Cyclists Lives Matter

Sunday, 7th May, 2017 was Mother's Day in Spain.  Mother's Day is a sweet day all over the world as it is celebrated for those who gave us life usually while enduring great and endearing pain during our births. This Mother's Day will stand for just the opposite as a young woman took the lives of at least three young men who were engaging in a pure exercise of enjoying life while exercising. The fact that it was a young woman who did this while allegedly high on cocaine and booze just makes a great tragedy an even greater disaster.

The fact that this same woman has apparently been struggling with drug abuse, including alcohol without learning her lesson just hardens feelings against her, so I am going to take a different approach because once I get on an anger trip against such irresponsibility who knows where that will take us.

Cycling has really developed as a sport and a form of exercise while getting around, bringing ever more of them onto the road where they have equal rights as those of us who drive. Already more than 400 cyclists have been killed through various forms of collisions in Spain. Those of us who drive can use this unspeakable obscenity to reaffirm our commitment towards cyclists and pedestrians to give them the space they need to stay safe.

I think we drivers tend to think along these lines when looking up ahead and we see a bus, truck or cyclists. I have to get around that obstacle. However, in reality there is usually no real urgency to do that. Whenever I am on my way to someplace specific I usually give myself extra time to deal with traffic. I would frankly rather arrive half an hour early and have a coffee than expect to arrive right on time and suffer stress if I am delayed by circumstances beyond my control.

 I have been made aware of several horrible collisions between cars and cycles that has led me to commit to doing my bit to avoid hitting somebody, even if it will not be my fault.

The first thing I would ask cyclists (and motorcyclists) to do is wear bright coloured (hi-viz) jackets so that you can be seen to be safe. I came around a corner recently and a cyclist was right there in front of me. I had not seen him because it was at the time of sunset and he was wearing dark clothing. With a bright jacket I would have seen him long before I got to him.

A cyclist "owns" the space across the lane in which he is at the time. Therefore we should not overtake him unless we can move completely into the opposite lane. Additionally, as cyclists very often  ride in groups, to overtake a group of them can be very tricky business. If the road ahead is not straight enough to see that there is nothing coming toward you in order to make the overtaking safely, then wait until it is abundantly clear.

In Spain we suffer terribly from a lack of patience. it is a part of the national character fault but it is something that causes us to do things impulsively that leads to serious mistakes for which "I´m sorry" just does not mean a damn thing.

Something else that has no value at all is to kill and maim people while in control of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs of any kind. To have to say I was drunk or drugged up at the time and I didn't mean to do that is even more infuriating. No one wants to hear that!

Let us learn the lesson that this odious young woman failed to learn over several chances afforded her. If we are made more aware that cyclists (and pedestrian's) lives matter than at least those so callously killed or maimed will not have done so in vain.

Copyright (c) 2017
Eugene Carmichael