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Bicycle safety on KMBC news
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A recent KMBC did a good job of summarizing a couple of important bicycle safety points:
Tonight bicycle advocates are asking everyone to be more careful.
[Bicyclist James Joerke said that] Friday morning a driver passed him, then put on the brakes and turned right in front of him.
"So then I had to quickly brake to avoid hitting the car," Joerke said.
According to the Missouri Bicycle Federation, one of the most common car-bike collisions is when a driver turns right in front of a bicyclist, because many drivers can't estimate a cyclist's speed.
"A bicycle in city traffic is moving at almost the speed of the motorist. Especially if the motorist is slowing down to make a turn--now the bicycle is going faster than the motorist," said Brent Hugh with Missouri Bicycle Federation.
Hugh said another danger for bicyclists are big rigs that swerve in order to turn. Bikers who end up in the truck's blind spot can be killed.
Twice this summer, two bicyclists in the metro area have died in crashes with big trucks, Chapman reported. . . .
Joerke said he's seeing more bicyclists on the road, probably as a result of high gas prices. He said some of the cyclists aren't used to riding in traffic, which can be dangerous.
