Dear St. Maarten Motorists,
As many of you may have noticed, a bunch of us bicycle riders get together every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon and ride on Airport Road from 4:30pm till the sun goes down. It is the safest road for us to train on as there are no intersections or side roads, and you will notice us out there in large groups as we have so few places that are safe to ride on the island.
We love it, but unfortunately, we will occasionally experience dangerous motorists who are impatient to get to their destinations, so let me explain how this works. We ride from the roundabout on Simpson Bay side of the causeway to the roundabout at Maho. If you get stuck behind a cyclist for that entire time, you will be running 3 minutes off schedule. Keep in mind we are riding pretty fast, mostly an average of around 30 to 35km per hour, so you do the math.
Bottom line is that it makes no sense at all to risk an accident or even simply frightening a cyclist to save only a few minutes. After an incident today, I feel it necessary to remind everyone of the law. Cyclists are considered slow traffic and have every right to be on the road. Unless we have bicycle lanes, this is a fact of life, so get used to it.
Thankfully, most drivers are considerate and enjoy seeing the bright and colourful riders of all ages out there getting fit, but there is always that one idiot, that one uneducated and bitter person like the driver of the large black truck with license plate V3338 who almost hit two cyclists today when he passed them just a foot away at a terrific speed. After catching up to him and explaining that he passed too closely, he actually had the gall to say that cyclists do not have the right to be on the road. So, hence, this letter.
We have started accumulating license plate numbers of dangerous drivers, and God forbid we should see your plate turn up in our data base of complaints twice. One time and you get a warning, like you are now, but twice my friend...twice will get you a visit from delegates of St. Maarten Cycling Federation who will invite you to the Police Station for a little chat. You will then be publicly humiliated on every social media we can find. So, consider yourself warned.
Susy Maidwell
