LOOK - barreling down that hill faster than a speeding bullet! Able to leap tall curbs in a single bound! It's a bird, it's a plane - no, is just a disillusioned cyclist zooming through Grounds with blatant disregard for pedestrians and University property.
A bicycle can be a convenient and efficient mode of transportation. It is less expensive than a car, can be parked anywhere, and is able to travel everywhere on Grounds. However, while cyclists at the University are aware of the benefits of owning a bicycle, they don't realize the chaos they cause by being reckless drivers. Bicyclers need to pay more attention to pedestrians and their surroundings, and follow the guidelines set out for them by Virginia law, and the University's Security and General Safety Committee. This would prevent accidents between cyclists and fellow students at the University.
There is no denying that the average University student is almost always in a hurry. We constantly have lectures to go to, labs to finish, or meetings to attend. The tendency to want to get to class with 30 seconds to spare is understandable, and bicycling is a good way to cut down on the amount of time it takes to get across Grounds.
What is neither understandable nor acceptable is the fact that, in their hurry, cyclists seem to lose all touch with reality, concentrating only on how fast they can pedal towards their destinations. No matter how careful a person is when crossing the street, a bicycler inevitably comes flying around the corner at top speed, leaving that pedestrian with the alarming fate of becoming human road kill.
Accidents involving cyclists occur frequently. Assoc. Commerce Professor Bill Wilkerson, head of the Security and General Safety Committee, said in a phone interview, "The University has more problems with pedestrians being hit by bicycles than bicyclists being hit by cars."
To add insult to injury, a new variable has recently been added to the list of reasons for bicycle accidents - cell phones. As if cyclists do not have enough on their minds while steering already, some now believe they can balance a phone in one hand at the same time. The fact that already spaced out cyclists are no longer steering with both hands is not reassuring. Even if a bicycler manages to balance the phone between his chin and shoulder, there is no way that cyclist could give his full attention to the traffic and the passersby while chatting.
On Feb. 13, 1997, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study of 699 people who had cell phones and were involved in motor vehicle accidents ("Association between Cellular-Telephone Calls and Motor Vehicle Collisions"). The study found that the risk of being involved in a traffic accident while using a phone was nearly four times greater than for the average driver. Most of these accidents were due to being absorbed in conversation. Using cell phones causes these cyclists to be even more distracted, something they certainly don't need.
Granted, cyclists aren't completely to blame for all the bicycle accidents that occur on Grounds. The red and white gates that control traffic flow throughout the University are often broken, making it more difficult and dangerous for cyclists to use their bikes. However, Wilkerson's Committee has used extensive measures to insure that students, whether on foot or riding a bicycle, are as safe as possible. Virginia law states that bicycles must be treated just like a motor vehicle, and must be ridden in the street, not on the sidewalk. Therefore, "Pedestrian Only" signs have been placed on busy sidewalks, and the gates are used as much as possible to control traffic during class change times. Because bicyclers have to ride in the street, bicycle paths can be found on some busy streets, such as Emmet, and plans have been made to put bike paths on Alderman Road as well. Maps of the bicycle paths were distributed widely last year. If bicyclers used these paths instead of the sidewalks or the middle of the road, the amount of bicycle accidents would certainly decrease.
There is another easy way for University cyclists to cut back on the amount of accidents. If a student is using a bicycle to travel throughout Grounds, she should know the layout of the roads.Therefore, the cyclist should anticipate the places where traffic is the heaviest and where pedestrians use the crosswalks frequently. It is up to bicyclers to notice when a pedestrian is crossing the street and slow down.
So bicyclists, do us poor pedestrians a favor - realize that you are not superhuman and cannot handle millions of marvelous feats at the same time. Have some compassion for us, the University students who every day are subjected to a human game of Frogger, dodging speeding cars and bikes. You may need to get to class, but some of us want to make it to graduation without any permanent injuries.
(Michelle Drucker is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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