In Miami-Dade, there have been consistently more injuries, more fatalities, and more cyclist crashes each year since 2005. According to FDOT data, the total number of crashes involving cyclists in Miami-Dade nearly doubled from 2005 to 2013 — from 234 in 2005 to 458 in 2013, a 95.7 percent increase. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports 18 cyclist fatalities and 928 injuries in Miami-Dade in 2014. Data points to areas such as Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Little Havana, Little Haiti, Overtown, and downtown as areas with high crash counts.
Source: What Is Being Done to Make Miami Safer for Cyclists? | Miami New Times
Let’s start with the title: What Is Being Done to Make Miami Safer for Cyclists? Out of the gate, it places all safety responsibility on somebody else but those who you think should be interested in being safe. Sounds familiar?
The chief complaint that cyclists have is that car drivers do not pay attention to them and eventually they get run over even if they are riding on designated bike lanes. And I do believe it is true, but we have this problem of other vehicles also on the road which (sorry to say this) are a bigger threat to our safety and big enough to be noticed. Cyclist are small enough and “grey” enough that do not call our attention until it might be too late.
In the past 10 years, most of my driving has been at night and had some nasty close call with cyclists because they were not visible enough or at all. Something as simple and cheap ($20-$30) as a safety reflective vest in orange or yellow can make the difference between arriving home safe or ending up in the ER. The problem is that those things are not cool looking. Look at the picture above: it is daytime and you those wearing bright colors immediately pop out and call your attention.
And by the way, slapping a three or four inches of reflective stickers and adding a couple of LED lights barely reaching the double-digit Lumens to the bike does not make you safe at night either. I know some will think as vandalizing to add more to their very precious and very expensive bikes, but I figure having your toy crushed by a truck is a bigger case of vandalism.
You as a cyclist, cannot expect that more laws or bike paths will keep you safe. Being highly visible is what will increase your chances to avoid being transformed into a road stain.
PS: Also, don’t be dicks.
And follow the traffic laws like everyone else. Don’t run stop signs/red lights, yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, signal before turning, and don’t try to pass on the inside when a car is turning. “Share the road” applies to everyone, not just cyclists.. Rant off/
Oh, and here’s a nifty idea.
Don’t power down a few Coronas before taking a ride.
You can get safety vests for less than 10 bucks. And they still won’t buy them.
If they quit hogging the road like they think they own it. You ever seen the mass groups that go down old cutler and just take over?
Cyclists are the most egocentric idiots out there. Here in tn we have things called green ways which are literally miles and miles of biking and walking paths paid for by tax dollars, do these cyclists ride them? No, they drive upwards of 20 people deep on curve back roads that have giant hills and sharp curves, so if you’re going the speed limit you will still have to almost stop behind these assholes.
Wibbins is right. Same thing is happening in Texas too… Came across thirty something of them on a 4 lane highway, taking a lane and a half, forcing me across the centerline into oncoming traffic. And flipped me off when I honked at them. Very few wear reflectives out here, mostly the young kids, but it seems once they hit the teens, it’s all hoodies and black helmets… sigh
Miguel, you have hit a sore point with me, and not just with cyclists.
When I lived in Chicagoland, people would run on the street in the dark in gray and black jogging outfits. You couldn’t see them until they they were just about under your tires. Half the time they had ear buds in and couldn’t hear you as well. I had more than one person cut in front of me that I almost ran over because I didn’t see them until the very last second.
I wanted to pass a law that said something to the effect of: If you are running/biking/skating on the street and you don’t have enough hi-viz/reflective material, and you get hit, the driver is not liable. If you work on the side of the highway and aren’t wearing your hi-viz PPE, you are in violation of OSHA.
Hell, I ride my motorcycle in a ANSI Class III yellow and orange reflective vest just so I know I get seen.
My personal fear is hitting a cyclist. Zero protection and p=m*v, so my big minivan always wins.
The Cyclist/Pedestrian might have Right-of-Way, but the car has Right-of-Mass.. Brayden is right, the van always wins.