Paul Pegram, Louisville, KY, 30 September 2010
It is not usual for me to add comments to these memorials, something just does not seem correct about it, but I am going to make an exception this time and take the opportunity to do a little moralizing. I also do not normally go looking for for cycling fatalities outside of California, because, quite frankly there are enough similar tragedies here as it is, but the way Biking in LA had worded this particular link made me take a look. As I expected what I read and saw after the jump served as just another example of how entrenched car culture remains. If you read the original account, a witness states that he "believes the driver could not have avoided the collision." YET, the cyclist was on the shoulder, and we are not talking about some 3' wide bike lane shoulder (or too often, less), this shoulder is more than a cars width between traffic lane and edge of paving. And a collision could not have been avoided? That is pure b.s. Clearly the driver was doing something which caused him to leave the traffic lane and not see the cyclist right in front of him - that road looks pretty damn straight where the fatality occurred. Distracted driving would be my guess, by someone not taking responsibility with the seriousness it deserves.
Look, the truth is, there are very few psychopaths who set out to intentionally cause injury and death to other road users. But complacency is even more dangerous because it is an everyday occurrence , and it is insidious because you don't recognize it until it is too late. We drive around for years upon years and nothing happens, and so consciously or not, we become complacent, convinced that nothing will happen. So, reaching for that phone when it rings becomes just another act without consequence, searching for that tune on the ipod, no big deal, what could happen? But then, one day, BAM! How many drivers get into their car in the morning and, before turning the ignition key think, "jeez, this might be the day that I kill or injure someone? I better pay attention and drive cautiously." Pick a number between 0 and 10 and you might be close. Lame excuses like "he came out of nowhere", "I didn't see him", or "I looked away for just a second are just so much wasted breath, and will do little to satisfy a conscience or ease someone else's pain. PAY ATTENTION.
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