Today's News-Press has another article in its ongoing series focusing on bike/ped safety in Southwest Florida. Today's article focuses on the string of recent cycling crashes with serious injuries, including the 4 cyclists that were injured on the Fort Myers Beach bridge on July 12th.
Note that the News-Press has a new
Facebook page called "Share the Road Florida" (www.facebook.com/sharetheroadflorida) to cover the good, bad and
ugly about riding a bike in Southwest Florida. Be sure to "friend" it and share your thoughts. Thanks to Janine Zeitlin for her excellent work on this News-Press project.
Rich Crouse spotted a
white sedan barreling toward him on a recent Saturday morning in Fort Myers
Beach.
I’m
going to die, he thought.
The driver had already
weaved in and out of a line of 10 cyclists, downing other riders coming from
Naples this month. Crouse pedaled even closer to the concrete barrier on the
shoulder. The 56-year-old couldn’t fathom why the car wasn’t stopping or moving
to an open lane.
He bounced from the hood
as the 84-year-old driver’s car shoved him along the pavement before braking.
Crouse felt lucky to walk
away with severe road rash and soreness, but the most seriously injured of the
four riders remained at a Lee Memorial hospital Friday afternoon. His condition
had improved from critical to fair.
Gone are the swarms of
tourists and snowbirds, but serious crashes involving bicycles show no signs of
abating in Lee County. Along with the July 12 Fort Myers Beach crash, an
elderly cyclist in Bonita Springs suffered trauma after being hit by a driver
Thursday who fled the scene. Earlier this month, a rider suffered serious
injuries in Cape Coral after crashing with a pickup, as did a cyclist in Alva
who blew a stop sign and was struck, according to initial reports.
There have been 112
bicycle-crash injuries in Lee this year, according to preliminary data provided
by the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization. At this pace, the count
could surpass last year’s 175 injuries, a 13-year high.
“We’ve got to get the
crash numbers down,” said Dan Moser of the BikeWalkLee coalition and a longtime
advocate for safer roads. “The lucky thing is that not as many of them are
fatalities, but it’s hard to say what kind of life-altering injuries these
are.”
Moser plans to focus on
preventing people from riding in the road against traffic, which is illegal and
more dangerous. He’s also joining law enforcement for targeted outreach to
walkers and bikers. Florida Department of Transportation has ranked Lee No. 9
among the top focus areas in the state because of high number of bike and
pedestrian crashes and fatalities. This lousy ranking comes in the most lethal
state for cyclists.
Some of the cyclists
injured on Fort Myers Beach are working with Naples attorney Ted Zelman to try
to cover the costs of medical bills and their damaged bikes. Zelman, an avid
cyclist, sits on the board of the 800-member Naples Velo cycling club.
The crash could have been
classified as reckless driving, Zelman said, a criminal charge which would have
required a court appearance. The driver, Lee Luenser, was cited for careless
driving and operating a vehicle with an expired tag, tickets that carry a total
of $272 in fines in Lee County. The lawyer would like to see enhanced penalties
for striking road users, who are not protected by 4,000 pounds of metal.
 |
| Lee Luenser, 84-yr. old driver |
“We need better and
stronger laws and better and stronger enforcement,” Zelman said. “This type of
incident shows the need for doing that to hold people responsible for the
consequences of their actions.”
The News-Press was unable
to get a response from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the agency that
investigated the crash, as it has a policy against answering questions from
this media organization. Last week, the crash and enforcement came up at a
county bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee meeting. Steve Jansen, a
traffic engineer with the county’s transportation department, defended law
enforcement.
“They don’t give out
tickets because the judges do not support them,” Jansen said. “The judge will
say, ‘Did you see it happen?’”
The crash report says
Luenser was treated for a neurological issue and may have had a medical event
while driving. Luenser could not be reached Friday, but his license remained
valid. A woman who identified herself as his daughter said her father was
unavailable and was receiving rehabilitation but declined to speak further.
In the accident report,
the deputy indicated Luenser should be re-tested for his license. Moser has
also submitted a package to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
Vehicles, which may spur a medical review of the driver. The process could take
more than two months for action. Crouse plans to discuss safety concerns at an
upcoming Naples Velo meeting, but the crashes have renewed calls for more and
wider bike lanes and shifts in attitude about sharing roads. But the battle can
feel uphill.
On the return ride after
the July 12 Fort Myers Beach crash, Dirk van Rossum, who was not injured, was
heckled by a motorist who yelled, ‘Get the ... off the road,’ he recalled. “It
will take a lot of extraordinary effort to raise awareness for the safety and
legal rights of cyclists and other disadvantaged road users.”
Staff writer Melissa
Montoya contributed to this report.
Share
The Road Florida Facebook page
The News-Press has a new
Facebook page www.facebook.com/sharetheroadflorida to cover the good, bad and
ugly about riding a bike in Southwest Florida. Florida is consistently ranked
the most lethal state for cyclists and statistics put Collier and Lee among the
worst in the state. At the same time, there are so many great things about
cycling in the Sunshine State. Please like and share ways to make our area more
bike-friendly.
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