Friday, January 17, 2014

Cycling deaths raise concerns for many


    When living in a big city like Houston it is hard to get place to place. Most go by car, metro bus, metro rail, or even biking. Bike riding has been an uprising concern for many Houston residents in the past few years. 

   On January 14 a bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run in east Houston just a couple weeks after two other cyclists who were killed by motorcyclists who also failed stop.

    In the last 45 days two other cyclists have been killed. One killed on her way from home and another who was just outside a crosswalk taking a stroll in his neighborhood.

    Not only automobile drives are at fault for cyclist’s death but in the past year one cyclist was struck while walking her bike across the light rail tracks in downtown Houston.

    As of last year The Houston City Council passed a law regarding cyclist. The law states that drivers are to give cyclists at least three feet of space. As of the last three months not a single tickets was issued for violating the law.

   As for cyclists, they are all to have bike lights on during the night time.

   Many cyclists believe that drivers should be more precautions of their surroundings.
   
   Cyclists also believe the leading cause for bike incidents are due to the design and condition of roads.  
    
   According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, not Houston but Harris County had ten cyclists were deaths in 2011 and eight in 2012.
   
   In comparison to Houston, many other cities have successfully increased the safety for bikers.

   Portland, Oregon is considered one of the safest cities in the United States. According to Bike Portland, a pro-cycling group in Oregon, the city did not have any cyclists’ deaths in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, or 2013.

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