Riding a Bike...
Suicidal on Main
Drags
It's been two weeks since a hit and run driver struck and killed a man that had been married only briefly while driving his bike on Eastern Avenue near Evansville Avenue on Saturday, November 15th, in BROAD DAYLIGHT at 2:00pm.
Eastern Avenue near
Evansville Avenue.....familiar?
It should be for anyone traveling into
Sun City Anthem driving south toward Sun City Anthem
Parkway.
You know...the stretch of road that has
a 35 mph speed limit that for some reason, anyone
traveling at that speed must be passed for some cockamamie reason
!
And as you pass that part of Eastern
Avenue, look closely under a tree where you will see a white
bicycle draped with flowers where that young man died...that is, unless
of course you're obsessed passing another driver at a speed which approaches
that of the sound barrier !
It's tragic...if could have been
avoided....but the obsession with SPEED on the part of drivers...many of which are SENIORS,
while driving in our community...and LACK OF COMMON SENSE of those who ride
their bikes on main drags, contributed to this catastrophe....and IT NEEDS TO
STOP !
They got the plate number (Nevada 871-LZH) but the driver is still out there waiting to get caught.
Hard to believe that law enforcement
can't locate a deadly automobile knowing the license number of the car, isn't it
?
Should the driver be punished....absolutely....but what about the guy who road the
bike?
He paid the ultimate price...a price
that frankly, didn't have to be paid...because of his LACK
OF COMMON SENSE...believing he had the RIGHT to ride
that bike on a busy street.
Bikes on busy streets? You have to be
kidding !
What a ridiculous choice in a city that
goes 24/7, often with senior sight and reflex impaired drivers or drivers coming
and going from one bar to another with who knows what in their systems...soon to
possibly add legalized marijuana to the mix !
Over the summer I witnessed both single
individuals and large numbers of bicycle groups riding all over town....and they
all seem to share one common belief......
...that because they have the "right of way", they believe they are safe and
invincible...until of course, something tragic happens...tragedies that are now
almost commonplace in the Las Vegas valley.
And to those people...THINK...about the consequences of your believing the other
guy IS CONCERNED about those "rights" as he or she is
turning on a car radio, or trying to make it in time for the lunch
specials...and...in all likelihood...on their cell phones
!
Your having the "right of way" doesn't cut any mustard with a coroner....or
to a spouse....or that certain special someone who gets that frightening knock
on the door by a police officer....informing them of your maimed or lifeless
body.
Don't get me wrong....riding a bike is
great exercise and can be a passion to some....
...but to others....
...but to others....
...many bike
riders PRESENT A DANGER to themselves AND OTHERS
where and when they choose to ride those bikes
!
Just about every day, I see the
same "Rhodes Scholar" on his bike....in full costume flying down the Scotts
Valley Drive hill in his zest "to make time" going
nowhere....
(yes, some really resemble this
guy)
...similar I might add, to the
another "genius" who also zooms down the same hill on his
golf cart.
Think about
it....the streets are close to each other, the people driving the cars
entering the main drag are SENIORS who in some cases, shouldn't be driving
because of their impaired reflexes and eye sight....
...and "Speedo" comes down the hill....believing he or she is
invulnerable...because....of "rights".
Who do you think is going to win this
battle of the vehicles?
"Speedo" on the bike, or the aged driver in a 10,000 pound pick-up truck or SUV ?
"Speedo" on the bike, or the aged driver in a 10,000 pound pick-up truck or SUV ?
So...to those avid bike riders....if
you insist on your "rights"amongst these
circumstances....
Chance are, unless you stick to SIDE STREETS and drive those vehicles at a SAFE RATE OF SPEED, if something does happen...
...if might be as minor as
this.....
..but if you insist on your "rights" and don't use some good old fashion common sense....then don't be surprised if this is the
outcome to your lack of "thinking"...
Let's hope the hit and run driver that
killed that bicyclist
can be apprehended and punished
accordingly, but to all of you who ride those bikes, try to have a little
common sense as to where you ride them....and the speed at which you travel
as well.
No one wants to kill...or be
killed...as a result of...
NOT
THINKING !
From John Schmidt...to...Anthem Opinions
ReplyDeleteGreat article and you pointed out some very important items..