Bicycling 101 - Staying Safe On The Road
By Liz Sands, Ride Leader
In June 2004, Pia Sass, a Twin Cities woman, was riding her bike
on an isolated country road in Wisconsin and was struck by an 88-year-old
driver, who later claimed that he thought he had hit a deer. Pia was
critically injured and is still hospitalized at the time I am writing
this. Incidents like this are very frightening for those of us who
like to ride our bikes on quiet country roads. What can we do to help
prevent something similar from happening to us?
One of the reasons I belong to this bike club (in addition to liking
the people and the great rides) is that I feel it’s safer to be riding
with a group of people when on isolated roads. First of all, a group
of riders is more visible than one person riding alone. For those drivers
who are inattentive or have poor vision, hopefully five or six of us
out there will be enough to get their attention. Second, in the rare
situation where there is a driver who is malicious (as opposed to simply
inattentive), they may be more hesitant to act if there are other riders
around who could take down their license plate number or identifying
information about their vehicle. Third, if you do have an accident
while riding in a group, there are other people there to assist you
and immediately call 911 for help.
In addition to trying to ride with others whenever possible, carry
a cell phone with you so that you can call for assistance if there
is an incident with a motorist. It’s also a good idea to carry a pen
and some paper in your seat bag so that you can write down a license
plate number, or write down details of an incident while they are still
fresh in your memory.
One thing you can do to greatly increase your safety on the road is
get a rear-view mirror for your helmet or sunglasses, and get in the
habit of frequently checking the road behind you. One of our members
stated this in a message to the e-group after the Pia Sass incident:
“It is good to wear high-visibility clothing, but you also need to
see what is behind you. During the past three years two of my friends
from the PAC Tour died after being hit from the rear by vehicles. I
was present for one of these deaths. A group was riding on a road into
Missoula with only a minimal shoulder. A vehicle with an auxiliary
rear-view mirror and pulling a recreational trailer approached from
the rear. Oncoming traffic on the two-lane road prevented the driver
from moving to the left to pass, so he tried to take a path between
the cyclists on the right and the oncoming traffic on the left, rather
than slow down until he could pass safely. Unfortunately the extended
mirror on the right hit one woman in the back of the head. She sustained
injuries and died within two weeks.
“My reason for relating this story is that the woman who died did
not have a rear-view mirror. Those in the group who had mirrors saw
the approaching vehicle and realized that they had better pull off
of the road, even though it meant they had to stop because the edge
of the roadway was just gravel and grass. Edy, the woman who was ahead,
did not see the vehicle approaching or hear the shouts of the other
cyclists above the noise of the traffic.
“My other friend was hit by a school bus' mirror on a city street in an upper-
income suburb of Dallas. He did not have a mirror, either. Maybe neither friend
would have avoided death or the impact if either had a mirror. Who knows? I
know that numerous times I have been riding across the country and have noticed
a vehicle approaching without moving toward the left. I never hesitate to move
off of the road. I would rather ruin a tire, or impede my progress than have
the vehicle hit me. Once, I noticed a tractor-trailer that did not seem to
be yielding, moved to the shoulder even though it meant stopping my bike, and
felt the 'whoosh' of the massive rig go past, not more than an inch or two
from my arm.”
Finally, be extra careful when you’re riding on a hilly road or a
road with lots of curves. When we’re riding on an isolated low-traffic
road, there is a natural tendency for the group to relax, chat and
spread across an entire lane. However, you can’t rely on being able
to hear a vehicle approaching from behind, if it’s behind a hill or
around a bend. A driver traveling 55 mph who suddenly crests a hill
to find a group of bicyclists in the road in front of them might not
be able to react in time. We need to be cognizant of “sharing the road”
even in rural areas.
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