In the past two weeks a 15-year-old Leamington teen was killed on his bike and a semi-professional mountain biker was severely injured outside of Ann Arbor while commuting from work on his bike.
Both accidents were hit and runs.
While Kyle Peters is dead, Jason Lummis has a broken back and a variety of other serious injuries that will have him recuperating for months, if not years. While Harrow teen Peter Martens Schmitt turned himself in to police for the hit and run in Essex County, Ann Arbor authorities are still searching for the driver who ran down Lummis.
The two accidents can't really be compared except that for whatever reason two drivers were unable to share the road with cyclists. While this might not be a solution, I think driver training should include a component on how to share the road with others. In Windsor there are plenty of cyclists and even motorized wheelchairs that use city streets for commuting. I think there already is mention of sharing the road but it needs to be further emphasized and drilled into drivers' brains because it's obvious that the message hasn't sunk in.
There are always a few accidents every year involving cars and bicycles in Windsor. Fortunately most don't result in a death. The loss of Peters is a reminder -- especially in the Leamington area where tons of migrant workers travel by bicycle - that roads aren't just for cars and trucks.
As an avid cyclist myself I am wary of biking on the road and often break the law and use sidewalks because I just don't trust drivers, especially in this car-culture crazy area. There is no or little respect for cyclists. Drivers rarely give cyclists enough room and often come very close when passing. I can't tell you how many times people have actually honked at me while biking on the road as if to say I don't belong.
The car-bicycle clash is also why I mostly stick to mountain bike trails or little used dirty roads. I am paranoid as I myself was hit by a car when I was 15. I was on my way home from a job interview and crossing a very busy intersection. I was on the sidewalk while the driver was making a right turn and didn't look before she pulled into traffic. I knew I was going to get hit seconds before it happened. My screams of warning attracted the attention of dozens who were waiting at the bus stop but not of the driver. She hit me and I flew vertically into the air and landed on the hood of her car. The bike saved my life because otherwise I would have been thrown into oncoming traffic and would surely have been run over.
I remember rolling off her hood, landing on my feet, picking up my keys and wallet that fell out of my jacket and hobbling to the side of the road. People from the bus stop picked me up and carried me onto the sidewalk. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance where they cut off my pants.
Luckily, my injuries were localized to my legs, which turned black and blue over the next few days. I was so fortunate. This was the era long before helmets and I can't imagine surviving if I had hit my head.
For whatever reason, police were unable to charge the driver because I was astride my bike in the pedestrian walkway. I was not a pedestrian nor a vehicle. That's why you have to get off your bike as you walk across an intersection, then you are a pedestrian. Or you ride on the roads and you are a vehicle.
Drivers really shouldn't need a young man's death as a reminder but please, please, please share the road.
Both accidents were hit and runs.
While Kyle Peters is dead, Jason Lummis has a broken back and a variety of other serious injuries that will have him recuperating for months, if not years. While Harrow teen Peter Martens Schmitt turned himself in to police for the hit and run in Essex County, Ann Arbor authorities are still searching for the driver who ran down Lummis.
The two accidents can't really be compared except that for whatever reason two drivers were unable to share the road with cyclists. While this might not be a solution, I think driver training should include a component on how to share the road with others. In Windsor there are plenty of cyclists and even motorized wheelchairs that use city streets for commuting. I think there already is mention of sharing the road but it needs to be further emphasized and drilled into drivers' brains because it's obvious that the message hasn't sunk in.
There are always a few accidents every year involving cars and bicycles in Windsor. Fortunately most don't result in a death. The loss of Peters is a reminder -- especially in the Leamington area where tons of migrant workers travel by bicycle - that roads aren't just for cars and trucks.
As an avid cyclist myself I am wary of biking on the road and often break the law and use sidewalks because I just don't trust drivers, especially in this car-culture crazy area. There is no or little respect for cyclists. Drivers rarely give cyclists enough room and often come very close when passing. I can't tell you how many times people have actually honked at me while biking on the road as if to say I don't belong.
The car-bicycle clash is also why I mostly stick to mountain bike trails or little used dirty roads. I am paranoid as I myself was hit by a car when I was 15. I was on my way home from a job interview and crossing a very busy intersection. I was on the sidewalk while the driver was making a right turn and didn't look before she pulled into traffic. I knew I was going to get hit seconds before it happened. My screams of warning attracted the attention of dozens who were waiting at the bus stop but not of the driver. She hit me and I flew vertically into the air and landed on the hood of her car. The bike saved my life because otherwise I would have been thrown into oncoming traffic and would surely have been run over.
I remember rolling off her hood, landing on my feet, picking up my keys and wallet that fell out of my jacket and hobbling to the side of the road. People from the bus stop picked me up and carried me onto the sidewalk. I was taken to the hospital by ambulance where they cut off my pants.
Luckily, my injuries were localized to my legs, which turned black and blue over the next few days. I was so fortunate. This was the era long before helmets and I can't imagine surviving if I had hit my head.
For whatever reason, police were unable to charge the driver because I was astride my bike in the pedestrian walkway. I was not a pedestrian nor a vehicle. That's why you have to get off your bike as you walk across an intersection, then you are a pedestrian. Or you ride on the roads and you are a vehicle.
Drivers really shouldn't need a young man's death as a reminder but please, please, please share the road.
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