Connecting Bike Safety with Alternative Interests

Although this entire section of blog posts has been centered around traffic safety, my passion for this topic is about as great as it is for studying grass grow. However, there are aspects of this conversation that do interest me. One of those topics is the environment.

The Environment

The United States is one of the largest producers of CO2 emissions, which is responsible for depleting our ozone layer. With a depleted ozone layer comes mass flooding, biodiversity extinction, and an increase in chronic illness due to excess radiation entering the planet, just to name a few possible events. So what is causing all of this mass destruction? Cars. Cars are the largest source of CO2 production; therefore, with an increased number of cyclists, there is also a decrease in the number of drivers. If street infrastructure was created to better suit cyclists rather than cars, this would enable our society to rely less on cars and therefore significantly decrease our carbon footprint as a country.

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Another area of interest that relates to bike and traffic safety is my interest in government. I am passionate about public policy and creating (and hopefully one day writing) legislature that will benefit numerous Americans. Specifically, I would like to be a voice for minority groups, and cyclists are definitely a minority group within the United States.

Government Policy

As I am studying to be a technical writer and rhetorician, I hope to one day use my skills to create laws that will change how our entire society functions, mostly in the name of social change. As the "war on bikes" appears to grow on the East Coast, I think this could be a great opportunity for government to be involved and help soothe the tension. Through the creation of certain policies and using governmental power to engender infrastructure change. Using these tools for good and in the name of helping a minority group would be incredibly fulfilling.

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Finally, a last topic that is slightly relative to bike safety that would spike my interest is in animal rights. Surprisingly enough, this topic is more relevant to bike safety than one thinks.

Animal Rights

The topic of animal rights is a rather broad one. It can be about saving abused animals to teaching pet owners how to trim their cat's nails in order to prevent the cat from hurting itself. In this situation, I think the easiest situation to apply is one where domesticated animals are often under-walked and frequently are denied time outside. With an increase in cyclist mobility and safety, this would allow for fewer cars to be of possible danger to animals off the leash. Animals that require time to run would have more of an opportunity to do so since fewer cars would pose a threat - now, I'm not saying these animals will be running in the road, but turning cars that take turns too quickly often are the reason for hit animals. With fewer cars, there are fewer possibilities for your pet's death.

Furthermore, with increased cyclist mobility, that usually means an increase in pedestrian safe sidewalks; therefore, there are more places to walk your dog (or cat) in order to give them (and you) more exercise. Plus, there are even people who are teaching their dogs how to ride a bike! The opportunities to increase exercise and happiness for all animals is limitless.