4 Bicyclists Hit By Cars In July

The July crash data is in and 4 more people have been struck by motor vehicles while riding their bicycles in Coeur d’Alene. These July numbers have doubled from this time last year. In obtaining the “car vs bicycle” July crash reports from the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, the most common pattern of 2014 is still our problem in 2015, yet it is getting worse. This is the scenario; if you are in Coeur d’Alene riding your bicycle, 1.) on a sidewalk, 2.) traveling in a dir ection opposite or against the normal flow of motor vehicle traffic in the street, 3.) attempting to cross an intersecting street or driveway, you, your child, or someone you may know has positioned themselves to be the most likely candidate to be seriously injured or killed by a motor vehicle while riding a bicycle in Coeur d’Alene. So why is this happening? Why do so many people choose to ride their bikes on the sidewalk? Even downtown, with pavement markings and signage in place prohibiting sidewalk riding, people continue to risk being cited and choose the sidewalk over the street while riding their bikes. Why? More from BikeCdA.com below.

If you’ve spent any time in the street system on a bicycle, you probably already have an idea as to the answer. People that are riding on the sidewalk are generally looking for physical protection from auto traffic. Without this physical protection being provided in the street, the bicyclist will create their own by moving onto the sidewalk. This is why sidewalk biking falls dramatically the moment a protected bike lane is installed.

Until we make an immediate shift to in-street infrastructure that provides the maximum protection and separation for our people that choose to ride a bike, the sidewalk riding will continue as well as these crashes.