http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2008/10/08/putting-bike-safety-on-the-front-page/ Promoting non-motorized transportation in the Motor City Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:03:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2008/10/08/putting-bike-safety-on-the-front-page/comment-page-1/#comment-789 Todd Scott Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:02:53 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=675#comment-789 Great points. Most public officials that also are cyclists already get it. MDOT has put their engineers on bikes to show them first hand what cyclists must deal with. Nothing beats that eyewitness perspective. We could pursue the same with Royal Oak officials. Great points. Most public officials that also are cyclists already get it. MDOT has put their engineers on bikes to show them first hand what cyclists must deal with. Nothing beats that eyewitness perspective. We could pursue the same with Royal Oak officials.

]]> http://www.m-bike.org/blog/2008/10/08/putting-bike-safety-on-the-front-page/comment-page-1/#comment-788 Rapps Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:28:34 +0000 http://www.m-bike.org/blog/?p=675#comment-788 Invite them to go for a ride and experience what it's like having to look and look again at every drive way and intersection or continue to ride calmly when cars are lined up looking for the opening to shoot around you, when the last thing on most drivers minds is anyone traveling in anything other than in a car. Even without a dedicated bike lane educating the public would help. Get a Woodward Ave. billboard that asks "do you know these signals?" Then have a picture of a biker signaling a right/left and stop. Include that bikes belong on the street and not on the side walk, that they have to go with traffic as well. Ask the city to publish a leaflet with this information. Even public safety employees are in the dark. I heard tonight about a Highland Park police officer who made a biker get onto the sidewalk to ride on Woodward, then followed them for a mile. The officer didn't seem to know or care that the bike was to be on the road not the side walk. No one thing is going to change the car climate here, but many things over a long period of time will start the process. Invite them to go for a ride and experience what it’s like having to look and look again at every drive way and intersection or continue to ride calmly when cars are lined up looking for the opening to shoot around you, when the last thing on most drivers minds is anyone traveling in anything other than in a car. Even without a dedicated bike lane educating the public would help. Get a Woodward Ave. billboard that asks “do you know these signals?” Then have a picture of a biker signaling a right/left and stop. Include that bikes belong on the street and not on the side walk, that they have to go with traffic as well. Ask the city to publish a leaflet with this information. Even public safety employees are in the dark. I heard tonight about a Highland Park police officer who made a biker get onto the sidewalk to ride on Woodward, then followed them for a mile. The officer didn’t seem to know or care that the bike was to be on the road not the side walk. No one thing is going to change the car climate here, but many things over a long period of time will start the process.

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