.

Why don't you roast the police for dis
eliminating against the cycnsts?" asked
one of the latter. II understand there are
two or three policemen who have no other
duties except to catch scorchers and rid
ers who may get on the wrong side of the
street. 1 have no complaint to make that
a law is being enforced nor against the po-
lice for trying to enforce it; but it is not
right to discriminate. Who ever heard of
police being employed to arrest fast driv
ers? Nobody. On the other hand, there
have been details Of police to keep people
off of a certain street in order that drivers
might have full sway That is all right oc-
casionally just as it was right for the po-
lice to allow the cyclists to run road race
on one of the principal streets. To that ex-
tent it is stand-off between the cyclists
and the drivers but the stand-off stops
with this one case. To-day noticed a po-
lceman stationed on North Meridian street
who had nothing to do but to arrest BIZ
cyclists. He did not catch any as far as I
know. but it would have been nothing but
natural had he strained a point to make an
arrest or two in order to make a showing.
If the same officer had gone over to Capitol
avenue last Sunday he could have arrested
twenty fast drivers. But no one ever heard
of man being detailed to arrest this kind
of scorchers, and they are more dangerous
than the bicycle scorcher. They take no
chance themselves, but endanger the lives
of pedestrians. A bicycle Scorcher takes
the chance of njuring his wheel and break
ing his neck, with little comparative danger
to the pedestrians.
The trouble with the police and too many
others who do not ride is that they look
upon all bicyclists as careless fools who care
neither for their own safety nor that of
others. This is far from true although
there are some bicyclists who might very
well be called careless and foolish. But
the per cent. of bicycle riders who are reck-
less is small. Every one of them ought to
be arrested and it is all right for the police
to keep a vigilant lookout for them; but let
them treat drivers of vehicles the same
way. The per cent. of drivers who do not
know the first principle of driving is alarm
ingly large and the per cent of drivers who
think they have an exclusive right-of-way
in the streets is equally large. Three out
of five of all the drivers of vehicles met
on the streets in a day seem to think that
pedestrians are worthy of no more consider
alton than many dogs to be run down
and killed unless they show the agility of
greyhounds. Any bicyclists they consider
the worst sort of nuisance. They are the
rankeSt sort of trespassers and the average
driver thinks it is a privilege he possesses
to run him down if possible. l saw man
driving a wagon turn around in the street
and go back on the Left side. wheel rid
er was coming down on the right side. The
driver saw him and then deliberately turned
his head away and run the wheeman into
the curb. That driver was fair type of
truck and heavy wagon drivers. They are
secure themselves and care not what dam
age they do to cyclists. Let the police ar
rest few of them while they are employ
ing special officers to catch cyclists.
''And while the cyclists are being bounded
so closely why do not the police make
show of giving the law-abiding Wheelmen
the protection which they deserve? There
are holes in the streets that are a constant
menace to cyclists. If they were large and
deep enough to break the axle of a wagon
or even the spring of an express wagon
they would be reported and repaired. But
as they are deep enough only to smash
bicycle and kill the rider, they are unno-
ticed by the authorities: Bicyclists, as a
rule, are in favor of the enforcement of
laws governing the use of vehicles in the
streets, but they want the laws enforced
against all alike"