Cyclists Find No Safety in Numbers

[Baltimore Spokes: I'm posting this article to point out that tractor-trailer drivers in Maryland are not admonished to check mirrors or even look for cyclists when executing a right turn but simply cyclists are hazards and to tap the horn at them. Worst yet the State's Director of Bicycle and Pedestrian accesses thinks what we have is fine.]

The debate on bicycle safety, mired in conflicting beliefs and a dearth of conclusive studies, stretches back decades with few firm conclusions.

On August 7, 2007, John Myslin, 25, a high school teacher at Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, California, was crushed by a tractor-trailer making a right turn into his path. The driver of the truck had stopped at a red light on Mission Street where it intersects Bay Street on the city’s west side. From the curb lane, vehicles can either turn right onto Bay or continue straight on Mission. The truck’s right-turn signal was blinking at this point, police said. Myslin then rode his blue mountain bike along the right side of the semi. As the light turned green, he tried to pass in front of the truck as the driver began a right turn onto Mission Street, witnesses told police. He didn’t make it.

http://www.bicycletimesmag.com/content/cyclists-find-no-safety-numbers