Road is not the place to make a point to bicyclists

Bikelane2 Wichita’s infrastructure is far from bicycle-friendly. But until that changes, watch out for those on two wheels.
The death of 65-year-old man on Broadway Wednesday morning should serve as a solemn reminder that no matter who is at fault, the cyclist will always lose in a car and bicycle accident, many times resulting in serious injury or death.
The Kansas Driver’s Handbook says to always lend caution to cyclists and pass at least 4 feet to their left.
Posted by Kristin Mehler

5 Comments

  1. yitsme
    Posted December 14, 2007 at 3:39 am | Permalink

    It was dark and he was walking his bike east/west and crossing Broadway when he was struck by the vehicle traveling on Broadway. I would reason to say he didn’t look before crossing the street and this really didn’t have to do with the area being bike friendly but more with someone not paying attention to traffic before crossing against it. This could easily be considered a car/pedestrian accident. But either way, its unfortunate it happened because a life was lost and another life was scarred due to them striking the guy with his bike.

  2. J R
    Posted December 14, 2007 at 8:14 am | Permalink

    The driver was not even ticketed?

    This is yet another argument for more cyclist friendly streets.

    That said, check the regs. A cyclist has just as much right and right of way to the road as a motorist.

  3. Ben
    Posted December 14, 2007 at 10:20 am | Permalink

    Sadly, yitsme may well be correct. Especially if he was wearing dark clothes on top of it all.

    J R – from what I read the cyclist ‘ran a stop sign’ and so, even using your logic, would be at fault.

  4. TDT
    Posted December 14, 2007 at 11:17 am | Permalink

    I was downtown just last night at dusk. I had a couple of people walk in front of me without paying attention to the cars, and one of the individuals was wearing all black. I really did not see him until the last minute, and it kind of freaked me out. Especially since this accident just happened.

  5. rfl
    Posted December 14, 2007 at 11:21 am | Permalink

    Yes, the Wichita we know today (and every city in America) was built to accomodate cars. That means, when one chooses take a bike onto asphalt, cyclist beware.

    Every cyclist needs to know that its a death trap to ride in the dark without reflective clothing or to not obey traffic laws during any time of day.

    Cycling is not dangerous if you follow those pre-cautions.