Drivers beware bikers are everywhere!

According
to NHTSA in 2018 alone 857 cyclists were killed in the US due to
traffic accidents, and in 2015 there were 45,000 reported accidents.
As drivers we must be properly educated on sharing the road safely
with bicyclists. My dad is an active cyclist, he does RAGBRAI every
year and bikes to and from work often. He has a group of friends he
bikes with, and recently one of them got in an accident. A car hit
her off her bike, and then proceeded to run over her leg and arm in
an attempt to leave the scene. The driver pankicked, and drove away.
If he had stopped immediately she would have been fine, alas he
decided to drive away. Today’s drivers are uneducated about how to
share a road with people biking. Bikers are more vulnerable, they are
harder to see, and have nothing in between their body and the road
protecting them. I believe drivers do not understand how easy it is
to take a life with an automobile. They are very dangerous and need
to be operated with caution as even the smallest mistake can be
deadly for anyone, especially bikers.

Imagine
having to live the rest of your life knowing you took a life. That is
the reality of many people when it comes to automotive and bicycle
crashes. In order to have safer roads, drivers need to understand
just how easy it is to kill a biker. The slightest swerve from
answering a text or even changing the radio could be fatal to a
biker. Drivers need to be aware of the number of casualties caused by
distracted driving, especially with cyclists.

I have
been in one car accident in my life, luckily it didn’t cause any
injuries, but it was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me.
After the accident I am more aware of my surroundings while driving.
I learned that driving is not only about watching the road ahead of
you, but being aware of everything else going on around you. Not
having all focus towards the road can result in serious injury. In
order to be a safer driver I need to focus on keeping my mind on the
road. Sometimes when I drive I think about things, whether that be
what I am going to do when I get home, or what I am going to talk to
my friends about later. Even though these are not physical
distractions I believe they need to be addressed. I find myself so
deep in thought I am not paying full attention to my surroundings.
Most people think of distracted driving as cell phones, but it can
also include being more focused on thoughts than the road. This is
something I plan to work on by realizing every time I start to focus
on my thoughts, and shifting focus to the road. This is a bad habit
of mine, but with enough persistence I am hoping to break it.