Bicycles have the same rights and duties as motor vehicles. But being governed by the same laws doesn’t produce equality. A bicycle doesn’t occupy a full lane, is rarely granted the three-foot passing margin required by law, and must use signals that not everyone understands. Bicycles belong to a different class and they can’t expect to be treated like cars. And so, bicycles break the rules, riding through stop signs and red lights. Like the people who occupy neighborhoods that are overpoliced and underprotected, bicycles know that what keeps them safe on the street is not the law, but their
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