A letter from the PCC

Last night, I posted about the tragic cycling fatalities that occurred this week in our state. I’ll be honest, when I wrote that post I was very tired and feeling a mix of anger and sadness that made writing anything at all very difficult. I think that I made my point about the very poor track record that South Carolina has in prosecuting those who, through reckless driving or carelessness, hurt or kill cyclists and pedestrians. I did not go into enough detail on specific actions that we need to take to solve some of South Carolina’s problems.

Yesterday, Natalie Cappuccio Britt, executive director of the Palmetto Cycling Coalition, sent a letter to all members that mentioned a few of the projects that the PCC is working on to improve conditions for all cyclists in the state. Training law enforcement regarding laws that affect cyclists and pushing for a minimum safe passing distance law are just two of the things that she mentioned in the letter. Those of you who are members have already seen this letter, but I am posting it (with Natalie’s permission) for those of you who have not yet seen it. Again, if you are not a PCC member, I encourage you to join today to help with the “fight for a more bicycle friendly South Carolina.”

Now on to Natalie’s letter:

PCC Members,

By now all of you are aware of the horrific crash that took two avid cyclists lives earlier this week. A hit and run fatality killed a third cyclist in SC on Tuesday. No one has to die on a bicycle, but they do. Contrary to popular belief, bicycling is not inherently dangerous, especially when everyone follows the rules of the road particularly motorists. What is dangerous are the often-illegal interactions that occur between bicyclists and motorists every day, increasing the danger for everyone. Cyclists must deal with careless unyielding drivers, the threat of bike theft, and undereducated authorities and institutions. If everyone followed existing laws more carefully, we would be able to share the road safely. If motorists remembered to be a little more considerate, patient and respectful we would have fewer fatalities across the board. Motorists by law have a responsibility to look for bicycles in traffic just as they do other automobiles. Unfortunately, when a car meets a bicycle in a collision, it is almost always the cyclist that loses. At motor vehicle speeds above 35 mph, the result is almost always a bicyclist fatality. Even if the bicyclist does not die, they may suffer life-altering injuries. We are all responsible for traffic fatalities when we drive a car or bicycle carelessly or lawlessly. Don't think it could happen to you? How often do you "zone out" while driving? How often does a motorist who has just hit a bicyclist say "I didn't see the bicycle"? Did they not see? Or were they not looking...not paying attention. Cell phones and radio’s are potential recipes for disaster while operating a vehicle. A crash is no accident...a crash can be prevented.

Many of you have written me in the past few days wanting to know what you can do to advocate for cyclist rights in SC. First, I want to say this anger, this passion that you all feel now as a result of three cyclists being killed, please keep it up. Do not let the momentum die down. All too often after a fatality, cycling advocates are fired up and ready to work. However, far too quickly this energy dies down and we all seem to go back to our normal daily lives. In order for cyclists to have an impact on the decision makers in this state we must forge a united front. We need THOUSANDS of cyclists to stand together and tell our elected officials, “enough is enough”!

The PCC is working harder than ever on the fronts of enforcement and education in order to prevent more unnecessary fatalities. Just last week we hosted a law officer training course. The major objective of the training was to give law enforcement officers of all backgrounds the tools they need to properly enforce the laws that affect bicyclists and to protect cyclists. The course aims to change officers sometimes negative attitudes toward cyclists. Peter Wilborn traveled to Columbia to assist in teaching the course which included a speaker from the National Center for Bicycling and Walking. Over 65 officers participated. Currently we are working on making this a statewide program. Last year we hosted a law officer training course in the upstate. We plan to host our next training at the SCDOT bike/ped conference in December and then in the lowcountry.

In addition to this you are all aware of the legislation the PCC proposed last year. PCC volunteers worked tirelessly with legislators to educate them on the bicycle legislation. The bill went through the house committee and will go to the floor for a vote in January. The bill still needs to go before the Senate Transportation Committee. I do not need to explain how vital this piece of legislation is to you (visit our website for more detailed information). It is the stepping stone to introducing additional legislation proposing specific fines and penalties against motorist that kill cyclists. The creation of a minimum safe passing distance law will save lives and ensure prosecution of motorists that hit cyclists. As we approach the legislative session, I will be calling on SC cyclists to support the successful passing of this bill. We will need you all to call, write and even come to Columbia to interact with your elected officials. If you do not do it, who will?

