by Polly Brake-Shoe
C.U.N.T., Volume 6, Summer 1997
So I was watching the news on TV. And a cyclist had been hit by a truck.She was alive, but her pelvis was broken. Her bike was a mangled wreckbecause it got pulled under the truck instead of her. As I watched thecoverage I couldn't help thinking, "Ah shit, the truck thing is startingup again. Last summer two female cyclists were killed by trucks, and onewas killed by a van. How long before we give in to the lure of conspiracyand start believing that THEY'RE OUT TO GET US?
City TV covered the story. The reporter said, "I don't ride a bikedowntown, but I do drive a car. M van has a little mirror that lets mesee everything that’s coming up beside me. But are cyclists doing theirpart to avoid collisions?" Nice mirror, geek. Hope you don't strainyour neck muscles checking out your blind spot.
Then he went on to say how cyclists need to do all the wrong things:cower over on the side of the road like little mice, beg cars to cut themoff at intersections, live in fear and suck exhaust, etc. etc. - you knowthe drill.
And, also true to form, NO MENTION WAS MADE OF THE TRUCK DRIVER WHATSOEVER.
But I'm thinking about that driver, Earn sure the woman with the brokenpelvis is thinking about that driver, and I'm sure any other cyclist watchingthat newscast was thinking about that driver. That driver, bouncing alongin his cushiony cab, high above the other traffic, thinking to himself,"I can't see a fucking thing that‘s going on near my wheels, but that'sokay because my truck is so big, nothing can hurt me. Whoa, this is myturn, sheesh, almost missed it. Hope I make this delivery on time, wonderwhat that thumping noise was, maybe I should stop off and pay my girlfrienda visit, oops I hear sirens, wonder what‘s happening down there on thestreet, some idiot probably got hit by a car, hah hah hah.
I'm sure that truck driver has since had a moment or two of shock, maybeeven remorse. But we know from experience that he‘ll get oft easy, we knowfrom the news that nobody blames him, we know from last year that whencyclists get hit by trucks its like pulling teeth to make the media stopblaming the victims. We know from the people we talk to who say "Wasshe wearing a helmet?" that society at large still doesn't reallymind when truck drivers run over bikes. And we know that it is going tochange. Because we aren't little mice, we know how to ride our bikes, andwe won‘t accept the blame for their ignorance and stupidity. The mediaand the cops may let that driver off easy, but cyclists won't, becausewe've been there.
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