When I took the test to get my driver’s permit over six years ago, I only missed one question. To this day, the question has stuck with me. The wording might have become a little fuzzy, but its meaning remains.

“If a red car and a blue car reach an intersection at the exact same time, who has the right of way? Assume that both cars are going straight, and that the blue car is to the right of the red car.”   The correct answer was the pedestrian, an option mentioned only in the answers.

The idea of pedestrian right of way has stuck with me, and is reinforced every time that I have driven on campus.

For all that I have learned about dealing with pedestrians, bikers I have yet to figure out. When you get your license you are not taught how to deal with bikers.  I know all about the whole “share the road” campaign, but it doesn’t mention the fact that some bikers seem to believe they own the road.

I’ve only been driving on campus since August, but in that time frame, I’ve seen a lot of bikers do things I would not do.

On Fridays, when I leave campus to get on US 1 to go home, there is always the same gentleman on his bicycle. Instead of holding one place in line, he chooses to believe that he is more important than those of us with 4,000 pound vehicles and swerves throughout the lanes. This poses a great danger for myself and the biker, as I drive a pickup truck with a stopping distance that is longer than you would think.

It does nothing but infuriate me to see this same bicyclist erratically cut cars off while driving all over the road, each and every Friday.

I was raised to believe the “share the road” campaign meant bicyclists had the option to ride in the road as a car would, or over to one side where cars could safely pass them. I was never aware that it meant they could weave in and out of traffic and cross intersections when it isn’t legally their turn to cross.

If I am ever on a bicycle, I will ride on the sidewalk and the grass before I will ride in the road. If I’m forced to ride in the road, I will remember that the vehicles around me weigh a minimum of two tons more than I do and I will stay to the right side of the road so they can safely pass me.

N.C . State is mainly a walking campus, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t an insane amount of vehicles and buses on campus. Bicyclists: please, please, for the safety of yourself and the sanity of those of us driving, remember that while you have the legal rights of a vehicle, that doesn’t give you the right to weave in and out of traffic.

NCSU Transportation has even published an amazing pamphlet about bicycling on campus. It’s definitely worth while to look over it before you hop on your bike the next time.

Drivers, remember that not all bicyclists follow the rules of the road, and you have to be extra defensive when driving. Also, keep in mind that pedestrians always have the right of way, a fact one must be extra mindful of on Dan Allen Drive.

Be safe, as cars hitting bicycles or pedestrians, and vice versa, never turns out well.