Isolated Justice

It should not go unnoted on this blog, a dominant theme of which is the DC government’s inability to and disinterestedness in ensuring cyclists’ safety, that yesterday was an aberration.

On my way to work, a DC School Crossing Guard looked me directly in the eyes, decided that a cyclist was immaterial, and called roughly 20 commuters to cross against the light, directly in front of me.

My first thought was to veer and hit the Crossing Guard, but I had no time. My second thought was to run into as many of the commuters as possible, but it wasn’t their fault: ipods in, cell phones on, coffee in hand—these folks were safeguarded from observing anything. I squeezed my brake levers and skidded to a stop, partially into the crosswalk. While the pedestrians passed, my light turned red.

I requested that the Crossing Guard explain his behavior. He replied that he’d “get” me the next time I sped through a red light—an illogical and factually incorrect non sequitur:

1. I stop at red lights. I didn’t use to, but after a painful soul search, I decided that I could not object to cars breaking the law if I did also—even though cyclists generally disobey laws for safety reasons. I now break the law only when it is not safe not to.
2. Even if I were to cross an intersection on a red light, I would not do so when cars would hit me—which is equivalent to what the Crossing Guard did to me.
3. Was he really arguing that two wrongs made a right?

I explained these three points in detail to the Crossing Guard, but he was unimpressed. My light turned green and I rode off in a huff.

When I got to work, I emailed four people within the DC government who were various community liaisons or responsible for programs related to the Crossing Guards.

50% of the people I emailed responded, and supplied me with the correct name of the person who supervises the guard.

The supervisor himself called me, asked some questions to verify my story, and said he would speak to the guard.

My cynicism, bitterness, and cavernous rage were, for the moment, eased.