Can we make a difference?

Every once in a while, I run across a topic that I feel needs to be addressed in my column. This week, my subject matter seems to have good timing with a message for all sides of this issue. When it comes to cyclists, recreational bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicles, there is much work to be done to bring respect, safety and understanding between all parties.

Our beautiful area has become a mecca for outdoor activity such as cycling, biking, walkers and runners. With the convergence of triathlons, marathons, cycling, other race events and the hard work from amazing people like John Kelly and supporters of Bike CDA, we have seen a huge growth in non-vehicular traffic on our roads.

With that growth comes the good, the bad and the ugly. Although my point today is more toward cyclists and recreational bicyclists, it is only fair to address pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers.

It is no surprise we are seeing a rise in conflicts between cars, trucks, walkers, runners and cyclists. If you ask any one of these folks who prefer one mode of transportation over the other, they tend to point a crooked finger of intolerance at each other’s bad behavior. Yes, there is plenty of bad behavior to go around. The last few weeks of very good weather has brought this issue to the forefront.

This last week alone, we have seen two car vs. bicycle related deaths. In one case, the all too familiar hit and run that happens more often then you may think and does not make the local news. In this case, the Spokane driver was arrested, but sadly the bicyclist was killed.

Now it is a given that bicycles and pedestrians who share the road with cars and trucks are putting themselves at risk, so safety should always be top of mind. But what about cyclists and recreational bicyclists behavior? First, what’s the difference between cycling and biking? Cycling, in this instance which I am referring to, is the formal riding activity around training and racing of road or triathlon bikes which can maintain speed above 20 MPH. Recreational biking is the informal riding activity that covers everything from beach cruisers, kids bikes to mountain bikes.

This may be a bit overstated, but there is some truth around the behavior of many adults who are cycling or biking, classifying them as reckless scofflaws with road entitlement issues. This trends higher for formal cyclists training for the next big race then other bicyclist. For example, last year we saw a cyclist hit a female runner on Centennial Trail, berate her for being in his way, and then ride off leaving her severely injured. My home is next to Centennial Trail in downtown Coeur d’Alene and I more often than not witness the bad and ugly side of cyclist and bicyclist behavior. Stop signs have no meaning, yielding to right turning vehicles, oh hell no, and riding four abreast into oncoming traffic, absolutely, so get out of the way.

Before all the hardcore cyclists send me hate mail for calling this behavior out, think about the behaviors you have all seen. Riding a very expensive carbon fiber bike at 25 mph is not a license to cut a wake of discourteous and unsafe riding behavior.

Walkers and runners have their fair share of poor behavior and often if there is a dust-up between biking and pedestrian traffic, it leads back to pedestrians not paying attention. Bikes and motor vehicles are traveling often at high rates of speed as compared to walking or running. Their response time is very much reduced when they encounter pedestrians, so staying safe falls on the walker or runner to stay vigilant keep good distances between you and traffic. Walking and running two or three abreast on shared mixed use trails is risky at best.

Also, when walking pets on leashes, you need to keep them in control which is another key aspect that is often overlooked. I have seen more than one training athlete get severely injured from dogs on long leashes darting back and forth on shared trails. If there are good sidewalks to travel, walkers can reduce their risk of injury to all by sticking to sidewalks. Runners sticking to the edge of the road, running in the direction of oncoming traffic is a common sense safety aspect. If you’re running on a mixed use trail like Centennial Trail, stay to the outside edge leaving the inside or roadside to bikes and traffic.

Vehicles are a whole different story and that story is a mixed bag of issues. Drunk or impaired drivers, road raging bike haters and distracted drivers texting, etc. When it comes to sharing the road with 4,000 pounds of fast moving steel and aluminum, margin for error becomes very thin.

Over the last few years with an increase in triathlon cyclist training, the incidents of car vs. bike crashes in our area has had a huge spike around athletic events such as Ironman. In more than one case, car and truck drivers out of frustration purposely forced cyclists off the road and even struck them out of rage. The statistic on motor vehicle vs. bicycle accidents in the U.S. is more than 900 fatalities and an estimated 494,000 injured each year. Pedestrians have not fared much better with both walkers and runners being hit or forced off roads due to careless drivers. On average, roughly 4,500 people are killed and more than 60,000 are injured each by motor vehicles.

Idaho Law around pedestrians and bicycles is pretty well defined and each group has some basic common sense rules that need to be followed. Here is a link to the online Idaho Statutes which cover many of the laws in place.

https://legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title49/T49CH7.htm

Here’s the bottom line. We all share the roads and trails together. No single group has greater rights or entitlement to travel or use our roads and trails unless specified by law and guidelines. The federal, state and local laws define how each group needs to use our roads and trails. The key aspects to consider whether a pedestrian, cyclist/bicyclist or motor vehicle driver is tolerance, awareness of each other, understand the law and be respectful to each other’s usage. Let’s make an effort to be safe and understanding out there!

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.