To the editor:

Why is it that bicyclists don’t have to register their bicycles to ride on a paved road or portions of road built especially as bicycle lanes?

These lanes cost us taxpayers a huge amount of money to build, yet these people contribute no registration money to it. You see their “Share the Road” signs, so why are they not sharing the cost?

As a snowmobiler and allterrain vehicle rider, I have to pay to register these machines to ride on landowners’ property, for which we have to personally get permission slips. We have to build these trails ourselves at the expense of the club and a handful of people who work diligently volunteering their time to keep these trails maintained.

“Share the Road?” We’d love to.

If we are unable to register our machine for one year, next year we have to pay for two years. Cars don’t have to do this; bicyclists don’t have to do it at all; where is the fairness in this?

We built you bicycle lanes. Can’t you be content with those without putting our lives in danger while we are trying to do our jobs?

From personal experience and horror stories we hear and read, bicyclists pose a huge threat to vehicles on the road.

Does life have no value to you people? Don’t you realize motorists have a split second decision to hit another car head on, hit the person on the bike or go off the road because of this bike in our lane of the roadway?

Dump trucks and tractortrailers don’t stop on a dime and would be quite a loss if forced to go off the road by a person on a bike. I’d be willing to bet these bikers carry no insurance if they cause an accident.

Alicia Cote
Bowdoin