Last week I blogged about the necessity of looking out for two-wheeled vehicles following the shocking hit-and-run death of David Sherman in Greensboro. Now there’s yet another cyclist fatality in the news, this time a teenager from Dunn, NC.
The Raleigh News and Observer reports that Devin Ray, 16, was killed while riding his bike on Bud Hawkins Road near Dunn. A truck driven by a 17-year old driver reportedly clipped him from the rear and ran over him. Police believe that darkness might have played some role in the crash.
Police aren’t filing charges in the death, but it’s a little curious that the police spokesman “noted that Ray was riding the bicycle in the roadway.” Where else would he ride? In North Carolina, bicycles are subject to the same rules and the same protections as cars. Riding on sidewalks is not just dangerous, it’s illegal in many places. It’s the responsibility of drivers to look out for all the vehicles they share the road with, not just the ones with four wheels.
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I would like to have heard whether or not this cyclist was using head and tail lights as required by law. We cyclists need to expect and demand our rights to the road, and at the same time we have to earn the privilege by obeying all traffic laws. To be treated like traffic, we have to act like traffic.
Every traffic fatality saddens me, because almost always someone could have acted differently to avoid the death. How do you teach that there are no "do-overs" in driving? Safety must be intentional; it is no accident.
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