BumbleBeeDave
07-03-2007, 09:43 AM
This was the lead story on their feature front. There was good art and bullet lists on either side of the page listing the rights and responsibilities of both cyclists and drivers.
The printed story also had an update inserted about the death of an 18 year old cyclist near Fort Edward yesterday morning. I've attached that story afterward. I don't know at this time whether he was wearing a helmet or why he may have swerved in front of the car. I have ridden that section of road and it's pretty wide open, rural, with about a 3 foot shoulder.
BBD
=============================
Rules of the road
Recent deaths remind bicyclists that traffic laws also apply to them
By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The deaths this summer of clothing designer and entrepreneur Diva de Loayza in Albany and 12-year-old Cara Liuzzi in Troy have offered sobering evidence of how fragile a human being astride a bicycle can be.
That vulnerability is underscored by the close quarters cyclists now keep with trucks and cars as growing numbers of Capital Region residents use bicycles for daily transportation on busy streets and highways.
"I ride my bike just about every day," said Mary Lou Nolan-Gillham, 54, of Albany. "In the past, I commuted by bicycle. I do all my errands on my bike."
Nolan-Gillham's husband pedals to work each day at the Rensselaer Technology Park and has noticed he has more company this year.
Local bikers and traffic experts were unable to provide precise estimates of growth in cycling along area roads, but most agree there are more cyclists out there -- particularly among adults.
Nationally, there has been a dramatic shift in the age of most fatally injured cyclists. In 1995, the average age of a cyclist killed in a traffic crash was 29.7. By 2005, the average age was 38.5, and more than 80 percent of bicyclists killed in crashes were 16 or older, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A number of 21st-century realities, including concern about air pollution and global warming, high gasoline prices and road design and engineering standards aimed at accommodating both kinds of vehicles, encourage cyclists to share the road with motorists.
Legally speaking, cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as motorists.
Bicyclists can be ticketed and fined for many of the same traffic violations as drivers, including driving while intoxicated and failure to stop at a red light.
"Once you step into the arena of traffic, there are rules that govern conduct," said Troy Police Sgt. Terry Buchanan.
In fact, licensed drivers who are ticketed for violations while riding bicycles are likely to have the violations noted on their driving records, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Ken Brown, although it won't result in points on their licenses.
Nolan-Gillham said de Loayza's death in June was a wake-up call for her. The 40-year-old designer, who was not wearing a helmet, was running a red light on her bike when she was hit by a motor vehicle on Western Avenue and fatally injured.
While Nolan-Gillham said she routinely exercised caution, minding the letter of the law wasn't always foremost in her mind when cycling.
"I always thought that Albany was small enough that I could be casual about certain rules of the road," she said. "I can no longer take for granted the rules of the road. I have to obey them."
Cathy Woodruff can be reached at 454-5093 or by e-mail at cwoodruff@timesunion.com.
In bicycle/motor vehicle accidents involving human error, driver inattention and distraction and failure to yield right-of-way were factors in 36 percent of accidents in 2005.
- State Department of Motor Vehicles Summary of Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Accidents
784 bicyclists died and 45,000 were injured in U.S. traffic accidents in 2005.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
===============================
From the TU yesterday, July 2, 2007 . . .
Cyclist dies in early morning crash
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
Last updated: 11:37 a.m., Monday, July 2, 2007
FORT EDWARD -- An 18-year-old cyclist from Argyle, Washington County, is dead after he was hit by a van early this morning.
According to the Sheriff's Department, Eric M. Taylor of Pleasant Valley Road swerved in front of the van when it came up behind him near the intersection of State Route 197 and Plum Road.
The van driver, Duane E. Pronto, 62, of McNeil Road, Argyle, tried to avoid Taylor but struck him with the right corner of the vehicle. Pronto's 1990 Plymouth van then skidded off the south side of the road into a field. Pronto was unhurt. The collision happened at 5:35 a.m. Monday morning.
Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. Pronto has not been charged with anything, but the investigation is ongoing.
The printed story also had an update inserted about the death of an 18 year old cyclist near Fort Edward yesterday morning. I've attached that story afterward. I don't know at this time whether he was wearing a helmet or why he may have swerved in front of the car. I have ridden that section of road and it's pretty wide open, rural, with about a 3 foot shoulder.
BBD
=============================
Rules of the road
Recent deaths remind bicyclists that traffic laws also apply to them
By CATHY WOODRUFF, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The deaths this summer of clothing designer and entrepreneur Diva de Loayza in Albany and 12-year-old Cara Liuzzi in Troy have offered sobering evidence of how fragile a human being astride a bicycle can be.
That vulnerability is underscored by the close quarters cyclists now keep with trucks and cars as growing numbers of Capital Region residents use bicycles for daily transportation on busy streets and highways.
"I ride my bike just about every day," said Mary Lou Nolan-Gillham, 54, of Albany. "In the past, I commuted by bicycle. I do all my errands on my bike."
Nolan-Gillham's husband pedals to work each day at the Rensselaer Technology Park and has noticed he has more company this year.
Local bikers and traffic experts were unable to provide precise estimates of growth in cycling along area roads, but most agree there are more cyclists out there -- particularly among adults.
Nationally, there has been a dramatic shift in the age of most fatally injured cyclists. In 1995, the average age of a cyclist killed in a traffic crash was 29.7. By 2005, the average age was 38.5, and more than 80 percent of bicyclists killed in crashes were 16 or older, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A number of 21st-century realities, including concern about air pollution and global warming, high gasoline prices and road design and engineering standards aimed at accommodating both kinds of vehicles, encourage cyclists to share the road with motorists.
Legally speaking, cyclists have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as motorists.
Bicyclists can be ticketed and fined for many of the same traffic violations as drivers, including driving while intoxicated and failure to stop at a red light.
"Once you step into the arena of traffic, there are rules that govern conduct," said Troy Police Sgt. Terry Buchanan.
In fact, licensed drivers who are ticketed for violations while riding bicycles are likely to have the violations noted on their driving records, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Ken Brown, although it won't result in points on their licenses.
Nolan-Gillham said de Loayza's death in June was a wake-up call for her. The 40-year-old designer, who was not wearing a helmet, was running a red light on her bike when she was hit by a motor vehicle on Western Avenue and fatally injured.
While Nolan-Gillham said she routinely exercised caution, minding the letter of the law wasn't always foremost in her mind when cycling.
"I always thought that Albany was small enough that I could be casual about certain rules of the road," she said. "I can no longer take for granted the rules of the road. I have to obey them."
Cathy Woodruff can be reached at 454-5093 or by e-mail at cwoodruff@timesunion.com.
In bicycle/motor vehicle accidents involving human error, driver inattention and distraction and failure to yield right-of-way were factors in 36 percent of accidents in 2005.
- State Department of Motor Vehicles Summary of Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Accidents
784 bicyclists died and 45,000 were injured in U.S. traffic accidents in 2005.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
===============================
From the TU yesterday, July 2, 2007 . . .
Cyclist dies in early morning crash
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
Last updated: 11:37 a.m., Monday, July 2, 2007
FORT EDWARD -- An 18-year-old cyclist from Argyle, Washington County, is dead after he was hit by a van early this morning.
According to the Sheriff's Department, Eric M. Taylor of Pleasant Valley Road swerved in front of the van when it came up behind him near the intersection of State Route 197 and Plum Road.
The van driver, Duane E. Pronto, 62, of McNeil Road, Argyle, tried to avoid Taylor but struck him with the right corner of the vehicle. Pronto's 1990 Plymouth van then skidded off the south side of the road into a field. Pronto was unhurt. The collision happened at 5:35 a.m. Monday morning.
Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. Pronto has not been charged with anything, but the investigation is ongoing.