Yesterday, I was at the Tour de Georgia team time trial at Road Atlanta. It really was a great stage and I had a lot of fun photographing it. To say that I was excited about the race, and cycling in general, as I drove back to Greenville would be an understatement. To be honest, advocacy was not on my mind as I sorted through and cropped my pictures, but unfortunately it came to the forefront when I checked my email this afternoon. I saw a couple of messages about a tragic cycling fatality that occurred last night in Greenville and the news certainly put a damper on my excitement.
It appears from the news story that a cyclist was killed by an 18-wheeler while riding on White Horse road at around 9:30 pm. I don’t know any details about the accident, and I don’t want to speculate. No matter what the circumstances were, this is a horrible tragedy. If the cyclist was riding at night without lights though, it is all the more reason that we should support the Greenville Spinners new “Lights for Life” project that Michelle James has been putting a lot of effort into lately. Basically, the idea is to give away free rear lights to those who ride for transportation and who really need them. The Spinners are teaming up with the Greenville County Sheriffs Department and the Greenville Police Department to distribute the lights. Charleston cyclist Peter Wilborn, who spoke to the Spinners at a club meeting about bicycle safety and pointed out with statistics how lights can save lives, will supply the lights.
Tim St. Clair sent out a great email about this to the Spinners list, but I want to mention it again for any of you who might not have received it. Next Tuesday, the 29th at 5:30 before the Donaldson ride, Peter and the Spinners will meet with law enforcement and provide them with lights to distribute to those they see riding at night without them. WHFF-TV will be on hand to cover the event, so show up a half hour early for the ride if you can to show support for the “Lights for Life” initiative. Hopefully this effort can save some lives. Thanks to Peter, Michelle and everyone else for making this happen.
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3 comments:
What a great idea! I picked up a Blackburn LED lighting system for my bike last year, and was surprised how well it worked. Anything we can do to provide safety for those who really need it is a good thing.
i have 3 planetbike lights - 1 superflash and 2 blinky5's. plus the two headlights - the planetbike supersport and blaze.
its good for people to ride at night to have at least SOME lights, but i've read from several sources that most collisions happen from the front!
i've been getting ready for my commute over the past 2 weeks while reading Effective Cycling, and its helped me speed-up my learning a great deal.
i can only dream that one day people will have to pass a bike test to have a license to ride on the roads.
i'm chronicling my experiences on my hyper-local blog http://bike-commuter-sc.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the comments guys.
Roving Looney, glad to hear that you are reading Effective Cycling. I have an old copy from the 80s, but it has been some time since I read it. You should plan to attend the short commuter course during Bike to Work Week too. I am glad to see that you have a commuting blog too. Thanks for sharing your experiences as anew commuter.
I agree that education is important for drivers and cyclists, but I do not like the idea of requiring a license to operate a bike. Along those lines, I am also against compulsory helmet laws and any other well meaning restrictions that may discourage some people from riding a bike.
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