Finally we will continue to work on public service campaigns with PSAs, literature, classes and much more. We must work to change perceptions regarding cycling and educate the general public on the rights of cyclists. Currently there are PSAs running in Charleston and the Midlands. The PCC worked with the SC Department of Public Safety to include bicycle related questions on the SC Driver’s exam. The PCC submitted new revisions in 2006 to improve the bicycling and Share the Road section of the SC Driver’s manual. It now states that drivers should give bicycles a minimum three foot clearance when passing. The PCC provided scholarships for 8 individuals to go through the LAB’s Road 1 and League Cycling Instructor courses and worked with Partners for Active Living to hold these courses in Spartanburg in January and March of this year. We now have 14 LCIs in South Carolina because of this initiative. The PCC produced several thousand bicycle safety bookmarks in English and Spanish for law officers to distribute. Several hundred bookmarks were also distributed to children through the Spartanburg County library. A few years ago we successfully moved a Share the Road license plate bill through the SC legislature becoming only the second state (behind Florida) in the country to do so. We raised $4,000 to produce the first 1,000 plates. With 2800 plates sold it is now the most popular non-profit specialty plate in the state. In 2003 the PCC worked with SCDOT to get their board to adopt a complete streets policy – one in the first half-dozen states to do so. The PCC is working with BCDCOG on educational programs aimed at cyclists and motorists. We are working to distribute bicycle lights throughout the state in conjunction with law officers.

There is way too much happening to mention here, but none of this would be possible without the support of cyclists statewide. We have a long uphill climb but we cannot do it alone. I ask you to join me in the fight for the rights of cyclists. I ask you to give your precious time to fight in honor of all those cyclists that died doing what they loved on SC roads. I ask you to stand with me in front of elected officials this session and demand better laws to protect cyclists. I ask you to the support the PCC, local cycling organizations and national groups as well. If you are a PCC member, I would strongly encourage you to ask other cyclists to join. There is a lot of power in numbers, the more members we have statewide, the more influence we have when we go to the statehouse! Let us work together to prevent future tragedies and work in honor of those that are no longer with us. I hope you will join me in our fight for a more bicycle friendly South Carolina!

I am so grateful to all of the PCC members, I thank you!

Cycle Safe

Natalie Cappuccio Britt
Palmetto Cycling Coalition
http://www.pccsc.net/

A tragic week in South Carolina

I was out of town earlier this week, hiking and mountain biking with my family in western North Carolina. Since I was away from the internet, television, and newspapers, I did not hear about the horrible tragedy that I would read about when I picked up the Tuesday edition of the Greenville News upon my return. By now, anyone reading this has probably already heard about the untimely deaths of Lee Anne Barry and Thomas Hoskins, who were both struck by an SUV on a rural South Carolina road this past Sunday. Mrs. Barry, the founder and executive director of The B.I.G. Ride, was on the last leg of her latest cross country ride to raise awareness about brain injuries. You can read more about her and the great work she did with her charity group in this article in the Charlotte Observer. Mr. Hoskins, an avid cyclist for 20 years, had just joined her for the last leg of the ride into Charlotte on Sunday. His funeral took place in Columbia today, with members of the local cycling community wearing jerseys and serving as honorary pallbearers. Just a couple days after this tragedy that took two lives, a third cyclist was killed in a hit and run near Beaufort. It is unbelievable and terribly sad that these three deaths occurred in the same week, but unfortunately, fatalities from cyclist/motorist crashes are more common in South Carolina than they are in most other states.

Here in Greenville, the number of cyclists on the roads seems to be increasing all the time. Greenville already has a great cycling community and is geographically located in a wonderful part of the country for cycling. Add in factors like the US Pro Championships and George Hincapie’s Pla d’ Adet development in the northern part of the county, and it is no wonder that the number of cyclist on the roads continues to grow. I like to promote cycling in this area as much as anyone, but it is important to always remember that this state has a very BIG problem to address when it comes to cycling safety. South Carolina ranks consistently near the top of all 50 states in the number of bicycling fatalities per capita. According to the SCDOT website, in 2004 South Carolina's fatality rate stood at 5.24 per 100,000 population, the fourth highest death rate in the nation. In that same year, 12 hit and run bicycle “accidents” occurred in this state, one of which was fatal. 2004 happens to be a year for which I have statistics, but South Carolina’s record has been about the same every year since at least 1999. As I stated before, our rate of cycling fatalities per 100,000 residents has ranked us near the bottom of U.S. states in recent years (we have consistently ranked between the 2nd to 6th worst state every year since 2000).

