CBS reports that an 11-year old girl riding a bicycle was struck by a vehicle while crossing Roosevelt Blvd near Garland St. in the Lawncrest section of North Philadelphia.
According to the article, the girl was crossing the southbound lanes against the light when she was struck by a car. The driver remained at the scene and the girl was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The CBS article is here.
Our heart goes out to the girl, her family, and the driver of the vehicle.
Moments like these remind us of the importance to talking to our children and students about street safety. Teaching them how to stay safe when walking or bicycling through city or suburbs can save a life. If you want help with such conversations, or would like to obtain free information, resources, or lessons for your school, contact our Safe Routes Philly program.
This is the legacy blog of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. It is an archive of posts from 2003 to 2014. Making your ride better since 1972. https://www.bicyclecoalition.org
1 comments:
At least the driver stayed at the scene. Reading this, the accident sounds like something that may have been completely preventable, if the girl was educated about crossing streets safely and not riding against lights.
Which brings me to something that has bothered me for a while. I'll preface this by saying that I do my best to set a good example for safe cycling by stopping at red lights signaling when I'm changing lanes and/or turning, and I let other cyclists know when I'm about to pass them on the street, and so forth.
A few months ago, maybe early March, I was riding to work on a Saturday morning, turning from 13th onto Pine Street heading east. Just after my turn, I noticed that there was an adult cyclist riding with a couple of other adults ahead of him and a small boy on his own bike next to him, near the curb.
The two adults crossed the green light, but the man and little boy caught the red light, but the adult kept going through the red light, urging the boy along with him. Needless to say, I was angry at this. Here was a "teachable" moment turned on it's head; the boy was learning that it was ok to roll through red lights, setting up a future of bad cycling habits.
I caught up with the group and wanted to say something to the adult as I passed him, but chose not to, seeing as it wasn't the right time, nor place. I was too angry to say anything constructive, so I let it go.
Some people are getting it when it comes to red lights, but there are still far too many who don't, and far too many passing on bad habits to the next generation, insuring that drivers will continue to disregard the rights of cyclists. The problem is not just getting through to kids about riding in a safe manner and following traffic rules, but getting adults to change their habits, as well.
Post a Comment