[Macomb-Cycling] [S-Smith7 at wiu.edu: cyclist hit in Macomb this weekend]
Dana Miller
danamiller88 at msn.com
Mon Jun 30 11:31:35 CDT 2008
I forwarded this article to the cycle list earlier this month concerning a new law in Illiniois that requires motorists to give cyclists 3 feet of space when passing (which would include coming up next to them in traffic at a stoplight). This incident should have been ticketed on the spot and reported to the driver's insurance company. The bicycle was her private property and was basically destroyed by the car. What concerns me most about this case (outside of the obvious, where she could have been really hurt physically, not to mention her bicycle that was ruined from the sound of this) is that this Macomb police officer apparently hasn't been briefed on a new traffic law that is very important, especially in this time where more and more are riding bicycles in traffic out of necessity for gas prices. Our community also needs to be educated somehow concerning cyclists' right to the road since we don't have special bike paths in town.
Dana
http://www.pambamtb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:bike-law-aims-to-improve-safety-on-road&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50http://www.pambamtb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:bike-law-aims-to-improve-safety-on-road&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50
Bike law aims to improve safety on road
Written by Tim McGrath
Friday, 09 May 2008 06:37
>From the Peora Journal Star:
Motorists now required to pass cyclists at distance of three feet
Friday, May 9, 2008 by scott hilyard of the journal star PEORIA
- Kathy John, like most bicyclists, is familiar with the scary whoosh
of air she feels when a car that's traveling too fast and too close
passes her when she's riding. She hopes a new state law that
specifies what "too close" means when it comes to vehicles and bicycles
will minimize the chance of it happening again.
"I think it's a
very necessary law," said John of Dunlap, who is the president of
Illinois Valley Wheelm'n, a central Illinois bicycling club. "Hopefully
people will get the word and know what to do when they encounter a
bicyclist."
The new law that took effect this year requires that
motorists pass bicycles at a distance of at least three feet. It
clarifies an existing law that is not bicycle
specific that requires that vehicles pass other vehicles "at a safe distance."
The three-feet law was sponsored in the Illinois General Assembly by
Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines, who was herself once clipped by a
car and knocked to the ground while riding. Police didn't know what to
charge the driver of the car with in that accident, said Ed Barsotti,
the executive director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists.
"Obviously, it's a law that's going to be difficult to enforce,"
Barsotti said. "But we're hoping the major outcomes are that it will
educate the public about bicycle safety, and it will give police
departments something to charge violators with."
Fatal bicycle accidents decreased in Illinois from 24 in 2006 to 18 in 2007.
Josh Collins, the general manager of Bellevue Bicycle at Prospect Road
and War Memorial Drive, rides his bike in the city, in the country, on
trails and down mountains. He's had to take occasional physical
measures while riding to avoid getting hit by a passing car.
"If
nothing else, the new law reinforces that cars need to give bicycles
room when they pass. Sometimes it seems that drivers forget that cars
have mirrors that stick out," Collins said. "This gives a concrete
number of what it means to safely pass a bicyclist."
Barsotti emphasized that bicyclists can help keep themselves safer by following the rules of the road.
"Drivers get annoyed by bicyclists that don't stop at stop signs or
ride three, four riders wide," Barsotti. "Earning respect is a two-way
street."
Collins is a stickler for the law.
"I obey all
traffic laws. I keep close to the white line, stop at lights and signs.
All that. It's a big deal to me to do my part to stay safe in traffic,"
Collins said. "A lot of drivers don't understand that we have a right
to be on the roads. We're a vehicle, too, we just go a little slower.
If you come up on a bicyclist, slow down, wait for a gap from oncoming
traffic and make a safe pass."
Barsotti's group received a
$33,373 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division
of Traffic Safety to produce and air a radio spot on the new law. The
spot, called "Please Don't Squeeze," will air locally on WFYR-FM all
this month.
"We want the motoring public to be aware of the new
law and to observe it," said IDOT Secretary Milton Sees in a prepared
statement. "Our goal is to make the roadways safer for bicyclists and
reduce crashes and injuries."
Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or at
shilyard at pjstar.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 06:41 )
Bike law aims to improve safety on road
Written by Tim McGrath
Friday, 09 May 2008 06:37
>From the Peora Journal Star:
Motorists now required to pass cyclists at distance of three feet
Friday, May 9, 2008 by scott hilyard of the journal star PEORIA
- Kathy John, like most bicyclists, is familiar with the scary whoosh
of air she feels when a car that's traveling too fast and too close
passes her when she's riding. She hopes a new state law that
specifies what "too close" means when it comes to vehicles and bicycles
will minimize the chance of it happening again.
"I think it's a
very necessary law," said John of Dunlap, who is the president of
Illinois Valley Wheelm'n, a central Illinois bicycling club. "Hopefully
people will get the word and know what to do when they encounter a
bicyclist."
The new law that took effect this year requires that
motorists pass bicycles at a distance of at least three feet. It
clarifies an existing law that is not bicycle
specific that requires that vehicles pass other vehicles "at a safe distance."
The three-feet law was sponsored in the Illinois General Assembly by
Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines, who was herself once clipped by a
car and knocked to the ground while riding. Police didn't know what to
charge the driver of the car with in that accident, said Ed Barsotti,
the executive director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists.
