Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on June 10, 2016 at 8:54am

It's interesting that the crossing where this occurred was just improved in 2015 to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.  From the linked article:

"The pedestrian crossing underwent a safety improvement upgrade in 2015. The improvements included a pedestrian refuge island, rectangular rapid flashing beacon system, asphalt bike path, new signs, and new pavement markings. The safety improvements intended to better protect pedestrians and bicyclists with the center island and shorter crossing distance. The flashing lights are intended to alert motorists to stop and allow pedestrians and bicyclists to safely cross Central Road."

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on June 10, 2016 at 9:22am

I just noticed this incident as well (via Patch, FWIW).

Many cyclists in the Chicago area will learn of this new tragedy. Many who aren't bikies won't. The further people are from the crash, the less likely they will be to hear about it. The number of motorist-involved cyclist deaths is small compared to, say, gun deaths. Still, I worry that we as a society will become desensitized to the issue. As the number of cyclist deaths continues to creep upward, I think we're like the apocryphal frog in the slowly heating water, not recognizing the problem until it's too late.

I sent an email to the Ride of Silence folks yesterday suggesting that every motorist-involved cycling death should be made more visible by either impromptu rides, or slight changes to regularly scheduled rides (for instance, everyone could wear hi-viz yellow jerseys instead of their normal kit). The problem is one of notification. What are the chances that cycle clubs in Reno, NV will learn of Joni Beaudry's unfortunate death? Very slight. Still, RoS could easily learn of her death and send out a tweet or email to alert local groups that their next ride should be "hi viz".

The RoS tribute guy responded:

As I noted above in the subject line, though not widely "advertised" on the website, the RofS organization does allow RofS "Tribute Rides", just for the circumstances your noted below; Impromptu Rides that family or friends wish to hold within days of losing a loved one, that doesn't occur on the 3rd Wed. in May.

Unfortunately, I think he missed my point. I was thinking more like a flash mob. Basically, over the next few days or a week, either tribute rides could be planned, or regular rides easily adjusted to raise visibility.

Here's my complete response:

Thanks for the response. I understand the concept of the tribute rides. I think they are a great idea. If I lived a bit closer to Kalamazoo, I'd have traveled there.

My suggestion was a bit different than that, and more activism-oriented. I'm suggesting that the visibility every single motorist-involved cyclist's death should be elevated to make people aware of the problem. I think that every time such a tragedy occurs, every group (RoS group, local bike club, teams out on training rides, Slow Roll, etc) should be actively nudged in the direction of getting out there and riding in a very visible fashion. Kalamazoo was unique because the scope of the tragedy was large enough to attract national news media without any help from the larger cycling community. If someone is killed while riding to work in San Diego, I will almost never hear about it. Even though I am pretty well plugged into online bike forums of various kinds, I don't generally lean heavily toward the advocacy and safety forums where this sort of thing might be publicized. I'm sure that's true of most other cyclists.

Let me compare it to deaths involving guns (33,000 per year) or deaths in car crashes (about 30,000 per year) in general. Those events are so common, and so taken for granted, that we rarely hear about them, perhaps on the local news, or when a particularly heinous act occurs. Cycling deaths occur (thankfully) at a much smaller rate. Still, that rate is increasing as more people hop on bikes for transportation, exercise, or recreation. If the issue isn't elevated in peoples' collective consciousness, it will be taken for granted like gun deaths and other automotive deaths.

Ride of Silence would seem to be well-placed to serve as a conduit for the nudge I'm thinking about. I suspect you do have access to information about most motorist-involved cycling deaths. I'm just asking you to give that nudge. Maybe all that's required is to ask your local coordinators to notify you when a cyclist dies at the hands of a motorist. You can then tweet or email a call to action encouraging all RoS groups to spread the word and encourage other local cycling groups to either do a tribute ride, or just make the next ride on their calendar a tribute ride (as many people as possible in hi-viz clothing and/or RoS t-shirts). Nothing more formal needs to be done.

Am I way off-base in thinking this might be a good idea? Would it cause existing notification systems to be completely overwhelmed?

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Permalink Reply by psmitty on June 16, 2016 at 4:32am

yes, agree, this is a good idea.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on June 14, 2016 at 6:36am

Chainlink sponsor, Attorney Michael Keating just published an article about the crash:

http://www.illinoisbicyclelaw.com/2016/06/joni-beaudry.html

It's really sad - Joni leaves behind her husband and five kids (youngest is 14). I haven't seen any new updates about the driver.

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Permalink Reply by Rich Scott on June 18, 2016 at 7:34am

This is really really sad. As a cyclist I generally dislike bike paths because many of their crossings are unclear who has the right of way and they are out of the normal flow of traffic, especially this one where a PEDESTRIAN crosswalk is integrated into the path for crossing the street. IMHO, I would prefer the cars to just go, making it my responsibility to cross when there is an opening in traffic and it is safe to do so. This crosswalk lulls us, and makes our safety dependent on someone else fully understanding the nature and rules of that crosswalk. 

The article mentions some crossing signal....but in the Illinois Bicycle Lawyers photo of the intersection I don't see any such device. 

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Permalink Reply by Gary Gilbert on June 24, 2016 at 8:44am

i heard today that a ghost bike has been installed on Central Road at the site of the crash.

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on October 1, 2016 at 8:47am

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160930/news/160939897/

10-1-16. Just released.
Mount Prospect police completed their investigation and revealed the driver caused the collision but said cyclist Joni Beaudry contributed to the crash.

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Permalink Reply by Jordan M S on October 1, 2016 at 11:51am

What a joke! The part of the law about pedestrian responsibility ("pedestrians may enter the roadway only when it is safe to do so and not when another vehicle is so close as to constitute a danger") is already problematic, but here it is being used to put (partial) blame on someone who did everything right except to dodge the speeding, impaired driver who was oblivious to lights/crosswalk/stopped vehicles.

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Permalink Reply by Maurice on October 3, 2016 at 5:17am

Let me get this straight:  The lights were activated.  Most cars saw the lights and stopped.  Then the victim began to cross, only to be killed by a driver who essentially blew a red light while speeding and not looking where she was going, yet the police gratuitously decided to blame the victim?

 

This is the attitude we're dealing with, folks.  Even when the cyclist does everything right, some people will always reflexively blame the cyclist as the "other" who doesn't belong.

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Permalink Reply by Rich Scott on October 3, 2016 at 5:49am

yep....sounds like you have it. 

For me I'd rather not use those crosswalk signals and just wait until there is a safe gap in the traffic to cross. For me, that crosswalk stop is just too out of the ordinary traffic flow to stake my safety on it. But....the cyclist is still 100 percent not at fault in this situation. 

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on October 3, 2016 at 6:35am

The intersection at Lehigh and Dempster in Morton Grove always seems suspect to me, at least in terms of safety. More-or-less all at the same point, you have Dempster, Lehigh, the North Branch Trail, a Metra line, and an overpass over the North Shore Channel itself. Oh yeah, don't forget bus stops in both directions. Me, I'd rather cross at a less complicated intersection, but that would require riding some distance on Dempster, itself an exercise in taking your life into your own hands. At least the students at the Viking Driving School get plenty of practice avoiding other moving objects. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 3, 2016 at 7:34am

That's a challenging crossing for sure.

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