Ann Arbor needs to cultivate culture of respect between bicyclists and motorists
When you’ve been nationally recognized as a bike-friendly community, you can rightly take pride in that.
A bicycle painted white and chained to a road sign on Maple Road memorializes Timothy Pincikowski of Saline, who was struck and killed by a motorist.
The uneasy mixing of bikes and cars has been obvious in heated conversation since a driver of a minivan struck and killed a bicyclist on Maple Road this summer. Nicholas Wahl, 20, of Clinton has been charged with negligent homicide in the incident. He told police the accident occurred when he looked away from the road to change the radio station he was listening to.
This has been an incalculably sad story on both sides. A 45-year-old father of two is dead, and a young man faces the realization that a single moment of carelessness resulted in the loss of life, which is a horrible burden to carry.
Such tragedy need not be repeated, if both motorists and bicycle riders use it as a solemn reminder of how important it is to know and obey all traffic rules - as well as to practice common sense and courtesy.
On the AnnArbor.com Web site, this has been one of the most commented-on topics, and the discussion has been unsettling in what it has revealed about the lack of tolerance between those who travel on four wheels and those who travel on two.
Given that Ann Arbor plans to add another 26 miles of on-road bicycle lanes over five years, along with other efforts to encourage more bike use, it is essential that we as a community improve our level of bicycle and automobile safety.
If you ride a bike, you need to know the rules of the road, and obey them. The failure to stop at traffic lights or signal before you turn is not only unsafe, but results in ill will by motorists toward all cyclists.
As a cyclist, you also have to understand that whether you are in the right or in the wrong, in a collision with a car you will always be the loser. You need to take extra precautions accordingly. Wear a helmet. Use reflectors and blinking lights on your bike, even during the day. And learn the safest practices. For instance, studies show you’re actually safer riding in the street than on the sidewalk.
As for motorists, you must accept that bike riders have the same right to be on the road that you do, and give them consideration.
Most important, you must understand that when you get behind the wheel of a car, you are driving a potentially lethal instrument, and that your first and only responsibility is to pay attention to the road. Distracted driving is a common source of accidents, be it talking on a cell phone, applying makeup or fiddling with your GPS system or your CD changer. As for texting while you drive, don’t even think about it. That’s an absolute no-no.
As has been so tragically demonstrated, even a moment of distraction can have fatal consequences. Your remorse won’t bring a life back or spare you from legal action.
Earlier this year, when the League of American Bicyclists gave Ann Arbor a prestigious silver-level award for Bicycle Friendly Communities, that was a proud moment for the city.
We’d love to see Ann Arbor continue to move up to the gold and platinum level, not just for public policies that encourage biking, but also for a culture where bicyclists are welcome on our streets, and return that respect and courtesy to motorists.
(This editorial was published in today's newspaper and reflects the opinion of the editorial board of AnnArbor.com.)
Here are some links to bicycle safety information:
How not to get hit by cars, from BicycleSafe.com
Brochures you can download on bicycle safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Learn the "Rules of the Road'' from the League of American Bicyclists
What motorists should know about sharing the road, from bicycledriving.org
Comments
Engineer
Sat, Nov 7, 2009 : 11:17 p.m.
Bikes can not wait at a traffic signal (it takes too long) but motorist are supposed to wait for however long it takes to get around a biker because they do not to get off the road. UNBELIEVABLE!
stan
Sat, Nov 7, 2009 : 8:27 a.m.
My gf and I are frequent pedestrians downtown and have NEVER been harrassed by a driver. Why, you ask? We respect the driver's right to actually proceed when they have a green light and we don't dart out in front of cars. It's sad that people who are strongly anti-driver believe that drivers have no rights.
KJMClark
Fri, Nov 6, 2009 : 11:04 p.m.
One last comment on this excellent editorial. Pedestrians get the same kind of harassment that cyclists do. The only difference is the pedestrians only have to deal with it when they're crossing roads. But my family does a good deal of walking around town, and I can assure you that pedestrians get the same nasty treatment. We could probably bring the motorcycling community in this discussion as well. I've heard plenty of horror stories from them about the way they're often treated.
Kim
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 12:27 p.m.
BicycleSafe.com has great advice for cyclists. I have one more: Extra caution @ lunch time and evening rush hour. Drivers are hungry and not thinking as clearly. They're also rushed to get lunch or get home.
Mom
Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 11:10 a.m.
