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Friday, October 9, 2009

kylie: tandem bicycle struck in texas, no charges on driver.

Kylie Bruehler
(via urbanvelo)
it was 3 in the morning when i read this:

"Folks, that is a photograph of seven year old Kylie Bruehler. She is at a funeral service to bury her parents, both of whom were killed last week when a driver veered onto the shoulder and drove his pickup truck into them.

They were riding together on a tandem.

The local news reports thatinvestigators say there are no charges on the driver. They believe this was an accident and that somehow the driver lost control of his truck.

apparently "He looked off, he was looking at something else and realized the curve in the road came a lot faster than what he anticipated," explained Deputy Chief Dale Bennett of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office."

now, the texas law does not give a safe passing distance for cyclists (for example, in California, there should be about a 3 foot buffer zone around cyclists), in fact the texas governor VETOED that law deeming it unneccessary:

Deputies say the two were riding a tandem bike southbound on Highway 16 in Northwest Bexar County, when a pickup truck veered onto the shoulder and struck them from behind. (News 4 WOAI)Greg and Alexandra Bruehler were riding a bicycle built for two on the shoulder of Highway 16, north of Helotes, Thursday morning when deputies say a man in a pick up veered off the road and hit them. (News 4 WOAI)

(via WOAI)

is that neccessary? that's unacceptable. that's wrong. if this was an accident and the driver is getting off scot free, you'd expect to see kylie's parents alive and only a little dent on that truck's bumper. this isn't right, and it's an outrage. i hope that the governor of texas sees this. no, i know the governor of texas will see this. kylie has an army of cyclists, including myself. bicycles do belong on the road and the road needs to be shared. it doesnt matter if there are 2 ton cars on the road with bicycles, drivers should be able to be cautious and alert enough to be behind the wheel.

jmik





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live in TX and with the exception of Austin no one respects you.

Lance Armstrong himself used to say that 15 years ago while training on the highways he used to get run off the road by 18 wheelers.


In Europe where cyclists are gods, 18 wheelers pace the cyclists, honk their horns, and offer them to grab hold of the truck for a few miles.

Texans love cars more than anything.

J.mika'ele said...

hey anon,
yah, ive heard austin has made leaps and bounds for the cycling community. i cant see why the governor doesnt want to put a law down.the worst it could do is make a little dough for the state catching people violating it.

and europe is awesome.

jmik