“I was driving by the park and all four of them pulled out on to the road. Not one of them had a helmet on,” said Wilson, president of West Georgia Flyers, a local bicycle club.
Wilson didn’t stop, but if he had it would have been to show the family the picture he keeps on his cell phone.
“That’s my head with eight staples. And I was wearing a helmet,” he said.
It happened six weeks ago while Wilson was on the last leg of a long ride with about 10 other cyclists.
“A dog came from the left side of the road and ran in front of me. There was nothing I could do about it. The next thing I remember I was being loaded into an ambulance,” Wilson recalled.
He had landed head-first on the pavement and spent the next four days in the hospital recovering from a head wound, a broken clavicle, a punctured lung and several broken ribs.
It’s been six weeks since he’s been on a bicycle. He’s been trying a few rides, then plans to lead out in Wednesday’s Ride of Silence, an annual, national event.
“We ride as a group in memory of those who have been killed in bike accidents and in honor of those who have been injured. We want to let the community know we’re here and we have a right to be on the road,” Wilson said.
In Georgia, bicycles are considered vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities on the road.
“I’ve had people tell me that I don’t have a right to be on the road. That’s not true,” said Mel Jastram, a member of West Georgia Flyers. “We are to ride as far right on the road as we deem comfortable.”
The group provides education programs and has raised funds to put 22 “Share the Road” signs in Troup and Heard counties, but there is still a feeling that local motorists aren’t aware of the rights of cyclists.
“A lot of people don’t understand that bicycles have the same rules of the road as vehicles,” said Sgt. Robert Moore, a former member of the LaGrange police bicycle patrol for more than two years. “Most people operating vehicles don’t realize bicycles have a right to be on the roadway.”
Moore has had several bicycle crashes and credits helmets for keeping him from serious injury.
“I’ve had some good crashes training and competing. I’ve had to replace helmets and I know I would have been seriously injured without it,” he said.
Statewide, Georgia doesn’t rank high for bicycle education and safety. In a national ranking of bicycle friendly states compiled by League of America Bicyclists, Georgia ranked 31st in the nation last year, up from the 49th spot in 2008.
“Georgia is a unique state,” said Jeff Peel, state and local advocacy coordinator for League of American Bicyclists. “When the 2008 ranking came out I got phone calls from people across America saying, ‘How dare you rank Georgia so low. I love riding in Georgia.’ We don’t rank the friendliness of the state. We know there are great folks there and great riding paths. We try to provide objective measurements” in the ranking.
The questions sent out to departments of transportation in each state ask for information on laws for cyclists, funding mechanisms for bicycle infrastructure, policies for new road construction and bicycle-education programs.
“Another issue for Georgia is the use of rumble strips - the bumps on the shoulders of highways. They are good at reducing car crashes, but the issue for bicycling is when they put them on rural roads that are popular biking routes. It makes it difficult to ride and (the strips) have caused bike crashes,” Peel said. “Georgia is doing quite a bit of this.”
The 2010 state rankings will be released this week.
Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.
Ride of Silence
West Georgia Flyers will lead a Ride of Silence in honor of those killed or injured on their bicycles, to bring awareness of bike safety to motorists, and to remind motorists and cyclists to “share the road.” The ride is part of a national event, now in its seventh year.
The police-escorted ride begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the LaGrange Mall parking lot. It will be about eight miles at speeds no more than 12 miles per hour. The ride is open to any cyclists.
For information about West Georgia Flyers and the ride, see www.westgeorgiaflyers.org.
Bicycle safety
— From 2000 to 2006, Georgia averaged 775 bicycle crashes and 17 deaths per year.
— In the United States each year, more than 500,000 people are treated in emergency departments, and more than 700 people die as a result of bicycle-related injuries.
— Children are at particularly high risk for bicycle-related injuries. In 2001, children 15 and younger accounted for 59 percent of all bicycle-related injuries seen in U.S. emergency departments.
— A helmet is the single most effective safety device for reducing the severity of head injuries and the likelihood of death following a bicycle crash. Bicycle helmets have been shown to decrease the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent. However, Safe Kids Worldwide’s research among 8- to 12-years-olds found that less than half of the children in the study group said they wear a helmet on every bike ride and less than a third always wear a helmet while riding on scooters, skateboards and skates.
— Cyclists have as much right to be on the road as vehicles. Cyclists are to follow all road rules for vehicles.
— Most states require motorists to leave at least 2 feet of passing room when overtaking other vehicles (including bicycles) moving in the same direction. Giving at least 3 feet is courteous when passing a bicyclist. Motorists should wait – as they do when passing other motor vehicles – until traffic conditions are clear and safe enough to comfortably pass a cyclist. They should also check over their shoulder after passing a cyclist before moving back into the lane.
Sources: Georgia Department of Transportation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Safe Kids Worldwide
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