I do not think drivers target people on bicycles but I do think bicycle riders are not taking enough due caution to make themselves seen in the early morning, dusk and night times. Dark clothing and other dark colored items like backpacks don't help motor vehicle drivers see bicyclists at the aforementioned times and can be a problem in the shade provided by all the trees along roads during daylight hours.
When a car hits a bicyclist it can be hard for the driver of a car or truck distinguish from a bump in the road and they keep driving. Nearly all of the hit and run drivers have come forward and turned themselves into law enforcement and face some pretty nasty charges that are now a FELONY in nature. We can only wonder what steps the bicycle riders took to prevent these accidents but making yourself visible is the first step in defensive bicycle riding.
The CALDWELL GUARDIAN has long advocated bicycle riders heed the same approach as pedestrians by riding into oncoming traffic. At least you have some kind of a chance to get out of the way of a vehicle about to hit you. The laws for bicycles in Idaho require bicycles to be going with the flow of traffic and for the life of me I can't understand this requirement. Riding into oncoming traffic may actually prevent bicycle/vehicle accidents. If you have any insight into this please post your thoughts. Every year we seem to have a spate of bicycle/vehicle accidents and I don't think they are due to inattentive drivers anymore than bicycle riders not taking a reasonable degree of caution. One exception are the people who insist on texting while driving and they need to go straight to jail.
The young man you see in the wheel chair rolling around Caldwell was hit while riding his bicycle to Boise on his way to work at Mountain View Equipment. This accident left him hospitalized for a long time and finally he lost the use of his legs. We have to figure out how to make roads safer for not only people on bicycles but motorcycles as well.
ReplyDeleteThe same young man was hit a second time on his yellow paraplegic bicycle right in front of Simplot on Hwy. 19. Had to start all over again with his rehab. But, with a positive attitude, he's competing in triathlons, and working to overcome.
DeleteI think it is very, very, simple for some of you to solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteSimply make bicycle ownership illegal.
Problem solved, right?
What would your Obama do?
Yea man, let's lock up all those people who are riding bicycles. What an idiot your are. Your solution to this ongoing and serious problem comes from the right wing Kool-Aid you drank and it has clouded your ability to think rationally.
DeleteWe have a serious problem with cars hitting and running away from people they have managed to hit on bicycles while driving. Some of this goes to the clothing bicycle riders are wearing that makes it nearly impossible to see them until it is too late. Some of it goes to riders who insist on taking the shortest possible route to their destination and throwing all caution to the wind.
Here's some solutions:
Wear some reflective tape or better yet a safety vest so cars can see you.
Put some lighting on your bikes so you can be seen.
Pick the safest route that will limit your exposure to traffic.
I hate to see people on bicycles darting around in heavy traffic like they own the road. Perhaps throwing due caution to the wind is their ticket to early retirement and life that is confined to a wheel chair or even ended due to careless bicycle riding.
Is YoBamma right-wing? Regardless, he is my hero.
ReplyDeleteIs YoBamma right-wing? Regardless, he is my hero.
ReplyDeleteA question that I have is why do bicycle riders have the right to use public streets and highways that they do not contribute to . Every mile that a car is driven pays for the building and upkeep of our road system through license fees and gas tax. If they want this right they should pay a fee to provide bicycle lanes and they should have to obey traffic laws like any other vehicle. I have seen many examples of bicycle riders running through stop signs and lights that would have gotten a vehicle driver a ticket. I came very close to hitting a rider on highway 21 recently when he when made a sudden left turn from the right side of the rode across my lane and nearly across the oncoming lane. Who would have been at fault here.
ReplyDeleteYour question about bicycle riders comes up all the time about payment to be on the street. The short answer is nearly all of them own a motor vehicle and as such pay for public streets and highways. I ride a bicycle in nice weather and would not be opposed to a fee to ride in a safe lane if the question ever came up by the Idaho Legislature.
DeleteI think you should re-examine your stance on throwing drivers who text while driving in jail Paul. For the longest time you have advocated that petty offenders who get caught on driving offenses should not be going to jail to fill it up when there are much more serious offenders we should be bothering ourselves with. So which is worse, the guy who had his privileges specifically taken away because he has proven he is a bad driver, yet still continues to drive and be a menace to society, or the texter. Just curious as to what has prompted this hardcore lock em up and lose the key mentality?
ReplyDeleteThere are over 80,000 drivers in Idaho with suspended drivers licenses; do you see that many people riding bicycles? Even Judges I have known find the issue of suspended drivers licenses a problem with the way drivers can lose their driving rights and not even know about it until they get pulled over.
DeleteWe can fill jails with people who are societal problems and a threat to public safety or we can lock up everyone for everything... give it some thought.
Sounds like you disagree with drivers licensing laws. Careful, your Libertarian streak is showing again.
DeleteWhat would you propose we do with someone who has had numerous tickets and or DUIs and simply refuses to comply with the law if we don't put them in jail?
ReplyDeleteWhat really needs to make it a civil issue and impound their vehicles so they can't drive. If they are caught a tow truck is called and the car gets impounded until the civil trial is over and the courts get to decide who keeps the vehicle.
DeleteSo if a married couple jointly owns a car and the husband is suspended but the wife isnt, we should just impound their car? What if there is a lien on the car, who gets it then? Is the state going to start telling lien holders they are going to take a loss because someone used the car for an illegal activity? Who is going to pay for the storage of these vehicles? Should the county buy a giant impound yard to store them at? Doesn't this make the county now liable for all these cars while in their care? You know making this all into a civil penalty thing is not a new idea. It surely is not as simple as you would like it to be either and comes with a whole bunch of constitutional issues regarding lawful search, seizure and disposition of a private persons property without due process such as a trial. Suddenly this becomes more expensive and burdensome than it's worth and still does not deal with the core issue from which this all sprouted The offender is refusing to comply with the law and the offender needs to be dealt with. Do you want to know what is wrong with the probation system? Probation only works when there is a threat of incarceration hanging over their head. When the offender knows you are not willing to pay the costs of incarceration, you are giving them a license to continue acting and behaving any way they like. If you aren't willing to pay for incarceration, don't come whining later when you have repeat offenders running the streets committing crimes.
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