Op-Ed
Content
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Share The Road!!
The Lack of Bike Lanes is Making Roads More Dangerous.
This Saturday White House senior advisor Jake Brewer 34, was killed in a cycling
accident. The senior policy advisor in the chief technology office was hit by a vehicle in Howard
County as he took part in a 150-mile ride to beat cancer.
Accidents like Brewer’s happen more often than most people realize. According to The
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, an average of 19,000 cycling accidents happen
each year; and the numbers are increasing.
In an article with Next City, Greg Billing of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association
says one of the reasons for this is that over the past ten years there has been a 450 percent
increase of bicyclists in DC alone.
With so many more cyclists on the road there have been many accidents involving them
and drivers. In 2012 there were 560 bicycle and motor vehicle related accidents in DC,
according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
The number of accidents has been increasing over the years because drivers don’t know
how to share the road with cyclists. Often times drivers don’t see the cyclist until it is too late
and they are having a really hard time accommodating to the new road users.
According to the National State Legislatures, “A driver of a motor vehicle shall not
overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less
than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.”
This is is a rule that everyone should follow but very few do, and this contributes to the high
numbers of accidents we have every year.
To solve this problem concerning cyclists and drivers sharing the road, the District
Department of Transportation (DDOT) released the Downtown Bike Lane Pilot Project earlier
this year. This project would increase the amount of bike lanes in the District by seven
miles.These bike lanes will be put on DC’s busiest streets to help both drivers and cyclists. It
would also enlarge the District’s bike sharing system by adding 1100 bikes to it. These bikes
would be available for the public to rent and to use as they please.
This may not seem as big a solution to this problem but it is a start. With more people
biking to work and school the District needs to come up with a system that will insure the safety
of all road users; whether it is a driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian. DC may be taking small steps,
but they are small steps into the right direction.
pd.2
Share The Road!!
The Lack of Bike Lanes is Making Roads More Dangerous.
This Saturday White House senior advisor Jake Brewer 34, was killed in a cycling
accident. The senior policy advisor in the chief technology office was hit by a vehicle in Howard
County as he took part in a 150-mile ride to beat cancer.
Accidents like Brewer’s happen more often than most people realize. According to The
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, an average of 19,000 cycling accidents happen
each year; and the numbers are increasing.
In an article with Next City, Greg Billing of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association
says one of the reasons for this is that over the past ten years there has been a 450 percent
increase of bicyclists in DC alone.
With so many more cyclists on the road there have been many accidents involving them
and drivers. In 2012 there were 560 bicycle and motor vehicle related accidents in DC,
according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
The number of accidents has been increasing over the years because drivers don’t know
how to share the road with cyclists. Often times drivers don’t see the cyclist until it is too late
and they are having a really hard time accommodating to the new road users.
According to the National State Legislatures, “A driver of a motor vehicle shall not
overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less
than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator.”
This is is a rule that everyone should follow but very few do, and this contributes to the high
numbers of accidents we have every year.
To solve this problem concerning cyclists and drivers sharing the road, the District
Department of Transportation (DDOT) released the Downtown Bike Lane Pilot Project earlier
this year. This project would increase the amount of bike lanes in the District by seven
miles.These bike lanes will be put on DC’s busiest streets to help both drivers and cyclists. It
would also enlarge the District’s bike sharing system by adding 1100 bikes to it. These bikes
would be available for the public to rent and to use as they please.
This may not seem as big a solution to this problem but it is a start. With more people
biking to work and school the District needs to come up with a system that will insure the safety
of all road users; whether it is a driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian. DC may be taking small steps,
but they are small steps into the right direction.
