Bike Ride Brings Attention To The Problem Of Bike Fatalities In Houston
There are lots of reasons why more people are choosing to ride a bicycle rather than commute. For some, it’s for reasons of good health and fitness. For others, it may be a good way to help cut the cost of their daily commute. With more bicycles on the road, there is the potential for serious and even fatal accidents.
According to a recent article appearing on the Chron.com website, the group BikeHouston wished to bring attention to the issue by participating in a worldwide silent bike ride on May 16th. The group rode the 10-mile route in silence and at a slow pace in order to bring the public’s attention to the concerns of bicyclists. Those who participated in the ride were asked to wear white in honor of bicyclists who had been injured or lost their lives in accidents.
Many motorists don’t realize that bicyclists have the same rights to share the road as any other motor vehicle does. Other drivers are either unaware and are impatient and engage in unsafe driving around bicyclists and pedestrians.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report in 2017 indicating that Houston had the fourth highest number of bicyclist and pedestrian deaths in the U.S. since 2015. The most recent bicyclist deaths are Marjorie Corcoran, who was killed by a motorist in 2017 and Sudipta Roy, the most recent bicyclist fatality, who died on April 24th of this year. Both women were hit in relatively the same area near Rice University.