Since it has been stated that Nicholas Wahl had a big group of supporters at each hearing (which neither proves his guilt or innocence), please understand that the Timothy Pincikowski family has support if not in their physical presence but in the thoughts and prayers of an overwhelming count of people. Tim's memorial service in Racine, Wisconsin was attended by a count well over three hundred people. Timothy Pincikowski and family have been residents of Seline for only two years. Their family lives in Wisconsin. In that short period of time, they have made many wonderful friends including neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances,who totaly support and sympathize with the Pincikowski family's tragic loss. While as a family, we would like to attend each hearing, it is impossible for many understandable reasons, to make the 5 hour trip each time.
CycloChemist
Mon, Nov 2, 2009 : 11:58 a.m.
Thanks to annarbor.com for printing this editorial. Indeed, the efforts of our city government to develop and build infrastructure to accommodate bicycle traffic recognizes the growing interest to incorporate active modes of transportation into A2's transportation network. The age of the automobile is over. Not that we will all stop driving cars anytime soon, but the automobile's dominance of how we get around is ending. Our city's publicly reviewed and city council approved non-motorized plan is the road map to the future of transportation in A2. The non-motorized plan contains information about the need for cultural change through education as well as where to place pedestrian islands and bike lanes. The educational component is just getting underway, through the city's walk.bike.drive safety campaign, and through the Pedestrians Rule campaign. Is our city doing enough? What more should Ann Arbor and surrounding local governments be doing to make our streets safe for all road users? I suggest that you consider getting involved with the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition; www.wbwc.org). This is a non-profit group that is dedicated to developing and improving safe bicycling and walking opportunities throughout the Ann Arbor area. In fact, the WBWC is holding a general membership meeting at the REI outlet in Ann Arbor this coming Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7pm. Membership will be electing new board members, but we'll also be showing videos of crosswalks in A2 as well as excerpts from the CBC documentary Pedal Power. The public is invited; please come and meet some of the citizens already active in creating the cultural change suggested in this editorial.
KJMClark
Sun, Nov 1, 2009 : 10:29 p.m.
If you're going around a blind curve at 40mph, and can't react to road conditions ahead of you, you're breaking the law. What if someone is crossing the street around that blind curve? Would you really feel justified in hitting them because you weren't willing to drive safely for conditions? It *is* illegal for cyclists to travel *three* abreast, but two abreast is legal, even if other people have to slow down and wait for a safe opportunity to pass. It's common courtesy in the biking world to change to single file if traffic is being held up, but they don't have to do that. The same courtesy for a motorist is to patiently wait a safe distance behind the cyclists until they change to single file, then pass at a safe distance; or wait until there's a safe opportunity to pass and then pass at a safe distance - without saying anything out your window or blowing your horn. And I completely agree that cyclists going through red lights is illegal and enraging. I yell at them all the time for doing it, as I sit, on my bike, waiting for the light to change. Please make sure you aren't getting upset at all of us law-abiding cyclists because of people who break the law. I don't blame all motorists for all the illegal driving I see, and every time I get in my car I constantly see fellow motorists breaking laws.
townie54
Sun, Nov 1, 2009 : 8:05 p.m.
I do get way over when I can to give bikers and runners extra room but I have encountered some very rude and arrogant bikers.Pulling up to a red light and running it 3 times I have seen in September.On Huron river drive bikers were riding 3 abreast.When I passed them in the left lane I said "single file people".I did not say it mean or yell like a madman but the woman in the group said F__ YOU and one of the men whipped me the bird.I just waved and said thanks.If I had been going around a blind corner at 40 miles an hour and those bikers were 3 side by side and a car coming toward me in the other lane there wouldnt have been anything I could have done.
nonyo
Sun, Nov 1, 2009 : 5:17 p.m.
