Craig Hersch, a local estate planning attorney and avid cyclist, wrote an excellent column in light of a recent "road rage" incident on Sanibel, which appeared in the Aug. 7th Island Sun. His column struck a cord, and Craig graciously gave BikeWalkLee permission to print his article on our blog.
'Bicyclists and Motorists'
By: Craig Hersch
I recently returned from two weeks traveling Colorado. The
contrasts were interesting while I was out there, as news broke here about a
Sanibel motorist who allegedly slammed on his brakes intentionally in front of a
group of cyclists on West Gulf Drive - injuring at least one - in what has been
described as a road rage incident.
In full disclosure, I was hit and almost killed by a hit and
run driver while bicycling (on the Summerlin Road bike path, mind you) eleven
years ago. I was airlifted to the Lee Trauma Center and later underwent spinal
fusion surgery as a result of the encounter. So I have a definite bias in this
conversation.
I point out that I am also a motorist who is delayed from
time to time by bicycling pelotons.
Part of my recent travels took me to Boulder, Colorado, which
is a cycling and triathlete mecca. There,
one finds many bicyclists, both in groups (pelotons) and alone, along winding
mountain roads. Unlike Sanibel specifically and Southwest Florida generally,
which have wide-open flat roads in which a motorist is able to see what is
coming from the other direction for a mile or more - the winding, two-lane
Colorado highways have narrow shoulders. Consequently, it's more difficult to navigate
a car or truck around bicyclists out there. Moreover, motorists could be stuck
behind bicyclists who are struggling to maintain 10 mph up the steep mountain inclines.
But do you know what? The motorists seem to take it all in
stride. From what I observed, motorists often give the bicyclists the requisite
three feet when passing, usually with a friendly wave and words of
encouragement as they pass.
I wish that we had that here.
How long might a motorist be delayed trying to pass a
cyclist or a peloton of cyclists? Ten
seconds? Thirty? Maybe - dear God - a full minute?
Moreover, cyclists here generally move along at a pretty
good clip since they aren't climbing mountains - usually somewhere between 20 -
25mph. Serious road bicyclists (I count myself among them) can't ride on the
recreational paths filled with small children, people walking dogs and the like
as that would be dangerous. The law
permits - even mandates - bicyclists on the actual roads, including the roads
of Sanibel and Captiva.
When I read about the incident involving the Sanibel
motorist intentionally injuring the cyclists, it reminded me of a similar
encounter I had with a motorist four or five years ago. Three of us were
bicycling on Sanibel's Middle Gulf Drive one early morning - somewhere near the
Sundial Resort heading towards the intersection with Fulgur Street - when an
enraged motorist driving an SUV did the same "move around the cyclists and
slam on the brakes" routine to us.
There were no words exchanged between anyone in my cycling
group and the motorist before the incident. I can only guess that the motorist
was upset because it took about twenty seconds for the oncoming traffic to
clear before he could pass our small group. Luckily, we avoided slamming into
the back of his SUV when he suddenly braked while simultaneously hugging the
curb. He left us nowhere to go other than off the curb - which almost always
results in a crash when you are riding high performance, thin tired road
bicycles. It was scary. And life
threatening.
When a motorist pulls a stunt like that he is violating the
law. Moreover, I believe that intentionally using one's automobile or truck to
threaten to hit a cyclist (or actually doing so) is akin to assault with a
deadly weapon. The motorist is encased in a 4,500 lb., 300 horsepower vehicle.
The bicyclist is of flesh and blood. Aside from the legalities, to intentionally
inflict bodily harm is inhuman. It's bad
enough when someone accidentally kills a possum or raccoon. Bicyclists are
human beings with spouses and children at home.
Yes, bicyclists are sometimes rude to motorists. So are
motorists to each other, by the way. As an aside - I'm not sure that motorists
understand the adrenaline that surges when one believes that one is in danger
of being hit by a car or truck. It's
more than human to yell or even curse at the driver - part of our "flight
or fight" response. So when a driver says something to the effect of,
"well they cursed at me" as an excuse (as apparently the recent
Sanibel defendant was quoted as saying), I don't see that as an adequate
response to intentionally braking in front of cyclists in hopes that they
wreck.
And yes, bicyclists don't always obey the traffic laws. Bicyclists
sometimes roll through stop signs. I've done it before - both on my bike AND while
driving my car. I bet if you are a motorist then you have also rolled through a
stop sign or two. It's not right, and could lead the bicyclist to the same
penalty (traffic citation) that a motorist would receive.
None of that justifies endangering a bicyclist's life
intentionally. The roads are there for all of us. Everyone has been delayed in
our cars. Traffic jams. Pedestrians. Yes, even bicyclists cause delays. It's
part of driving on our roads.
Sanibel and Captiva are communities that thrive on and
require tourism. Lee County spends
thousands of dollars on advertisements encouraging those who love the outdoors
to vacation and purchase homes here. We also have a healthy culture filled with
more and more bicyclists and triathletes enjoying our roadways. Let's be more
like Boulder, Colorado and welcome those who enjoy a good ride.
Calm down.
Take some time to safely pass bicyclists while providing them
the three-foot buffer Florida law mandates.
Maybe even smile and give them a wave and words of
encouragement as you pass. It will do us all a lot of good.
Craig R. Hersch is an estate planning attorney who rides over 100 miles
every week and is a middle-of-the-pack age grouper triathlete.
Well said!
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