The Bill
by Chip Haynes

On September 13th, 1899, Henry Bliss stepped off the trolley at 17th Avenue and Central Park Drive in New York City, turned around to help the lady behind him and was hit by a car: the first automobile fatality. The price of technology, paid.

Now, in all fairness, poor Henry wasn't the first person to ever be done in by a machine. By the end of the 19th century lives had been lost to runaway steam trains, poorly built sailing ships and wild chariot drivers in downtown Rome on a Saturnalia night. We've been paying that price for quite some time.

Bicycling, by contrast, is a very safe thing to do. We may have our occasional falls, but more often than not, what makes bicycling dangerous isn't bicycling at all. It's the added technology of the automobile. (Henry Bliss was actually a pedestrian, remember?) Walking and cycling are quite safe, as long as you don't add cars to the mix. Any time you see the headlines 'Pedestrian Accident' or 'Bicycle Accident' you know they really mean 'Automobile Accident'.

My cousin's daughter just turned 16, and is now driving. She is absolutely glowing over this: ear-to-ear grin. It's great to just get in and go. Grab some friends and you're off - any place, any time. What fun! Well, Kate, here's hoping you never have to pay the price.

I've been lucky. I've never been seriously hurt in a car accident. But I've had my share of fender-benders. Just the cost of doing business, folks. Is the technology worth it? I doubt it. I'd be quite content to live my life at a slower pace: Bicycling instead of driving. Salads instead of BBQ. Folk music instead of rock and roll. But I don't see this changing anytime soon. Car-free communities are few and far between - especially here in Auto-centric America. Mackinaw Island is about it, isn't it? I think it's time we had more safe havens. I'd be happy to live there, eat my salad and listen to the Kingston Trio.

This all came to mind over the weekend, as I was reminded that just two weeks before all work stopped in our office as we rushed to the windows. From nine floors up we have a perfect view. One hundred and sixty miles to the east, the Space Shuttle Columbia rose above the horizon in a perfect launch from the Cape. I've seen a lot of launches in the last 33 years down here, and every one of them is both astounding and humbling. But is it worth the price? I think today I'd have been happier if they had stayed home and ridden bicycles.