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More and more people are choosing to bike to work instead of drive but cars still far outnumber bicyclists in most places. But how safe is it to share the road with dozens of cars and what happens if a motorist causes an accident?
A bicyclist in New Haven is asking the city to do a better job citing drivers in those instances.
WNPR's Lucy Nalpathanchil spoke with Juli Stupakevich who wrote a letter to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano about the cycling community's concerns.
Her letter is below:
Greetings,
I write to you this email which could easily fall through the cracks of the cyberworld. However, you all know me as a human being in the real world as well, so please allow a casual tone despite the Honor of your positions. You are aware that I am an avid cyclist in town, as well as a civic-minded and passionately-involved citizen of this fine city.
I am absolutely horrified by the actions that the NHPD has been taking towards accidents involving cyclists (and a pedestrian) recently, issuing only verbal warnings to drivers crashing into them.
I ride lawfully, though it is often challenging, and to be honest, life threatening. I ride lawfully because the law tells me to do so. I ride lawfully because if something should happen to me where a dispute or collision occurred, I want to be able to say that I was doing EXACTLY what the law told me to do, and I cannot be blamed merely because I choose to travel by bicycle. The law therefore should protect me in the event of an accident because if i travel with all the rights and responsibilities of a vehicle, then I should be treated as a vehicle. Period.
When friends of mine in this tight-knit cycling community have suffered personal damage because of collisions due to the fault of drivers--to no fault of their own-- and the NHPD issues only a verbal warning, you cannot possibly understand how insulting this is. Where is the justice? We are talking about hitting a human being with a vehicle!!! That is not an "oops" situation. The injured are lucky to have their lives. More so, how could you expect someone to pick up the pieces of their life through a painful and slow recovery, without the ability to seek compensation for damages against them? If a driver hits a cyclist (or pedestrian) and receives only a verbal warning for doing so, what does that say to the driver? What message does it send to other drivers? That it is not that big of a deal. That you don't need to travel these streets with caution when there are many types of road-users present. That it is a car's city. The rest of us better scurry out of the way any time a car is near.
We choose to travel through New Haven by bike or foot, which takes up less space, less resources, and is simply a healthy example to be setting for our fellow citizens. This is something the City has claimed that they are in full support of. Money (likely taxpayer money, correct?) has been spent on the Street Smarts program, encouraging people to stop relying on their single-occupant vehicles because that is unsustainable. Why would you put your citizens in harms way if you do not plan on protecting them in the event of an accident?!
One note on the pedestrian who was hit in the crosswalk: His name is Mike, or as he is known around town "Uncle Mike", and he is one of the sweetest, friendliest people I have ever met, and truly looks out for people. He does not deserve to only sleep for twenty minutes or so at a time every night since the accident, due to his serious, and very painful, concussion. He was crossing through the crosswalk while the sound dictating it was safe to do so. It is state law to yield to a pedestrian. The police officer admitted to him that the cab driver told him he was just trying to sneak through the intersection. Why, then, would the officer seemingly take the cabbies side by giving him such a pitiful punishment?
We should not be slapping people on the wrist for serious offenses. We need to send a uniform, consistent message to the road-users of the city. This is not a lawless city where you can rush to get to the next light, and the next. It is useless to drive recklessly anyway- it really saves you no time. There is no reason to endanger peoples lives because you may be running late, just want to get to the highway, or because you feel like driving like a tough guy.
I challenge you to take significant action on this. I do not want a lengthy email response full of pretty words. I want a concrete plan to step up efforts to punish those at fault for such horrible offenses, and I'd like to know how you plan to implement them, and when. Because, honestly, I'd like to know when it is safe to ride my bike again.
Respectfully Submitted,
Juli Stupakevich
And a response to WNPR from Adam Joseph, Spokesman for Mayor Destefano
The City of New Haven is dedicated to making its streets as safe as possible for motorist, cyclists and pedestrians.
Over the course of the past 4 years, the City working with cycling advocates, launched the Street Smarts traffic safety campaign aimed at educating motorists to their responsibilities when it comes to sharing the road with cyclists. Working with advocates, the City adopted a Complete Streets manual for road construction. This represents a paradigm shift in how we think about road design - one that takes in to account not only motorists and moving vehicles in and our of a location but cyclist and pedestrians in an effort to make New Haven a more livable city.
Early work includes the new traffic calming roundabouts, permanent speed humps, and drag-racing preventative measures such as "bump-outs." We have clearly marked bike routes across the city, added bike parking spaces at Union Station and installed new pedestrian signals.
Furthermore, the New Haven Police Department has renewed its commitment to traffic enforcement. The traffic unit focuses and targets key areas in a data-driven effort to improve safety in New Haven.
The New Haven Police Department is to working with cycling advocates to ensure that all rules of the road are followed.
