Bike Not Lightly Into Cambridge

The
People’s Republic of Cambridge has thoughtfully passed yet another law
to protect us from ourselves, who, as any true progessive knows, are
our own worst enemies. One of the first communities in the nation to
pass a total ban on all forms of tobacco smoking in any space open to
the public, indoors or out, and a providor of services ranging from a
safe haven for illegal immigrants to transgender bathrooms in public
buildings, Cambridge has now taken upon itself the protection
of bicyclists.

It’s not enough that cyclers are required to ride in special bike
lanes (failure to comply – $25 fine) and wear a helmet (failure to comply
– $50 fine), as of this week, all  bike riders within the city limits
of Cambridge are required to have a strong forward-pointing light when
riding after dusk! Failure to comply – $20 fine. So if you were apprehended
sans helmet on the sidewalk in Cambridge after dark riding your Huffy Bananna-seat
Stingray to
the store on the corner, you would be liable for a whopping total of
$95 in fines! Wow, its cheaper to drive a car and pay the parking tickets!

"The city of Cambridge and its bicycle committee this week will
begin a worthy program to remind cyclists to carry a bright front light
on
their bikes.

So far, this seems reasonable.  Reminders are good, especially
given the alarming number of absent minded-professors and other space
cases wandering the streets around here…

Starting tomorrow, bikers without the lights could be fined $20. If
you have a light and you’re stopped, you could receive a free
light to pass
on to your biking friends."

This is where they lose me entirely.  If you already HAVE a
light, then they give you another one? Wouldn’t it make more sense
to give the lights to the people who DON’T already have them? Well,
since
02138 is suppodedly the brainiest zip in the land, they must know what
they’re doing….

from the Boston Globe