Kathy, Thoughtful, informed post, thank you. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball, I don't know how one can legally ride a bicycle, and stay away from 1000lb vehicles traveling over 50mph. The last 1000lb vehicle I encountered was a motorcycle, and they share many of the same concerns I have yet to see the majority of motorized vehicles observing the speed limit, including AAPD vehicles. It is a rarity to see a motorized vehicle come to a complete stop at a stop sign, or a right turn on green intersection. Bicycles are allowed to, and are much safer to ride on, regular surface roads. The responsibility lies clearly on the motorized vehicle to give a pedestrian or a bicycle a safe distance when passing. It only takes a couple of seconds for a motorized vehicle to slow and safely pass. How hard is it to do that? There needs to be a change in traffic laws that reflects modern times. A majority of the 'Smart Signals' do not register a bicycle, and one can sit at a red light for an inordinate amount of time waiting for a signal change. A much more intelligent approach would be to adopt the "Stop As Yield, Red As Stop' law, which allows a cyclist to treat a stop sign as a Yield sign, and a red light as a Stop sign. One thing that has been made crystal clear in the comments to the related stories is that motorists have, in many comments, no idea of the law, and feel entitled, rather than privileged, to drive a motor vehicle in any manner they see fit. Distracted driving should be a criminal offense. The accused in this case, I'm sure is a wonderful young man who had no intention of killing someone that day, but he did, through his irresponsibility, and should have to pay a price. I don't think jail serves a purpose, how about 50% of his gross wages for the next 25 years? What is your spouse's/father's/son's/sibling's life to any of you?
Kathy Griswold
Sun, Nov 1, 2009 : 9:19 a.m.
Your Voices editorial states, It is essential that we as a community improve our level of bicycle and automobile safety. You call for bicyclists and motorists to make improvements, but you do not ask the same of local government. In 2009 the League of American Bicyclists awarded the City of Ann Arbor a Bike Friendly Cities designation at the silver level. You state that, We would love to see Ann Arbor continue to move up to the gold and platinum level. Well, what do the platinum award winnings cities do that Ann Arbor can improve upon? A benchmark analysis of the three platinum award-winning cities of Davis, California, Boulder, Colorado and Portland, Oregon reveals that they have ordinances with well-defined sight-distance specifications and a link from their home page for reporting violations. Improving sight distance is the most cost effective action a municipality can take to improve traffic safety, per the manual: Roadway Safety and Tort Liability, second edition, 2004, pg 171-172: The need for adequate sight distance at intersections cannot be stressed enough. Constance vigilance to prevent man-made objects from being place and vegetation from growing in the necessary sight triangles will probably do more for traffic safety at the lowest cost than most other measures. I have addressed City Council on these issues and have listed recommendations on a website www.SeeKids.org. (I apologize that the website has not been updated in the last few weeks, but it will be in the coming week. First, my time was consumed with an emergency foster care placement of two delightful six-month-old twins and then as co-chair of the Citizens for Responsible School Spending.) The recommendations to Council are: Ask the city attorney to issue a statement on the enforcement of sight-distance and public right-of-way requirements in Chapter 40. The minutes of a public hearing on June 5, 1996, state: Once the city has been informed of a corner clearance problem, liability exists. Once the property owner is notified they also hold some liability. "This ordinance does not have leeway from deviation. Research the relevant ordinances and practices of other progressive cities, and then improve upon them. For example, revise Chapter 40 based on the sight distance code of the three platinum award winning Bike Friendly Cities of: Davis, California; Boulder, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. A benchmark analysis of these cities reveals ordinances with well-defined sight-distance specifications and a link from each home page for reporting violations. Consolidate all sight-distance requirements in Chapter 40, regardless of whether the obstruction is vegetation, signage or other material. Streamline the user interface for reporting sight-distance complaint and for other safety issues impacting cyclists and pedestrians, such as vegetation over the sidewalk and roadway. For example, expand the Citizen Request System on the Citys home page to include these categories and clearly identify them as safety hazards. Establish an ongoing education campaign that focuses on voluntary compliance. Educate the public about the need for adequate sight distance and define the problem as a safety hazard. Enforce the ordinance in a proactive, consistent manner. Tell community members what is allowed in the winter instead of what to trim when the plants are in full bloom. Adopt the existing enforcement model for sidewalk snow removal and review the whole block. For intersection sight distance, review all corner properties. The current complaint-based process of citing only a single property creates tension in the neighborhood and seems vindictive. Keep all City property in compliance and design new projects for maximum sight distance. Consider allowing property owners to trim trees in the right-of-way, at least to remove low hanging branches and growth at the base of the tree. Thanks to AnnArbor.com for addressing this issue in your Voices editorial. Please consider these recommendations in any future calls for improving safety for bicyclists, as well as for drivers and pedestrians.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball
Sun, Nov 1, 2009 : 9:02 a.m.
Seriously, if you ride bikes (I do) please try to stay away from anything that weighs over 1000lbs and travels at 50mph - it is a safety thing. I know you want the road and your Rights to the road etc etc etc - but that does you no good when the bakery truck driver is texting for 1 and 1/2sec. and "didn't see you" Roads are really not designed for bikes. Not yet. Stay safe - wear yellow - and blink.