Disappointing Tribune Editorial About This Summer's Cyclist Deaths

Some important numbers:

Bicycle fatalities increased by 12.2 percent in 2015, according to a report released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's the highest level since 1995. The NHTSA also reports a modestly more hopeful figure: Some 45,000 people were injured in biking accidents during 2015, down from about 50,000 the year before.

In Chicago, there were 1,663 crashes between bikes and vehicles reported in 2014. That's 27 percent higher than in 2005. There were six fatalities in 2014, double the previous year's toll. That wasn't Chicago's most deadly year: Eight bicyclists died in 2012.

Yeah, I'm not pulling a punches. I read this and found the focus of the "solution" to be on the cyclists i.e. victim blaming. Forgetting that every single one of these deaths involved a commercial vehicle. Commercial vehicles determined from eyewitness accounts, cameras, and analysis there is a lot of responsibility involving the commercial drivers:

Blaine was struck by a bus that reportedly went through a red.
Virginia was struck by a flatbed truck reportedly failed to signal and failed to account for cyclists.
Lisa was struck by a flatbed truck that drove into her lane and hit her.
Fernando was the victim of a hit-and-run driver that is still at-large even though it was captured on camera.

"Motorists don't own the road, we know that. But cars do outweigh the average bicycle by a couple of thousand pounds at least. So bicyclists have to be particularly cautious on heavily traveled city streets where bike lanes may not exist, or may be buffered or shared, not protected by curbs. Defensive biking is always a good idea. And motorists with the obvious advantage need to be extra watchful."

The majority of cyclists are particularly cautious because we are fully aware we are well outsized by motorized vehicles. I think the focus needs to be on commercial vehicles - training, following laws, etc. I also think enforcement of all of these bike lanes is critical to our safety. Driving, parking, and obstructing bikes lanes is also part of the issue - why aren't police enforcing the lanes? Why are they driving in the bike lanes? Parking in the bike lanes?

I wish this article hit on the real issues rather than telling all of us to keep a level head and be safe out there. Oh, and Chicago Tribune, it is CRASH not accident. UGH.

Full article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-chicago-bi...

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Permalink Reply by Cheryl on September 2, 2016 at 9:53am

In the meantime, there is a post on Neighborhood Square about cars running stop signs (https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160901/ravenswood-manor/does-anyo...). The comments are interesting, and more balanced than usual. My favorite, though is this one:

"If nobody is in the intersection, coming to a complete stop just wastes more fuel, contributes more pollution, and wears on your breaks unnecessarily. Most stop signs in the city you're approaching at about 10mph. You have many many seconds to scan the intersection for pedestrians, scan the intersection for bikes, scan the intersection for cars, and make a judgement call. If nobody is there, and it's a quiet day... It makes absolutely no sense to come to a complete stop. Sorry rule sticklers."

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on September 2, 2016 at 9:57am

Ugh. Well, last night I was coming home from dinner with a friend and saw a car blow a stop sign on Wilson and Ravenswood right before I reached the intersection and it didn't give me the warm fuzzies but you know, 2-3k pounds of metal is a little more dangerous than my 25-30 lb bike.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on September 2, 2016 at 10:36am

Approximately 9 out of 10 drivers blow a particular stop sign near my house, even when there are children present walking or riding to school.

10 out of 10 police cars blow the same sign, so I'm not hopeful that it will improve any time soon.

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on September 2, 2016 at 11:37pm

http://news10.com/6/09/02/surveillance-video-shows-kids-getting-hit...

Recent news video (from Texas) shows drivers not even watching for school kids. 9-2-16. (graphic warning).