road bike riders hit by cars on my mind

I have been carrying a sadness and a horrible image with me for a few days of a group of riders struck by a car during a road race in Mexico.  It looks like an image from a war.  Which is how it is out there sometimes.  And now I understand our Mayor, who recently hired a woman to consult on making Boston more bicycle friendly, was hit by a woman driving to work. He didn't file a police report and didn't have to according to the law (explained in excerpt from the Globe below).  I hope we encourage everyone to report accidents as by not reporting we don't give an accurate accounting of the danger and need to make it safer for bikers. What do you think?
Mayor Menino,on May 12, led cyclists in the first Bay State Bike Week ride. Mayor Menino,on May 12, led cyclists in the first Bay State Bike Week ride. (GLOBE STAFF FILE PHOTO)
June 10, 2008

"It's bad enough to hit a bicyclist on your way to work, but what if it's the mayor? That scenario unfolded for an unidentified commuter late last month: A woman driving to work realized she had struck Mayor Thomas M. Menino while on his morning bike ride, the mayor's office confirmed yesterday. Although the mayor did not publicize it, the incident does seem to support one of his pet causes, that the city needs to be more bike-friendly.The woman was driving on River Street May 26 when she crested a hill and struck Menino, said Dorothy Joyce, the mayor's spokeswoman. He fell off his bike and suffered a small cut to his ankle, but told the flustered motorist to "just get going, and don't be late for work," Joyce said.  Menino brushed himself off and got back on his bike to return home, she said. Joyce said she did not know the driver's name, which direction the car or Menino was traveling, or whether he was attempting to cross the street or make a turn. The mayor didn't file a police report or go to the hospital, she said.  By law, bicycle riders are only required to report an accident if personal injury or property damage exceeds $100."

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And then the horror of this:

 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362147,00.html
 






 

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