Today, Kimberly Yeong Sil Hull, a 25-year-old student at the U studying film, was struck and killed by a semi-truck while biking on campus at 8am on her way to school. She was going to be graduating in May. It is not yet known whose fault this is or who had the right of way. But for my thoughts on this, it does not matter. I believe everyone should look at such a horrific tragedy like this and learn and grow from it, both individually and as a community.
As someone who bikes in Minneapolis year-round, I have grown increasingly upset with the other bikers I see around the city. I see people not wearing helmets, not using lights when biking at night, and doing both of those things WHILE they are plowing through red lights (sometimes even during rush hour times of the day). When you are biking around the city, you DO have as much of a right to be on the road as a car. And I will fight for that right, no matter what. But you do NOT have MORE of a right to be on the road than a car. Bikers need to start respecting the hazards that come with biking around hundreds of two to four ton metal coffins barreling down the road at 30-40 miles per hour. We do not live in a world that is safe for bikers. And to make it a safer place, we need to abide by the rules so more people will get the fuck out of their murder weapons and hop on a pedaled steed.
Take your lane when there is construction, snow, gravel, or potholes covering the side of the road or the bike lane. Don't move over and put yourself in harms way just because there is a line of drivers behind you. Bike defensively! But wear a helmet, wear some bright lights, put at least one break on your bike (I don't care what any of you say), and abide by the rules of the road.
I don't want a driver to see some idiot on their break-less fixie running a red light while not wearing a helmet and think to themselves, "no wonder Kimberly got killed, look how people are biking these days". Fuck that. And drivers, watch out for us bikers! We are here and we are en masse. Check your blind spots and mirrors. Look both ways even if the light is green.
Don't let Kimberly’s death be in vain. Learn and grow, Minneapolis.
My thoughts go out to her family and the other injured victims of this and the other recent accidents around campus.
Sources:
Star Tribune Article
Minnesota Daily Article
2 comments:
Also, when a driver yells at you screaming something of the like:
"Learn how to ride your fucking bike"
or
"Get off the road, tree-fucker"
remember that their anger is not a reflection of you, because they are just that: a stranger getting in your face.
So don't flick them off, or call them a koch-sucker right back, but smile and wave and pleasantly tell them that you are in fact, abiding by the rules. And they, are in fact, unaware of your right to the road.
Then bike off silently, as if their words were but a fly on your goggles.
You are 100% correct. Bike riders need to turn this around and use it, get some good out of it.
Reading about this and Googling around for more info broke my heart tonight because I ride bike as my daily transportation and day in and day out risk it out on the streets around downtown MPLS, have been car free for 2 years.
The only sure bet in a bike/car collision is that the bike will lose. It's such a harsh reality, and all the laws and bike lanes and pro-bike messages in the world won't change the laws of physics or remove human fallability from the equation, and the reality is that steel crushes flesh.
I see bicyclists every day listening to Ipods and ignoring traffic rules and everybody (myself included) needs to wake up to the reality that in a bike vs. car incident the bike is going to lose every time.
There isn't a do-over or a debate on who is right or wrong, when you suffer massive bodily trauma you die.
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