I am writing to share a few reminders:
1. Drivers with cellphones don’t see what is right in front of them.
2. Pedestrians and bicyclists need to do everything possible to be annoyingly visible to inattentive drivers.
3. Wear your helmet (and seat belt).
Distracted driving has my attention lately. On Tuesday, I was struck by a pickup truck while stopped at a stop sign astride my bicycle. I was returning home from school after attending a Safe Routes To School meeting that morning.
I watched the pickup coming down the hill as he began making a wide turn—now heading directly for me. I was unable to move, but no matter; he was looking right at me. I kept thinking “He’s gonna stop. Of course he’s going to stop. He’s looking right at me, for crying out loud!”
But he had a cellphone to his ear. When he was about 15 feet away he finally recognized I was there. By then he was unable to stop on the icy road. He slammed into me head-on. I took some satisfaction in seeing the dent my face made on his hood. Mostly, I took it in the shins.
I screamed some profanities at him and got up. I’ve learned lots about bicycle accidents since then. It seems that if you are not seriously hurt, there is an almost universal urge to jump up, hop back on the bike and get where you were going. That is later followed by the realization that even seemingly minor injuries really hurt once the adrenalin wears off. New aches appeared long after I’d been examined and my wounds bandaged at Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
I’m not angry. Lord knows, I certainly needed to learn the lessons I’m repeating here. Despite all the evidence, I’ve given in to the temptation to use my cellphone on the road. So, thank you Mr. Truck Driver for the lesson.
I now know that the safest places to ride bicycles are places where there are already lots of bicycles on the streets— Copenhagen, even some towns in Florida. Probably not Grand Marais in the winter. The more commonplace bikes are, apparently, the more likely motorists are to notice them.
Wednesday, at our monthly Volunteer Fire Department and First Responder meeting, we watched yet another safety video about accident scenes. Episode after episode of dash-cam and helicopter views of cars slamming into accident scenes on the highway. People do unimaginably stupid and lethal things with their cars and trucks. Cell phone use in the car can make you blind to what’s right in your view.
Jeff Kern
Grand Marais
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