This letter is intended to clear up a few of Mary Griffith’s illogical arguments presented in her Saturday letter,
Ms. Griffith’s arguments miss the fact that the vast majority of cyclists over the age of 16 have driver’s licenses, drive cars, buy gas and pay taxes. In other words, cyclists are already paying the costs to maintain roads.
Even if one assumes, as Ms. Griffith does, that cyclists don’t own or drive cars, and even though a major source of funding for state highways is through fuel taxes and other vehicle fees, most funding for local roads is from general taxes, which people pay regardless of how they travel.
Bicyclists in California are subject to California Vehicle Code Section 21200: “a person riding a bicycle is subject to all of the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle.”
Vehicle registration doesn’t seem to prevent drivers from speeding, driving under the influence, texting while driving or rolling through stop signs. When in Los Osos, I see a lot of people walking on the road, as there are few sidewalks. Shouldn’t they be registered and licensed, too, Ms. Griffith?
