After a recent incident involving my car and a bicyclist who was not paying attention, I began to think about ways to avoid similar unnecessary and unsafe situations. This issue affects the UT community, both bicyclists and drivers, on a daily basis.

This issue affects the UT community, both bicyclists and drivers, on a daily basis.

How many times has this happened: You are sitting at an intersection about to pull forward, and a bicyclist approaches the intersection unsure of whether to stop or to proceed forward. Most of the time the two parties can communicate through body language what each intends to do, but in many unfortunate situations, accidents do occur.

Such accidents can be avoided through diligence and by taking the initiative to educate yourself on bicycle laws.

I can speak for myself when I say that even though I bike to class every day, I have not taken the time to look up the bicycle laws in Tennessee. I'm sure the average student can sympathize; with all the tests, reading, and papers - some things just take priority.

It's not that people haven't tried to make the public aware.

Here at UT, there have been many attempts to inform the public about bicycle safety. In fact, The University of Tennessee Outdoor Program (UTOP), Make Orange Green and the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization, recently sponsored Bike Day: an event intended to encourage people to make use of alternative transportation.

The event was held on the pedestrian walkway, and from what I saw, attracted a lot of attention from eager bicyclists.

These attempts, although they have informed many cyclists out there, can never reach the entire public.

While I do believe in limited government interference within our daily lives,  bicycle permits might provide a reasonable solution.

As stated by the Tennessee State Law: "every person operating a bicycle upon a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all the duties applicable to the driver of a motor vehicle". Since motor vehicle operators are required to take and pass a test on driving laws, there is less of a chance of an uninformed driver out on the road.

Why is it then, that those individuals operating bicycles are not required to pass a similar test? In doing this, more people will be educated about bicycling on the road and (hopefully) less accidents will occur.