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

[spokewench]

Hi Runny Mommy:

I want on AZ Cycling website this morning and saw the report that the Gage's had been hit and injured. I'm horrified! I'm sorry to say that I really don't think people in cars are going to learn, but I think education is the key. However, there will always be those people who are willing to break the law, or don't give a D - - - about anything, even their own lives. We need to teach our children courtesy, obligation, and accountability in all things and that includes driving. Hopefully, they will grow up and spread the word!

We also, as a country, need to get over the belief that driving a car is a GOD given right and that if you hit something in a car it is always called an "ACCIDENT". When we hit something because of inattentiveness, breaking the law, drunkeness, etc., IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT!

We have had a lot of people hit by cars in my small community of Flagstaff in the last couple of years. Some fairly minor, some much more major (very similar to Mr. Gage) and one young man who was killed. The young man who was killed was just really starting out in life, was just about to get his master degree, his wife was pregnant, etc. and he was hit by a drunk driver (who had multiple drunk driving convictions before he struck and killed Matt). This happened just after my friends became board members for our local club of which Matt had been a member and racer.

These kinds of things strike hard and make so many people talk about not riding the road any more. But, I don't think we can let this happen, we have to persevere and be careful.

I'm sure that many more people are killed in vehicular/vehicular collisions than ever are killed or maimed in bike/vehicle collisions.

Somehow we need to make people aware that driving poorly and causing accidents is not acceptable. That it is not an ACCIDENT. That is a major killer in our country just like Cancer or heart problems and that we need to deal with this problem in our society aggressively!

I am praying for Mr. Gage - it sounds like he is lucky to be alive and I am wishing him the fastest recovery that his serious injuries will allow

[Geonz]

THe ringtone-downloader in question *should* have already had her license revoked because of previous infractions (all having happened in the space of about 15 months). Seems the paperwork got lost along the way. Illinois doesn't have a particularly good record when it comes to making sure the drivers are qualified to be on the road

[Grog]

What happened to the Gage family is awful and I hope they all get better quickly...

I think it's been proven that security increases with the number of cyclists on the road. The more cyclists on the road, the more conscious drivers are of their potential presence. I don't think it solves everything, especially not for fast roadies (who sometimes have better bike skills but lesser margin for error - theirs or someone else - due to their speed), but respect comes with numbers. Maybe in part because the more cyclists there are, the more likely drivers are to know someone who is a cyclist, and to be more careful.

So I'm not going to leave the road to the drivers.