Too shy for 55? Get a bike!

I am blessed to live in Central NY, at least with respect to road traffic. I don't deal with much. I have a 23 mile commute to work that includes just one traffic light and about 75% of the time that one light is green going my way.

It's rural. Not a lot of traffic and while you have to go through the a few small towns with 30 mph speed limits, 55 on the back roads is conservative, comfortable, and safe. Not saying I stick with 55, but no reasonable person would argue that 55 is too fast under normal conditions.

And that's the thrust of this rant. I am not talking about snowy, iced, or wet roads - dry, daylight, optimal conditions... I'd say 55 is (realistically, tepid) more than reasonable. 30 through town, fair enough, every once in a while there is a person or a pet crossing the road, you can't enjoy small town life with people rocketing through the middle of town at highway speeds.

Lately, however, I have endured a rash of drivers for whom the posted limits, under optimal conditions, are apparently too aggressive. I get variability, if one is trying to stick the speed limits, over and under by up to 5 mph, now and again... but this is sticking to 5 and more often 10 mph under the posted limits. Signs are everywhere, these are numbers, so I can't attribute it to a language barrier. So, allow me to break down the potential concern or rationale for such behavior and relate it directly to a solution.

1) FAST IS SCARY. I've seen this, with teenage kids learning to drive, you start them out in an empty parking lot rarely exceeding 20 mph, the idea of careening down the road with other drivers at 55 is scary if you've never done it. Perhaps these "experienced" drivers managed to never overcome this fear. SOLUTION: get a bike. Even if you're Mark Cavendish (google him, if you're not a cycling fan) 50 mph is about top speed. A bike is, by it's very nature, "your speed."

2) SLOW SAVES GAS. Well, that theory breaks down completely at certain point, if driving slow really saved gas, highway mileage would be lower than city mileage... but that's all technicalities. Cars use gas, bikes don't. SOLUTION: ride a bike. It's the preferred mode of transportation for obsessive greenies, like Ed Begley Jr., while you might put a little more CO2 in the air personally, you eliminate CO and you save a ton of money. Bikes are cheaper than cars.

3) "I JUST WANT TO BE SAFE" - yeah... well, safe and slow are not inextricable. More collisions occur in parking lots than anywhere else. The road authorities generally err on the side of caution with those posted limits, you're more cautious than them? Delusional is more like it. If you're that obsessed with safety, why are you surrounding yourself with a couple tons of metal glass and flammable liquids. SOLUTION: ride a bike! They're light and have never exploded, and while you certainly could get up to a speed that makes injury possible, fatalities are a tiny fraction of what they are for cars.

4) I AM BUSY (with things other than driving) SO I DIAL IT BACK. First, you shouldn't be driving anything. I am not even sure I want you on a bike - HOWEVER, SOLUTION: Ride a bike! I think you'll find it's lack of vanity mirrors, cupholders, radios, navigation screens and child seating conducive to focusing on the road.

5) WHAT'S YOUR HURRY? Far be it from me to set your pace... feel free to set mine though! It's a ridiculous rationale, we're talking about driving the speed limit, not setting land-speed records. I enjoy the scenery too, but I'd pull over if my need to soak in the vista was obstructing another driver's progress. SOLUTION: Ride a bike! You not only get to see more, you literally get to "smell the roses" - clearly, you were meant to bike.

I don't know what's left. Maybe you lost a leg (your right leg) - so you can't put the appropriate pressure on the right pedal... but I used to ride bikes with a fellow with that exact limitation and he routinely outpaced me on the bike. So, most medical and physiological barriers can be overcome. Bikes are also low-impact exercise, there are even three wheel varieties, so this solution works in favor of longevity even if taken up later in life.

If you're a slow driver, I don't hate you. I just know I'd like you better on a bike. And I promise to give you 3' or half the lane and never (ever) honk like some d-bags I've encountered on my rides. I still think 55 mph is a Nixon era relic, but I am not trashing people who at least attempt to drive the limit - if that's not good enough for you, and you don't have the steel (brass... whatever) to exceed the posted limits... then I guess I am trashing you. Pull over when you have a line of cars behind you... for pete's sake! Or, better still, get on a bike and go as slow as you need to go.