Joggers, walkers, cyclists also have right to roads

It might be a shock to some misguided fools with driver's licenses to learn that New Jersey's roads were not made for only one four-letter purpose: CARS. When designing our concrete pathways, state and federal transportation departments also left room for folks who like walking, running or riding bicycles.

As annoying as this might seem to some, I'm told it was done intentionally, probably to accommodate the 57 million people who pedal occasionally and the 17 million who regularly walk or jog for fitness. If these folks voted as a bloc, they could carry every election, which may be why most states grant cyclists the same rights as drivers, and require cyclists and motorists to yield to pedestrians.

I was reminded of these facts by Suzanne Van Housen, Bette Bigonzi, Bryan Anderson, and Mike and Anne Kruimer.

Suzanne is often run off the street by cars, and pelted with snowballs, milkshakes -- even eggplant -- as she jogs 10 miles daily through Hawthorne, Ridgewood, Midland Park, Glen Rock and Fair Lawn. "Drivers yell at me to get off the road," she said. "You'd think that this wouldn't happen in an affluent area."

Bette, a cyclist, spent several days on crutches in 1994 after her bike was sideswiped by a car in Clifton. Police investigated, but never found the driver. What troubled the Montclair woman even more, though, is the general attitude of motorists who "don't think we have a right to ride."

Bryan, a Vietnam War veteran from Hanover, fled to Iowa a few years ago, not long after a bearded fool in a pickup truck knocked him off his bike after overtaking him on a one-lane bridge in Hillsborough. He tumbled onto the truck's windshield, breaking his cheekbone and collarbone and badly bruising his hip. The driver backed up, but he didn't get out of his truck.

"Instead, he came at me again while I was lying on the ground," said Bryan. "Next thing I knew, I'm looking up into his radiator."

Luckily, other cars appeared and the trucker fled. He wasn't found, although police interviewed at least one suspect.

"It was road rage," said Bryan, 59. "Some guy -- maybe he was drunk -- saw a sitting duck with a yellow helmet and couldn't resist."

Bryan recovered completely. Anne Kruimer wasn't so lucky. The mother of two remains paralyzed from the waist down after a car rammed her while making a turn about four miles from Anne's Edison home. "The woman got between me and my wife," said Mike Kruimer, Anne's husband and cycling companion. "She lost sight of her. She didn't realize how fast bikes can move."

Motorists have been underestimating cyclists since 1896, the year that the nation's first car crash was recorded in New York City. The victim that time was a cyclist, too. Since 1932, some 50,000 cyclists have been killed in traffic accidents in the United States, according to the National Transportation Safety Administration. As roads got crowded, the rate of cycling deaths among all traffic fatalities grew from 1.3 percent in 1932 to 2 percent now. More than 41,000 were injured and 725 were killed in 2004, but the death rate has plummeted 27.8 percent from the 1975 peak of 1,003.

Computed as a percentage of population, cycling fatalities in New Jersey rank 19th lowest among the 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

Still, 16 of the Garden State's 459 traffic fatalities were cyclists last year, the same figure as 2004, according to preliminary figures compiled by the state Office of Highway Traffic Safety. The most deadly counties were Atlantic, three deaths, and Bergen, Monmouth and Ocean, two each.

But hoofing it is 10 times more dangerous. Traffic accidents claimed 157 pedestrians in 2005, compared with 155 in 2004, 147 in 2003 and 177 in 2002. The worst hours last year were from 3 p.m. to midnight when 81 were killed. The deadliest counties were Bergen, with 20, Essex, 19, and Atlantic, 15.

Police blame arrogance for much of the carnage. "Motorists don't want to share the road with other motorists," said Lt. Vincent DeRienzo, who heads the traffic safety division of the Bergen County Police. "So, why would they want to share it with cyclists or pedestrians?"

Besides recognizing that bicyclists have a right to use nearly every New Jersey road except interstates and toll roads, drivers should understand some basic rules, according to the state DOT and cycling organizations:

Cyclists are safest riding with traffic, not against it.

They may ride in auto traffic lanes or on shoulders, but are urged to leave suitable clearance from curbing to avoid debris.

They may make left turns with traffic at busy intersections. ​

Cyclists and pedestrians acknowledged, however, that they often create their own hazards.

"Some cyclists also think they own the road," said Bryan "What annoys me most is seeing cyclists flying through red lights or riding three abreast."

Mike Kruimer offered one more tip: Since traffic injuries are normally covered by car insurance carriers -- not health insurers -- under New Jersey's limited, no-fault auto liability plans, cyclists should buy personal injury policies that adequately cover catastrophic injuries. Insurance covered only $100,000 of Anne's injuries, said her husband.

Regardless of the hazards, bikers and hikers are here to stay. New Jersey is building hiking trails and bike lanes, and more than 20 million cycles are sold annually in the United States. One of them, a recumbent tandem cycle, belongs to the Kruimers, who cycled the East Coast Greenway together in 2004. The 2,600-mile trip from Maine to Florida took 53 days.

"I'll always do as much as I can," said Anne.

taken from NorthJersey.com

 

Yes, I guess what stuns me most is the fact the general public (and the courts) don't seem to think there's much wrong about hitting someone on a bike.

Luckily, there is some progress being made around the country with laws like the Roth Bill. It's just a pity most are born out of an actual tradegy and public uproar.