NEW ALBANY —
Last week, on the Clark Memorial Bridge, also referred to as the Second Street Bridge, there was a tragic accident involving a pedestrian and a bicycle rider. One man was walking on the sidewalk of the bridge from a job in Jeffersonville to his home in Louisville. The bicycle rider was riding on the sidewalk from his job in Louisville to his home in Indiana. The cyclist claimed he was trying to get the attention of the walker when the two collided. The pedestrian fell into oncoming traffic and was struck by a vehicle suffering head and abdominal trauma.
In the report in the newspaper about the accident, the Jeffersonville Police spokesman, Todd Hollis, was quoted saying, “The bicycle should have been on the roadway, not the sidewalk.” While this may be how the law reads, I do think in this case there needs to be an exception. As someone who rides a bicycle on a regular basis, including on the roadway and the sidewalk of the Second Street Bridge, I would agree that in nearly every other circumstances a bicycle belongs on the road, but to survive crossing that bridge the sidewalk is the only way. Maybe when the Sherman Minton Bridge is reopened I will change my mind.
I still believe the cyclist was wrong, as the one who had the ability to go the fastest and inflict the most damage, he had a responsibility to make sure he avoided the pedestrian. At the very least he should have stopped and let the walker pass by. Some have also suggested that he should have pushed his bike across the span. No matter what method he should have used, he had the burden to ensure that both parties made it across the bridge safely.
Whenever a news story like this comes out it is inevitable that the anti-cyclist coalition uses the tragedy to advance their movement. They are very predictable and almost every one of them say the same thing. They throw around words like “menace” and claim that the roads were meant for automobiles. It is always the same argument that bicycle riders don’t pay taxes and should be registered and be forced to get insurance just like cars. They throw around accusations like bike riders never follow the rules of the road, including stopping at stop signs or speeding through lights.
Bicycle riders do belong on the road. They have the same rights as automobiles and the same responsibilities. In this circumstance the automobiles have the responsibility as the one traveling the fastest and the ability to inflict the most damage.
Many people believe that roads are built exclusively by gasoline tax and car excise tax. These taxes only pay a fraction of the cost of infrastructure. Local streets and roads are paid for and maintained with property tax money, sales tax money and Economic Development Income Tax. Bicycle riders pay all these taxes, and most all cyclists also have cars. Bicycles also do far less damage to roads than cars so the cost to maintain roads for cyclists is minimal.
When you put all people who ride bicycles in the same group, you do a great disservice. You can’t say that every bike rider speeds through stop signs, because I do not. While I don’t always come to an absolute stop at every sign in a neighborhood ride, I will generally slow down to a pace far slower than when most cars roll through the same sign. I do stop at all red lights, which is a far better percentage than cars, and I have never exceeded the speed limit on my bike.
Both of the victims of last week’s accident were on their way home from work when it occurred. When times are as tough as these how can anyone criticize people doing what they have to do to get to work. Neither of these men used the fact that they did not have a car to get to work that day to stop them, they did what they had to for their jobs.
While the circumstances of last week’s accident are unfortunate it does help to raise awareness. Everybody should pay attention to what they are doing and do whatever is necessary to ensure everyone gets home safely. If every person that uses the roads, whether they are walking, riding a bike or even driving a car, would pay attention, tragic accidents like these could be avoided.
I wish a speedy recovery to the man injured and hope he is able to return to a normal life when all of this is over.
Matthew Nash can be reached at dmatthewnash@gmail.com.
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