Asked by a

Giving Bicyclists Their Three Feet

Once a year, thousands of Americans participate in National Bike-to-Work Day. And why not? Riding a bicycle to work is an ideal way to get exercise.
With that said, riding a bicycle can be dangerous, especially in a big city. Nationwide, bicycle-related injuries are on the rise. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 43,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic in 2007. Two years later, in 2009, 51,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic.
So how can we make our cities safer for bicycling? The most important thing to do is to widen bicycle lanes. Common wisdom suggests that bicyclists need at least three feet of distance from cars in order to be safe. But bicycle lanes are sometimes less than three feet wide. Worse, they are often sandwiched in between parked cars and traffic. If someone in a parked car suddenly opens the car door, a bicyclist can be injured or even killed.
What we need is a standard for bicycle lane width. A lane that is less than three feet wide almost guarantees an accident. Thus, all lanes should be at least three feet wide. Moreover, they should be positioned at least one foot from nearby parking spaces.
Wearing a bike helmet is a little like wearing a seat belt: it offers only partial protection. If we want to keep bicyclists safe from harm, we must also give them wider bicycle lanes. And city planners should impose minimum width standards if they are going to prevent accidents.
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What is the author's main purpose in writing this article?
A.
to show people that drivers are often too aggressive
B.
to convince people to wear bike helmets at all times
C.
to promote the importance of National Bike-to-Work Day
D.
to convince people of the need for wider bicycle lanes

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
D. to convince people of the need for wider bicycle lanes

The passage presents injury statistics, explains why narrow lanes (especially next to parked cars) are dangerous, and argues for a minimum three-foot width and one-foot buffer from parking, all supporting the case for wider lanes.