This letter is in response to the article, “New London Must Stop Motorcycle Roar,” (July 7), by Marci Alborghetti.

While I can empathize with the writer’s low tolerance level for vehicular noise, bikers and motorists with “souped-up” engines are not entirely to blame. I have lived in New London for 21 years. I have been a pedestrian relying on public transportation since September 2014, when I decided that the cost of driving a car was too expensive. Not even once have I thought, “Oh my God, I’m going to get hit and killed by a passing motorcyclist.” In 2010 I was almost hit by a black SUV which turned the corner from Ocean Avenue onto School Street too fast, as I was crossing, and barely missed me.

An old friend once said, “Motorcycles are dangerous.” Another friend said, “Why can’t people just be nice?”

If anyone is at risk, it is the motorcyclists who refuse to wear helmets. We are all at risk every day, as drivers and pedestrians, from careless motorists who speed recklessly down the roads and highways on their way to and from work. We are at risk of drunk drivers, carelessly celebrating their holidays.

Gentlemen…drivers…please start your engines! And do it safely.

Denise Hickey

New London