"Cyclist Petition in support of Bicycling North Texas

In response to this week's car/bike crashes - 7 in all - 2 fatal - BikeDFW has initiated a petition. This petition is meant to show our city councils, officials, state legislators and national legislators that yes we really are out here. The goal is 100,000 signatures. "

Please go sign the petition that is being circulated through the BikeDFW organization. They are circulating this in response to the number of cyclists that have been hit in the last few weeks. They need as many responses as they can get.

Sign here by clicking 'Register Now' button. (http://bikepetition.eventbrite.com/)

people have been hit? how? i never heard of it.

i signed it and my name never showed up.

Done.

Ditto

people have been hit? how? i never heard of it.

2 people were killed when they where stuck from behind by a drunk driver early one Sunday morning near Joe Pool Lake

A group ride, I forgot who or where they where, 3 people where hit head on by a driver who crossed into their lane. I rider went through the windsheild was the report I got.

I witnessed a little girl, 8 years old, get hit later that same week while she was walking across the cross walk one day. Her bike is trashed and her right fore arm was broken.

These are the only ones I am aware of at this time.

A buddy at work and I talk about bike riding, and bemoan Dallas' bicycle hostility...he didn't know the TX Lege had thrown out the 3' rule last session.

he didn't know the TX Lege had thrown out the 3' rule last session.

This is pretty sad... in Tx the car is king. :(

Also an 83 year old was seriously injured or died yesterday at WRL... He hit one of the construction cones and did an endo, causing head injuries.... Not sure who he was though, very sad... channel 5 actually reported he died last night on their broadcast, so not sure if the article is right?

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/16634678/detail.html

A man was hit on Mockingbird Sat , also hit from behind, he is still in a coma at Baylor.

http://getwellsoonpaul.blogspot.com (http://getwellsoonpaul.blogspot.com)

Saturday, June 14th, at approximately 12:00 noon Paul was riding his bike home going east along Mockingbird Lane in the right-hand toward Buckner when he was hit from behind by a light-weight pick-up truck. He was taken by ambulance to Baylor Medical Center in downtown Dallas. He suffered a severe head injury, three fractured ribs and a punctured right lung. He as been in the ICU and has not yet regained consciousness.

Done.

signed. Nice write up in the Morning News this morning as well. Whenever I pass a rider I say a quick prayer for his/her safety. Ride safe everybody!

have they always been this frequent or this a growing rash of hostility?

I signed but I never saw my name come up on the list. Hope it's there somewhere.
Ernest

The problem with "most" cyclist in DFW is that they want all the rights but follow none of the rules. Can't have it both ways and anyone interested in seeing exactly typical cyclists manners only has to spend 10 minutes at WRL on any given day. It's sad when you stop for a stop sign and get hit from behind from another cyclists....

Man, I hope you don't really think that WRL is typical of "most" DFW cyclists.

Petition signed, btw.

Steve

mrbubl, I think it's the actions of a few that reflect on the many. The recreational/fitness minded rider is far more likley to obey traffic laws and even give way to motor vehicles. It is those that race competitevly or those "wannabees" that want to set PR's for lap time around the lake or wherever that roll through the sign and cut off others.

HOWEVER, there is never any excuse for some drunk ******* coming home form a bachelorette party(???) at 8 am and plowing into two riders on a training ride.

We continued this conversation this morning at coffee and observed that the casual rider does in fact know the impact of what they are doing and how it effects others and follow the rules. It's the Lance wanna be that damages the entire sport and community of cycling.

I agreed NO ONE deserves to be run down while riding whether it is from a go go dancer or an SMU professor. A sad fact is that if you choose to ride in DFW, you do it at your own peril.

WRL is a great area for recreation & can be a protected ride from motor vehicles for the most part. Now if we can all play nice, runners that insist to run 8 across and non english speaking individuals that think a park is license to let your 14 children run free.

way to drag the thread down with immature axe-grinding

anyone who runs a stop and expects traffic to slow deserves to get hit, but where is that even mentioned?

I was the guy that got hit in Irving and spent 6 hours at Parkland. I didn't go through the windshield, but I did break it... http://gresam.blogspot.com/

I think this is a case of having:
1) An increased number of cyclists on the road
2) Increased traffic (vehicle) congestion
3) Very little to no rider education
4) Drivers with too much to distract them from driving

I've been on too many group rides where stopping for a stop sign is frowned upon by the pack... and seen far too many people on cell phones running stop signs. It goes both ways, really. We as cyclists need to obey traffic laws and earn a little respect, and people in vehicles need to get out of their protective bubble and show some concern for everyone around them.


In my case it was down to a driver cutting through the corner and driving in my lane of traffic. We met at the apex of a blind corner, and being at the front of the pack left me with no options. It hurt.