A total of 101 cyclists died in collisions with automobiles on the roads of South Carolina between 2000 and 2004. In all of those cases, only 18 citations were issued to the motorists involved (some drivers may have received multiple citations so the total number of drivers charged could be less than 18). To me, that is a sickening statistic. In South Carolina, only around 5 percent of drivers are charged with anything at all when they “accidentally” take someone’s life? Nationwide, between 2000 and 2003, only about 18 percent of drivers were charged in fatal cyclist/motorist crashes. That is still a low number, but as you can see, South Carolina’s prosecution rate in cases involving the death of a cyclist is much lower that the national average.

Since I already mentioned the Tuesday edition of the Greenville News, I’ll point to another very sad article that appeared in the paper that very same day. The number of traffic deaths in this state is up from this time last year. The article stated that, as of Sunday, 870 people had died on South Carolina’s roads. The article points out that 651 of those people were in motor vehicles, which means that 219 were bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists (who apparently aren’t classified as motor vehicles by the state). I have mentioned before that the act of driving a car is something that most people take way too casually. Driving requires complete attention to the road and those who hurt or kill others when they fail to do so should be held accountable for their carelessness. I don’t want to turn this post into a rant about inattentive drivers; I’ll save that for another time. I also don’t want this post to come across as bashing the state in which I live. I am very happy to live in Greenville and I truly do believe that this is a great town for cycling (and is going to get better). My point in bringing up the state’s poor track record regarding cycling fatalities is to encourage all of you to get involved in improving conditions for cycling, not only here in Greenville, but all over the state. If you are not already a PCC member, you should join today. That organization is doing great work to make conditions safer for all cyclists in South Carolina. I also encourage all of you to write your elected officials to ask them, not only for bicycling infrastructure improvements like “Share the Road” signs and bike lanes, but also for driver education and, perhaps most importantly, better enforcement of existing traffic laws. Let’s not let the tragic deaths of three cyclists in our state pass by unnoticed. We can’t expect our elected officials to do anything about the issue of cycling safety in South Carolina if it is not brought to their attention. I encourage all of you to let them know how you feel and to tell them that we need their help to reverse our state’s extremely poor cycling safety record. If we all work together, we can make positive changes for all cyclists in South Carolina.

Recent Greenville News articles

I have been meaning to post this for the last few days, but I haven’t had the chance. If you have not already seen it, check out the article about the Greenways plan that ran in Tuesday’s Greenville News. I liked this quote from Ty Houck toward the end of the article (referring to the County greenways plan):

"We want to build the trails that are fastest and easiest first. Then, once people get to use those, they'll hunger for more."

I think that is a great approach. Of course, I want to see the greenway trail development balanced with more on-street bike lanes and “share the road” signage as it is being developed. Without the other two components, the presence of greenway trails alone can falsely reinforce the impression some drivers have that cyclists do not belong on the roads. Don’t get me wrong, I think that greenway trails are great, but I think that an effective share the road campaign becomes even more important once they are in place. The City and County jsut need to make sure that there is a balance as they facilities are being built.

Also in Tuesday’s paper was an article about Spartanburg’s bronze BFC designation. I was glad to see that the Greenville News picked up that story. We can learn something from our neighboring city as we work toward the goal of designation.

Trails and Greenways Master plan

Several months ago, I posted a preliminary draft copy of the City of Greenville’s trails and greenway plan. Since then, a few people have asked where they could find a high-res version of that map. Well, the City now has the completed Trails and Greenways Master Plan available on-line. From the webpage you can download a large pdf file of the map. The completed plan is a hub and spokes model that links parks and other points of interest (hubs) with trails that connect them (spokes). This plan calls for an additional 50 miles of greenway trail, an additional 53 miles of street based trail, and an additional 10 miles of natural surface trail, all within the city limits.

Preliminary work has already begun toward construction of the new 1.5-mile trail between Cleveland Park and Greenville Tech. The scheduled completion date will be spring/summer of 2008.

Walk (or Bike) to School Day

This week, October 1-5, is International Walk to School Week. More specifically, Wednesday, October 3rd, is Walk (or bike) to School Day. My kids walk to school most days, so they will be participating this week by default. Having both walked and driven my kids to school on separate occasions, I can say that walking is definitely the better way to go for our ¾ mile trip to school. Not only is it healthier; considering the length of the car drop off line most days, walking is usually also faster. Of course, biking would easily be the fastest way, but we are a few years away from my youngest being able to do that.

If you live near your kid’s school and haven’t tried walking or riding to get there, I encourage you to give it a try this week. You can get more information on the resources page of the International Walk to School website.