Quoted message said:From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette today:
Safety a casualty of biking's popularity
Saturday, June 18, 2005
By Lawrence Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By all accounts, bicycling is growing in popularity in the Pittsburgh
area.
Unfortunately, accidents are also on the rise.
The latest occurred about 8 p.m. Thursday in the 1900 block of
Beechwood Boulevard near the Frick Environmental Center in Squirrel
Hill.
Thomas Cenna of Point Breeze, who was wearing a helmet, ran over a tree
limb, was thrown over the handlebars and hit his head on the curb.
Cenna was in critical condition last night with a fractured skull at
UPMC Presbyterian.
Because Cenna didn't have any identification, police early yesterday
issued a news release describing him and his bicycle and asking for the
public's help in identifying him. Police urge bicyclists to always
carry identification and the name of a contact person in case they are
injured.
Last Saturday, Francis Andrews, 36, of Pittsburgh, was killed when he
was hit by a car on West Park Road in Worth, Butler County. State
police said Andrews was pedaling north about 9:45 a.m. when he saw a
southbound car approach. He applied his brakes, lost control and
skidded into the path of the car.
Two companions, Ralph Juhascik, 54, of Pittsburgh, and Courtney Scott,
27, of Annapolis, Md., also fell. Scott suffered minor injuries.
Juhascik wasn't injured. Police said the trio was riding in a
fund-raiser to benefit multiple sclerosis research.
A day earlier, Paul V. Haase Jr., 77, of Waverly, a bike racer in the
U.S. Senior Olympics, died at UPMC Passavant of injuries he received on
June 7 on Tennis Court Drive while warming up for a cycling competition
in North Park.
Details surrounding Haase's death remain sketchy. It was initially
reported that his death was heart-related. But the coroner's office,
which conducted an autopsy last Saturday, said his death was accidental
and that he died of blunt force trauma to the head and neck. It had no
other details. Neither did county police.
Another bicyclist, Joseph Brautigan, 41, of Monroeville, who was
wearing a helmet, suffered a head injury on May 11 while riding on
North Ridge Drive in North Park.
Brautigan deliberately put his bike into a skid and went down to avoid
a pickup truck coming out of a parking lot from his left, said Jim
Morton, an assistant county police superintendent.
Although former railroad and railway right of ways are safer than
roads, accidents can happen there, too.
A woman approaching Confluence on the Great Allegheny Passage in
Somerset County last month tumbled over her handlebars when her front
tire dropped into soft sand while she descended a short hill. She
needed 13 stitches to close her cuts.
A work crew from Ohiopyle State Park repaired the surface, but heavy
rains last week eroded it again. The passage, which when completed will
link Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., is used by several hundred
thousand people a year, according to the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a
rail-trail organization.
Pittsburgh police Officer Mike Murray, a city bike patrol officer, said
visibility is key to safe bike riding on public streets. That includes
a headlight and blinking red taillight when riding at night.
"Bicyclists may think drivers see them, but all too often they don't,"
said Murray, 40, who works out of the Zone 4 station in Squirrel Hill.
"They should always wear a helmet and bright colors and signal their
intentions before turning. They also should make sure they make eye
contact with drivers before executing a turn.
"Remember, not everyone is a good driver," he said. "Most car-bike
accidents happen at intersections or crosswalks, primarily because
motorists don't see them. Cyclists have to keep their eyes on the road
and pay attention at all times. Look out for gravel, stones, potholes
and sewer grates, especially in wet weather."
Murray, who rides his black Smith & Wesson bike 15 to 20 miles a day in
Shadyside and Oakland, said bicyclists can ride in the traffic lane if
they can maintain the speed limit. Since few cyclists can do that, the
safest place to be is along the far right side of the road.
"State law requires bicyclists to obey all traffic signals and signs,
but too many of them blow through stop signs and red lights if no one's
coming," he said. "They should wait their turn just like everyone
else."
Although bike messengers might disagree, especially those who navigate
the busy Downtown area, Murray thinks that "for the most part,
Pittsburgh is a pretty bike-friendly city.
In addition to knowing the rules of the road, cyclists also should keep
their bikes in good operating condition, said John Wester, 41, another
Zone 4 city bike officer.
Wester said the city's bike patrol officers follow the ABCs of safe
biking every day by checking the air pressure, the brakes and the
cranks. The pedals are attached to the latter.
Wester and Murray said their bikes are inspected every three months by
officers who are certified bike technicians. Unless recreational
bicyclists can do it themselves, the officers said they should have
their bikes tuned up by a professional before every season and serviced
when needed.
"Bicyclists can do a lot of damage to their bikes if they don't
maintain them properly," said Jason Wright of Pittsburgh Pro Bicycles
in Squirrel Hill.
For more information about biking in the city and/or maintaining and
repairing your bike, go to www.bike-pgh.org; outsideadventures.org,
e-mail [email hidden] or call 724-230-0237;
www.bikepittsburgh.com, e-mail golden [email hidden] or call
412-600-0675; Venture Outdoors, call 412-255-0564 or visit
www.ventureoutdoors.org.
Copies of the state Bicycle Driver's Manual are available at the State
Office Building, Downtown.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Lawrence Walsh can be reached at [email hidden] or
412-263-1488.)
