Cyclists should read, follow rules of road

I spend much of my driving time on Illinois in Palatine. I have the seen the good but more bad from those on bicycles. Three recent events pushed me to vent.

One night at dusk, I pulled up to the four-way stop at Illinois and Mallard Drive. I had my blinker on and came to a complete stop. As I rolled out to turn left, two bicyclists in full riding gear came speeding through the stop sign into my path. Luckily, we all missed each other. But guess who stopped - me. The two cyclists blew through the sign and screamed at me.

Recently, I followed a pack of eight bicycle riders east on Illinois to Plum Grove Road. Since the light was red, I just followed them up to the light. We all stopped, but after a drink, the leader went through the red light and the rest followed. The last two riders almost got taken out by a car with the green light. It was close.

But here is the one that really got me. Heading west on Illinois, I passed a Mom, Dad and child riding in the bike lane. The child was in the lead. As I was stopped at the four-way stop at Harvard, all three blew by me. What if a car coming at us was turning left? Neither one could see each other. What if a car from the left was going through the intersection? Neither one could have seen each other.

So, I challenge all bicycle riders to read the state of Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road and to follow those rules. I challenge all police departments to enforce those Illinois Bicycle Rules of the Road. Safe travels.

Marty Colgan

Palatine