Early results of a police investigation suggest a 17-year-old Decatur Central High School student died this morning after
he ran a red light on a bicycle and was hit by a semi.
Why Eduard Westone rode into the intersection at Kentucky
Avenue and Heathrow Way is anyone’s guess. The location is an entrance to the AmeriPlex industrial park south of Indianapolis
International Airport.
But the unnecessary death raises questions about bike safety in a city that’s looking
to join a national trend toward getting cars off streets to reduce congestion and pollution.
It isn’t uncommon
to see bicyclists running lights. Or weaving in and out of traffic, darting onto and off of sidewalks or taking any number
of other risks.
Now that more bicyclists are taking to the streets, how do you feel about safety? Are too many
reckless? If so, should anything be done about it?
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Welcome to the archives for NewsTalk, an IBJ blog published from November 2007 through December 2010.
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Can IBJ please stop referring to this property as "Kessler Mansion"? What a ridiculous title for the biggest, bloated, blight in our city. It's not a mansion. At best, it's an ideal site to shoot low-budget porn. Ahhh! Another business use!
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Its stories like these that prove that a Ball State diploma is worth less than the paper that its printed on. A real institution of higher learning would have taken care of this long ago. No way should this crap be taught in a SCIENCE class.
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It is such a shame that King Ballard has made Indianapolis into Chicago south with all of the rampant corruption.
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How many of these 1,259 bills were actually heard and voted on on the floor vs how many were shot down in committee?
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When a an arrogant young guy with essentially no experience and no qualifications for the job, was dropped into an Administrator position out of nowhere by his "mentor" in the Mayor's office things seemed fishy. Sometimes things are what they seem.
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Yes some cyclists don't follow traffic laws. But yes most cyclists do.
What happened to this young man on the Southside is not that different than the young man in Carmel last year who pulled out onto 146th Street in his car in front of an oncoming dump truck. It was a bad choice by a young man and a lesson that we all need to pay attention to what we are doing and not the electronic distracts around us.
By the way, bicylcists are taught to claim their lane because it is significantly safer. You are far more likely to not be seen (and therefore be hit) by automobile drivers if you are over on the shoulder.
Just a few weeks ago, I was sitting on a downtown street as I waitied to reach a turn lane that happens to be on the other side of the newly painted bicycle lane. With parked cars immediately to my right, I didn't even think to check my rear-view mirror and almost hit a biker speeding by. While I would have been at fault, I really hope that person realizes that the right of way given by law won't always be granted--a pedestrian wouldn't walk in front of a car running a red light just because the sign said "Walk," right?
We all need to be more aware of our surroundings...especially in such congested areas.
One of the most important things about biking on city streets is to make sure you get to the front of the cars. A bike can not sit in traffic and they must weave up to the front. Often this means going to the left of a car instead of right because a car often does not look when the turn right. It is safer to go to the middle. The whole point of weaving in traffic is to get to the front. In Portland, OR they have constructed bike boxes. This is something that moves the pedestrian and car back and puts the bike up front. I can't comment on the situation in Decatur township, but this would greatly improve safety in Indianapolis, http://www.portlandonline.com/Transportation/index.cfm?c=46717/. The bike lanes and possible bike boxes are designed to make sure that a driver is watching the roads. In Chicago, if a person is hit in a bike lane(doored or just hit) there are extra fines. Hopefully Indianapolis has such a rule.
First, bicyclists aren't just now "taking to the streets" but have been doing so for more than 130 years. The current "bike boom" has been fueled by a combination of the economy, aging boomers who found the bike as a great way to stay fit and have fun, concern over energy issues and more. Bikes are outselling cars, you know. Historically, the first "bike boom" was probably in the late 1800's - another era where bikes outsold cars and era where the "Good Roads Movement" was spearheaded by bicyclists who demanded, and got, paved roads throughout the country. This active advocacy in the late 1800's led to the "bicycle" being included inthe definition of "vehicle" in the very first vehicle codes and led to bicycle operators being given a legal right to the road along with cars, busses, trucks, Amish buggies and other slower moving vehicles.
Second, the phrase "It isn't uncommon to see..." various scofflaw behavior among cyclists is completely unfounded. "It isn't uncommon" to see motorists run lights, drive drunk and kill people with cars. "It isn't uncommon" to see that drunk drivers KILL 10,000+ per year. I don't believe cyclists have killed ANYONE but themselves from time to time with UNCOMMON stupid behavior.
If cyclists do stupid reckless things, they need to be ticketed just like any other legitimate road user. However, the thought implicit in the story - that something "has be done" about these crazy cyclists - is not supported statistically or practically.
The more cyclists there are the safer they are. Cycling has boomed over the past several years, but fatalities have not increased at all. More riders, fewer deaths.
Don't let a couple incidents generate a knee jerk response. Look at the BIG picture. Look at the numbers over the years, and the demographics of those numbers.
In 1975 - 1000 or so cyclists died in the US. 2/3 were under the age of 16.
From 1998 - 2008 that figure hovered between 700 & 800, despite huge increases in riders and road users. Demographically, the average age of those killed today is almost FORTY and 87% of those killed were over the age of 16.
We've gone from a 'kid based' riding climate to an 'adult based' riding climate over the past 30 years. Adult riders are smarter, know what they are doing, take less risks and take an active role in promoting their own safety.
Having handled more than 200 "bike cases" in the past 20 yrs and worked as an advocate for cycling at the local, state and national level I've had a chance to review research and statistics with the eyes of a mathematics major-turned-trial-lawyer. To me, cycling has always been "safe." However, as "vulnerable users" of the road, cyclists face risks due to the fact that those who choose to operate 2 ton vehicles are not as good at watching for their 2 wheeled brethren as we would like them to be!
Steve Magas
The Bike Lawyer
BikeLawyer@aol.com
There is nothing safe about me riding in gutter debris, so please afford me my right to travel legally on my bicycle in the driving lane. I choose wider, less-traveled streets when possible to reduce your annoyance and my potential demise from a collision.
Don't worry, I pay taxes too; I'm just not polluting your streets nor taking up your parking space when I choose to ride my bike to work or the grocery store.
Let's get some perspective here. Of course some cyclists take risks and are foolish. But they are not going 75 mph while doing it. Cyclists know they take a risk by only taking the city ordinance given right and hitting the streets that they also pay for with taxes. To venture out on a bike on the streets where many drivers are enraged, empowered, and empty-headed imbibing in coffee snorting, cell phone addled, and late for work requires a certain amount of risk tolerance.