"Obviously, it's a law that's going to be difficult to enforce,"
Barsotti said. "But we're hoping the major outcomes are that it will
educate the public about bicycle safety, and it will give police
departments something to charge violators with."
Fatal bicycle accidents decreased in Illinois from 24 in 2006 to 18 in 2007.
Josh Collins, the general manager of Bellevue Bicycle at Prospect Road
and War Memorial Drive, rides his bike in the city, in the country, on
trails and down mountains. He's had to take occasional physical
measures while riding to avoid getting hit by a passing car.
"If
nothing else, the new law reinforces that cars need to give bicycles
room when they pass. Sometimes it seems that drivers forget that cars
have mirrors that stick out," Collins said. "This gives a concrete
number of what it means to safely pass a bicyclist."
Barsotti emphasized that bicyclists can help keep themselves safer by following the rules of the road.
"Drivers get annoyed by bicyclists that don't stop at stop signs or
ride three, four riders wide," Barsotti. "Earning respect is a two-way
street."
Collins is a stickler for the law.
"I obey all
traffic laws. I keep close to the white line, stop at lights and signs.
All that. It's a big deal to me to do my part to stay safe in traffic,"
Collins said. "A lot of drivers don't understand that we have a right
to be on the roads. We're a vehicle, too, we just go a little slower.
If you come up on a bicyclist, slow down, wait for a gap from oncoming
traffic and make a safe pass."
Barsotti's group received a
$33,373 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division
of Traffic Safety to produce and air a radio spot on the new law. The
spot, called "Please Don't Squeeze," will air locally on WFYR-FM all
this month.
"We want the motoring public to be aware of the new
law and to observe it," said IDOT Secretary Milton Sees in a prepared
statement. "Our goal is to make the roadways safer for bicyclists and
reduce crashes and injuries."
Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or at
shilyard at pjstar.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 06:41 )
> Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:32:08 -0500
> From: P-Cole at wiu.edu
> To: cycling at macomb.com
> CC: cycling at macomb.com
> Subject: Re: [Macomb-Cycling] [S-Smith7 at wiu.edu: cyclist hit in Macomb this weekend]
>
> REPLIES TO THIS EMAIL WILL GO TO THE WHOLE LIST
> -----------------------------------------------
> Thanks, Jeff, for sharing this information--and to Scott, as well. Two thoughts on this disturbing report:
>
> 1. Depending on the response of MPD, more people might call or write to the police demanding that they do their jobs--namely, protect the rights of bicyclists.
>
> 2. This accident and the apparent police non-response is EXACTLY the reason that Critical Mass exists. I strongly encourage everyone who rides a bike (for pleasure, fitness, commuting, etc.) to participate in our local Mass, which happens EVERY month on the final Friday. We meet at 5:30 at the fountain in Chandler Park for a fun, leisurely-paced 30-40 minute ride through town (different route every month). Truly, the more riders we have, the greater impact we have. It's the sort of fun yet meaningful statement that citizens should engage in regularly.
>
> ride on,
>
> Peter
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeffrey R. Calhoun" <jeff at outfitters.com>
> To: cycling at macomb.com
> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 10:25:21 AM GMT -06:00 Guadalajara / Mexico City / Monterrey
> Subject: [Macomb-Cycling] [S-Smith7 at wiu.edu: cyclist hit in Macomb this weekend]
>
> REPLIES TO THIS EMAIL WILL GO TO THE WHOLE LIST
> -----------------------------------------------
> This email came in this morning to the bike club website email address.
> I thought you should all be aware of it. Note - I responded to and thanked
> Scott for the email and have placed a call in to the Macomb Police
> Department to see if I can get more details. I will try to keep you all
> updated as I find more info.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -jeff
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Scott Smith <S-Smith7 at wiu.edu> -----
>
> Delivery-Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:04:05 -0500
> Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:02:58 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Scott Smith <S-Smith7 at wiu.edu>
> To: mabc at macomb.com
>
> Normally I support our law enforcement personnel but the story I heard from the cyclist who was hit makes me angry. Basically the cyclist was stopped at a 4 way stop waiting her turn to proceed through the intersection when she was bump from behind by a car. Thankfully the car was not traveling fast enough to injure the cyclist but injury was mainly avoided because she was able to get off the bike before it went under the vehicle. The bike was damaged (frame and wheels were bent) and could not be ridden from the scene. What make me angry is that the Macomb police did not want to write up the incident. The cyclist had to insist upon the police doing their job. To make matters worse, MPD apologized to the car driver for having to write him a ticket for hitting a bicyclist. As a cyclist myself, this is not an attitude I want from local law enforcement. There will be more and more cyclists around with gas prices rising and maybe the officers need a session or two to become famil!
> iarized with the cycling world a bit. A TREK bike is not some trinket that can be replace everyday. Giving prominent Macomb citizens a by just because it was a bicyclist they hit is not right either. Just thought the bicyclists of Macomb should be aware.
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> --
> Jeffrey R. Calhoun McDonough Telephone Cooperative
> jeff at mdtc.net Infobahn Outfitters
> jeff at outfitters.com P.O. Box 248
> (309) 836-3706 Macomb, IL 61455
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Cycling at macomb.com
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>
> --
> Peter Cole, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor of History
> Western Illinois University
> Macomb, IL 61455 USA
> (309) 298-3691
> _______________________________________________
> Cycling mailing list
> Cycling at macomb.com
> http://mailman.outfitters.com/mailman/listinfo/cycling
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