Tom,
Stressing the importance of having lights is all good.
But in this particular case, where we have very little other
information, the reader can easily assume that this is the most
salient point. Not stated are any of the other possible factors, e.g.
was the driver speeding? drunk? sleeping?
The way I would frame is:
Having good lights is good insurance against carelessly homicidal
motorists who aren't paying attention.
Quoting [email protected]:
I appreciate the feedback on the latest blog post. It will be
helpful as we work to reduce the number of crashes and fatalities.
I did not write about the lack of lights to blame the victim, but to
objectively share the facts about the crash, as reported by law
enforcement. The fact that a person on a bike was riding on a rural
highway at night with no lights is significant, at least to me, in
that it could be considered as one of the contributing factors and
reinforces the importance of using proper riding tools. Ignoring
that element would do nothing to educate people about an action that
can put someone in danger.
The goal in writing that is to have someone think: "I really need to
get lights for my bike."
I have written the details of crashes caused by motorist actions,
and those in which a cyclists' actions played a role. I think that's
the best approach to take as we are trying to make roads safer for
all users: people in cars, on bikes and on foot.
Also, if the crash investigation shows the motorist swerved onto the
shoulder, I will report that.
Tom Held
Wisconsin Bike Fed
Share and Be Aware
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 18, 2015, at 1:56 PM, Robbie Webber <[email protected]> wrote:
OK, I admit that I just unloaded on the Bike Fed blog about this
most recent death. I will own that. But I am very frustrated by
seeing so many news reports about pedestrians and bicyclists being
killed on the roads this year.
And the news reports -- even by Bike Fed, of all sources -- always
seem to focus on what the victim did wrong. In this case, no lights
and no reflective clothing.
I just finished reading a blog post about "walk-shaming," and it
resonated with me.
Since my comments are "awaiting moderation," and I'm impatient
(some might say hot-tempered), here are my comments:
If you go to streetview, you can see that the road has shoulders in
the location. Assuming that the bicyclist was riding on the
shoulder — and I have to assume that any bicyclist out in the
evening on a rural road would be on the shoulder — why are we
focusing so much on the fact that he didn’t have lights or
reflective clothing? Isn’t that a bit of blaming the victim?
Of course, both legally and practically, one should use lights,
reflectors/flashers, and/or reflective clothing at night. But there
is always another party involved. What about the driver? Geez, I’m
worried about hitting a DEER at night. Shouldn’t the driver be
aware of what’s around him?
If indeed the bicyclist was on the shoulder, the driver would have
to have left the travel lane to hit the guy. I realize that Share
and Be Aware is focused on keeping bicyclists safe, but where is
the outrage that drivers are not paying attention?
And maybe we should also be looking at why people have no choice
but to travel on these roads. What about infrastructure? Isn’t it a
great thing that people are using their bikes to get around? Do
they have a safe route when they chose a bike?
Unfortunately, we do not have the victim’s side of the story, so we
will maybe never know why he was out there and whether he was on
the shoulder. I’m sure the driver will never even get a ticket
because the bicyclist didn’t have lights. Leave your lane = oopsie.
No lights = death penalty.
- See more at:
http://www.bfw.org/2015/09/17/crash-in-vilas-county-raises-bike-fatalities-to-13-for-the-year/#sthash.AaJWCTH4.dpuf
Robbie Webber
Transportation Policy Analyst
608-263-9984 (o)
608-225-0002 (c)
[email protected]
All opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect
those of my employer or any other group with which I am affiliated.
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