Last month on a Sunday afternoon, a friend of mine woke up in an ambulance. He had been riding his bike in Northeast Portland when a driver ran a red light and hit him.

By some miracle, my friend wasn’t killed; he was “only” hurt. Many other cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users aren’t so fortunate.

As a decades-long cyclist and runner myself—and, for what it’s worth, also a driver—I’ve noticed drivers lately getting more reckless, more distracted and more impatient. More hostile, too. Running red lights is just one of many dangerous behaviors I see every time I’m out.

Drivers: Slow down. Pay attention. Put your phones away. That big, powerful, heavy machine you’re operating can change, or end, someone else’s life in the blink of an eye.

Act that way.

Mark Remy, Portland

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