Friday, April 27, 2012

Driving is not a right...it is a privilege AND a responsibility!

The following letter was published last week in the Ahwatukee Foothill News,

Dear Editor,

Recently, three competitive bicyclists training in the far East Valley were run into and critically injured by a driver who was reportedly adjusting her GPS device. As a bicycling advocate, I’m very upset by this. But, this story and situation is much larger than cycling. It’s about attitudes and behavior behind the wheel.

Three good guys, competitive athletes and family members are possibly alive today only because another group riding behind them included four medically-trained bicyclists (a doctor, EMT and a couple of dentists was the story I heard…it’s probably mostly correct). It took more than 15 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

But, the main point I want to make is that these guys were riding single file in a bike lane and/or at the far right of the road. They were “Sharing the Road” and respecting motor vehicle drivers’ space MORE THAN required by law (riders can ride two abreast, legally).

With all the technology moving into cars and cell phones, there are a multitude of distractions for drivers that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. Yet, our expectations of drivers, as codified in our laws and as reflected in societal behaviors, have not kept pace. It is inexcusable, in my opinion, that a driver is doing ANYTHING in a car (other than having an uncontrollable medical event) that causes them to drive off the road into a bike lane or shoulder where bicyclists are riding, a couple is walking their dog (narrowly missed in this particular incident, I am told) or young children are walking.

If you are “anti-bike”, think about having your child or grandchild in the same space that these cyclists were riding. Or, think about your parents or grandparents walking there…or you being there with your pet in front of you and being run over.

Again, this is not solely a bicycling issue. However, I will remind our readers that current law specifies penalties and fines for killing a bicyclist or pedestrian which are substantially less than marginally exceeding BAC limits for alcohol, but injuring nobody. I’m not suggesting any lowering of DUI limits, and I fully support what MADD has achieved. I’m simply suggesting that pedestrians and bicyclists don’t have the same “lobbying strength”, but common sense and humanity should provide our legislature and local communities the impetus to create penalties for such behavior at a comparable or higher level…so that drivers begin to get the message. It is beyond time to send a message that driving a potentially lethal vehicle is serious business.

It is not OK to treat driving as a casual endeavor. People’s lives, health, livelihoods and quality of life are in danger of a driver’s lax attitude and inattention. Let’s get people refocused on the concept that driving involves the responsibility of keeping other road users safe, be they other drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians or pets/animals. When you drive, you do not own the road…you share it with others.

Bob Beane,
President, Coalition of Arizona Bicyclists

Bob Beane is an economics graduate of the College of Wooster and an MBA accounting graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He is also a bicycling advocate and has been a resident of Ahwatukee since 1992

2 comments:

kimsaks said...

Thanks, Bob. The tagline for the foundation I started in memory of my husband Brett is "Shifting Gears to Saves Lives". I tell others that I'm not talking about shifting bicycle gears but instead shifting attitudes. I no longer want to ride as I first did when Brett was killed (by a driver under the influence of sleeping pills who received the proverbial slap on the wrist and a $1000 fine for violating the 3 foot passing law) because I am afraid of orphaning my children. I decided to combine my love of teaching (I was a teacher for 10 years before my kids were born) with Brett's love of cycling, to educate others about cycling safety and awareness. It's time to stop the cycle of senseless and PREVENTABLE "accidents" that kill and injure so many innocent people. I hope to meet you in person sometime (perhaps at the Not One More rally on 5/19?)

Take care,
Kim Saks
Widow, mom, & founder of the Brett Saks Foundation
www.gearupaz.org

P.S. I am looking for a cycling expert to speak to families at the first Brett Saks Safety Festival on 9/30/12 at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler. Know anyone? :)

Anonymous said...

Driving has the potential to cause serious injury or death if someone doesn't know what they're doing. The state quite sensibly says that you can't do it unless you can demonstrate some basic proficiency in doing so....