[CMI-CM] Re: [CCB] Bicyclist dies after being hit by truck in Urbana

[Rick Langlois]

I want to express my most sincere sympathy for the cyclist's family. I
believe he grew up here in town.

No one likes to hear of these sorts of tragedies. I think the entire
community is lucky this isn't the second bicyclist's death in two weeks. The
hit and run on Montecello Rd. could have turned out worse than it did.

A reporter from Ch. 15 news just came and interviewed me about this. My
talking points were...
1) *There is no excuse for driving under the influence or while distracted.
*
2) All road users have to be careful - and *be aware of the risks and
understand your own level of risk acceptance.  *
Most of us drive cars as well as ride bikes. Will you wear your seat belt?
Do you have airbags? Will you talk on the cell phone and drive?  Bike riders
and peds aren't the only ones killed by cars. Cars kill people in other cars
too.
Do you wear a bike helmet? Do you use bike lights at night? Do you wear
bright colors to be more visible? Do you talk on the cell phone while you
ride? Do you stop at stop signs? Do you use a rear view mirror? Do you use
hand signals? Do you ride on busy streets?
Each of us answers these questions for ourselves and that makes up our level
of risk acceptance. It's important to understand our cycling skill level and
ride within our skill.

3) *Bike lanes may have made this situation safer. *My understanding is that
the bike rider fell while trying to go around pedestrians. Clearly the bike
rider didn't feel safe in the street. If Green street had been a Complete
Street (with a bike lane) would the rider have been in a bike lane and not
had to get around pedestrians on the sidewalk? We won't ever know of course,
but the question comes to mind.

Be careful all!
Rick Langlois



On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 11:23 AM, Joel Gillespie <joelgillian at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2009/07/16/bicyclist_dies_after_being_hit_by_truck_in_urbana
>
> Anyone have any additional knowledge of this situation?
>
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