Driver’s Pledge

For those times that we have to drive:

1. I will drive less, putting less traffic on the roads in my community.Without this component, the other pledges are smoke with no fire. We’ll look at all the transportation options available to us, planning our car trips ahead of time to minimize milk (beer/video/diaper/whatever) runs. Reductions in car trips can be found in virtually all living/working arrangements, suburban or urban.
2. I will drive the speed limit, maybe slower, never faster. No driver is immune to an upward-creeping speedometer needle, unless he/she is making a concerted, conscious effort. We as bike and pedestrian advocates interested in safer streets must make this effort. How do you feel about speeders when you’re standing in front of your home? We will show the same respect for other neighborhoods that we wish drivers would show for ours.
3. I will stop at stop signs, never in the crosswalk. No driver is innocent of rolling through a stop sign. Other drivers won’t notice a roll-through, probably. But every bike rider and walker sees injury or death in a car rolling through a stop sign. Our driving should never threaten other road users.
4. I will treat bike riders, pedestrians, and other road users-including other drivers-with courtesy and respect. As bike riders and walkers, we know what changes we need in driver behavior to enable more people to ride bikes more places more often. Those changes will start with us.
5. I will treat drivers with courtesy and respect when I’m riding a bike or walking. Our streets are public spaces, shared between travel modes, cultures, ages, sexes. We’ll help foster civility among all groups. And we’ll sleep better at night.

Courtesy of www.biketraffic.org