This is getting ridiculous! When are drivers going to WAKE UP?!

[Geonz]

There is no reason for drivers to wake up when there's no regard for cyclists. As long as people think and say that they don't belong on the roads, then the penalty for being in the way of a car is severe corporal punishment/ bodily injury or death, and that's considered a fitting punishment. If the administer of that punishment happened to be driving without a license, they get their little penalty, too - but it's for breaking those rules, not for the harm done to the other citizen(s).

A car has no chance against a semi, either. However, if a semi smears a car all over the highway, there are consequences for the driver, and people do not question what the car driver was doing on the road (either explicitly or implicitly).

A small child has no chance against a big bully, either. Should small children not walk down school hallways or visit the bathrooms? WHile I know many people think "that's life," personally I think it is worth striving for a world where big and small *do* co-exist, and might does not give one the right to accidentally maim other people. We're not talking about a wild animal here; we're talking about a car, being driven by a human. Humans should be held responsible for what happens in the vehicles they're supposed to be controlling.

[Crankin]

This happened 5 miles from where I used to live....
Scary. AZ has always had an issue with uninsured and unlicensed drivers. My mother in law was in a vehicle accident with one and it took years to resolve it. Of course, this could happen anywhere, but it shook me up a little more than usual.

Robyn, ex- Zonie

[emily_in_nc]

Reading all the accident posts in TE over the past few months has made me happy that I've decided to focus more on mountain biking over road riding. I love riding on the road, but I go back and forth about whether I feel it's safe enough for me to actually do. Although traffic is generally light around where I live (in the country), there are no shoulders and lots of big pickup trucks. Cyclists are generally not well-liked, from what I can tell.

I manage to bang myself up around half the time I head out on a mountain bike, but I've not come close to doing the damage that a close encounter with a car (or a dog, like my accident in 2005) could do.

I have never heard of the Gages, but what happened to them could happen to any of us. Unfortunately, all our careful riding and defensive tactics can only go so far towards preventing deadly accidents; if a motorist is clueless, careless, not paying attention, we can still get hit and seriously injured or killed through no fault of our own.

I go back and forth about whether that risk is worth taking or not. At the time I added my signature (below), I felt that it was. Tonight, I'm not so sure. There are a lot of other healthy activities I enjoy that do not involve this degree of risk.

What a horrible crash...I hope George will recover in time. My heart goes out to him and his family right now.

Emily

[7rider]

It *is* a horrible accident, there is no getting around that.
But, Emily, horrible accidents happen anywhere. Someone posted recently about a cyclist killed in Massachusetts, and the only likely culprit was a dead mouse on the scene.
You can't give up on road cycling because of this. It makes the cars "win" and only reinforces the notion that "bikes don't belong." Sure, I don't want to prove the point with the blood of cyclists, but retreating in fear is not the answer either.
My best to the Gages. A horrible accident and wish them both speedy recovery.

[Thistle]

This is so awful Running Mommy. I hope that they will be ok, and eventually be back on their bikes. That sounds like such a trite statement, but I just want them to recover and be ok.

It is truly awful.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sadly, I think we are going to see a continued rise in bikes getting hit by cars for perhaps one reason more than any other- cell phones. Drivers talking on cell phones are having more and more accidents now. Fatal car/motorcycle accidents are suddenly on a rapid rise after more than a decade of steady decline. Why? I'll give you one guess.
Here in NY state is is ILLEGAL to talk on a hand-held cell phone while driving. Yet the law seems to be totally ignored. One out of every 10 or so drivers I pass on the road is holding a cell phone to their ear while driving.
There have to be TOUGH new nationwide laws to stop this. People are getting distracted and people are getting killed. And if YOU talk on the phone while driving, PLEASE rethink it.

[ridethewind]

I agree on the cell phone issue, Lisa. In September in a town near where I live, a teenager driving her car struck and killed a young man who was riding his bicycle. She was downloading ringtones and changing lanes when she hit him. The coroner ruled the death a homicide. The teen was charged with improper lane usage.

[light_sabe_r]

Sadly, I think we are going to see a continued rise in bikes getting hit by cars for perhaps one reason more than any other- cell phones. Drivers talking on cell phones are having more and more accidents now. Fatal car/motorcycle accidents are suddenly on a rapid rise after more than a decade of steady decline. Why? I'll give you one guess.
Here in NY state is is ILLEGAL to talk on a hand-held cell phone while driving. Yet the law seems to be totally ignored. One out of every 10 or so drivers I pass on the road is holding a cell phone to their ear while driving.
There have to be TOUGH new nationwide laws to stop this. People are getting distracted and people are getting killed. And if YOU talk on the phone while driving, PLEASE rethink it.

Australia introduced these laws a few years back...

Hasn't really stopped anybody. The police will ask you for your phone and check it when you're in an accident (they checked mine when I was in a 4 car bumper to bumper in 2004 to make sure I wasn't talking on it at the time... The only call I had made after 4pm was to 000 when the car had crashed)

Those good kind souls who have stopped using your phone since the law was introduced. I salute you!

I'm also glad we must have third party Keely. ^_^ Of course that means the Rego bill is expensive but it's so worth it.

Poor George. At least he has motor function and touch sensation.

I hope the bastard that hit him pays for his teeth!!! >_< (on top of the rest of the medical costs)

[Keely]

What an awful accident. It scares me to hear about these accidents, but it won't stop me riding. I think the more cyclist gettig out there on the road the more likely it is that drivers will finally become aware of the need to be more careful, because they're more likely to know someone who is a cyclist and/or has been hit by a careless driver.

My partner was supposed to go on a hill ride about 2-3 weeks ago but couldn't make it because of work. The next day we found out that the four guys who had gone for the ride were all taken out by a young female driver when she lost control in the rain. Two guys are back on their bikes now, but one has a brain injury and the doctor's aren't sure what exactly is wrong with him and the other guy had a serious gash on his leg.

I'm just glad that it's compulsoy to have third party insurance here in Australia, it's included in your car registration.

Keely