With three Spanish Fort bicyclists recovering from a recent collision with a car only two years after a similar accident claimed the lives of two residents, Spanish Fort Police Chief David Edgar said caution and vigilance on the parts of both cyclists and drivers are the best defense against future tragedies.
Police: Bicyclists, motorists should watch out for each another
Ummm….yeah, this is good advice because they probably weren’t watching out for cars or being vigilant. Other things that might help bikers stay alive:
- Avoid being run over by a drunk driver
- Avoid being run over by a drunk driver who has already killed people and been released so he could run over and kill more people
Thanks, Chief Edgar, any other advice for us?
No TweetBacks yet. (Be the first to Tweet this post)
10 comments ↓
These bikers had all the safety equipment on and did what they were supposed to do. Drivers don’t care. Drunk drivers care even less. These statements are ridiculuous and offensive to the the injured bikers and all bike riders. Is there any place in Baldwin County where it’s safe to ride?
Roads are for cars and trucks not bicycles. It’s too dangerous and the roads are not wide enough. I’ve almost hit bikers and runners and I wasn’t even drinking. If you want to ride your bikes stay on the sidewalk.
lot of showboating by the authorities on this case to attempt to show they are not soft on cycling-vehicle accidents. So, several weeks later he is still an assumed drunk driver? Or is it that he was not drunk but the authorities are not going to disclose that so they can milk it for all its worth? Since this happened south of Fairhope, why does the Spanish Fort Police Chief feel the need to get in on the act?
Stay tuned: next week the Fire Marshal in Citronelle is going to chime in!
In response to anonymous from 9/14-8:53……
Where are these sidewalks that you’re talking about?
Even if there are sidewalks…….they’re for children.
Please think before commenting?
no sidewalks where they were hit. rest of scenic 98 has the Trailblazer sidewalks, but not dedicated bike paths. Unless and until there are dedicated bike paths, cyclists can and should bike in the street. MAYBE the Baldwin County powers that be could install 10 miles of bike paths (5 each way) down County Road 1 to Pelican Point.
#5 and at what cost? The current Trailblazer trail is sufficiently long & wide for the casual biker. Just ball park from Mullet Point to Pelican point is roughly $1.1 million (8′ wide, 4″ thick). This would be comparable to what is existing on Scenic 98 now. I’ve biked the 5.5 miles to PP and back over the summer a few years ago, and if drivers are driving the speed limit it’s safe enough for bikers.
As for #4 “Even if there are sidewalks…….they’re for children.” Do the adults walk in the road? Have you ever seen an 8′ sidewalk? you can fit three bikers side by side without ever killing the grass.
Back on point. Cyclists have equal right to use the road. Just because the vehicle isn’t motorized doesn’t mean you have the right to bully them. This applies to farm tractors, motorcyclists, and even unicyclists (although I’ve never seen one).
As for a bike bath on both sides of the road? The only purpose that would serve would be to justify the high real estate prices which are already in existence in that area.
Chuck,
I’m sorry I’ve been out of pocket.
I wrote……
Even if there are sidewalks…….they’re for children.”
I never said that adults couldn’t use the sidewalks for walking. We’re talking about bike riding here.
I’m saying that CHILDREN should be using the sidewalks for riding, (walking, playing etc).
Of course if traffic warrants the use of the sidewalk by an adult rider, then they SHOULD use it…… as long as there are no pedestrians or children already on it. In that case walk the bike until the sidewalk is clear.
Common sense.
I use to ride in many parts of the country and I have to say……the roads here are some of the worse for safety.
Sorry you didn’t GET IT from my first post.
Next time I’ll give full page details to save you the trouble of writing sarcasm.
Wasn’t meant as sarcasm. I took your statements literally.
The trailblazer’s path meets the requirements of a multimodal path-atleast some parts do. To that end adults and children alike should be able to share it. I do find it quite interesting you keep referring to the children. I lived on the bay for about a year and there was only one family that had there children frequent the sidewalk. They of course didn’t ride bikes, or walk. They drove a golfcart down the center of the path.
If you’re a rider, you may be the exception to the rule in that most riders are not likely to want to “walk the bike”
Regardless, I ride out near Loxley now. There is a rather large group on the weekends and it’s safety is relative to the group size, the time of day, and the route chosen. Best of luck in the future.
you may have right of access to the road as a biker, but its going to cost you at some point in time because its inherently dangerous given the mix of 20lb bikes and 2ton cars. So, if the city/county/state/feds won’t pay for dedicated bike lanes, you are going to have to suck up some degree of abuse you WILL receive on the road.
Sure you daddy told ya’ll when you were learning to drive that defending your right of way does you no good if you get killed in the process.
#9 you are correct, but if the District attorney’s office could drop the hammer on these drivers and prosectute to the fullest extent of the law, one would think that would prevent some future incidents.
However, I have noticed lately that several local municipalities have recieved sidewalk or Transportation Enhancement Grant funding. These monies are recieved as a 80/20 grant with 80% of the funding coming from the federal level. Keep in mind these are tax dollars which come out of the transporation budget each year. So each time a sidewalk goes in, that’s money that has been diverted from roadway mantenance and construction.
I guess if you’re wanting additional safety once could always utilize the biking trails available in Orange Beach or one of the trails in our local State Parks.
Leave a Comment