Blame game

Michael Skelly is taking the position that we, as individuals, should have no responsibility for our own safety because our government must take care of us. The entire population is gradually falling into this government-must-save-me point of view on everything from saving money to retire, insufficient pay for their jobs or protecting me from all dangers. That way leads to chaos.

He cites four pedestrian-bicycle deaths and puts the blame on the city for poor design. While these four and any other traffic death are very sad, blaming them on the city design work is a distinct cop out. The death of a 4-year-old is indeed tragic. Any parent who allows their 4-year-old to cross a street without holding hands with an adult is at fault. Any bicycle rider is fully responsible for his or her own safety. One who goes out into traffic hoping to beat the vehicles or assuming the drivers see them is in too much of a hurry, distracted or believing that someone else should watch out for them when in fact the cyclist usually is at fault. Now if he can tell me that the driver was exceeding the speed limit or failed to allow the 3-foot spacing required for passing cyclists, then a motorist may be at fault.

Finally, the road crossings from Rice University to Hermann Park are fundamentally the same as they were when I attended Rice in the late ’60s. At that time, my friends who had bicycles were extremely careful crossing Main Street, usually walking their bikes across at a controlled intersection, even if it was out of the way. David C. Griffith, Houston