"Ding Ding Ding," the alarm goes off, excusing more than two thousand kids all at once to begin the mad dash out of the school building. I walk briskly through the halls as I search through my jacket pocket for my keys. As soon as I make it outside, I head straight to the bike rack to hopefully exit before the mass swarm of cars attempt to leave through the parking lot. I successfully make it out of the school with the assistance of the intersection crossing guard and continue my way through my twice-daily path home. I break to a halt at the next four-way stop beside a whole line of cars. We all wait for students to make their way across the busy crosswalk, which lacks even a crossing light, and then it's time for our lanes to move. I pick up speed easily as I cruise down a slight decline and keep moving my head, checking for any more surprise pedestrians or automobiles. The car beside me starts drifting into the bike line. The car leaves me no space to stop or turn as the margin is full of parked vehicles from other students trying to avoid the backup in the school parking lot. CRUNCH! SCHREEECH! He hooked his car to the right directly into me in an attempt to pull over to the side of the road and presumably pick up his child. I hit the side of the passenger seat door, which earns a nasty dent from my bike and I. I then get knocked over into the margin of the road, catching myself on my knees and hip as my bike also bears a massive impact.
I was in such a state of confusion and panic after he hit me that I never managed to grab his license plate number. In a state of shock, I had no idea what to do other than attempt to dust myself off and bike the rest of the way home, even while bleeding and with my bicycle in a state of disarray. This driver never checked the bike lane even though we were stopped next to each other, and I made sure to line up so I would be in view through his side mirror. In his rush to pull over, he never signaled or indicated his movement until it was too late for me to do anything. Drivers must be educated always to be aware of their surroundings and to ensure they properly signal movement so those around them can respond. On my route to and from school, I often feel that I would be safer in a car so I'm more visible and because about one-third of my route does not have a bike lane, but unfortunately, my family only owns one car, and my father works odd hours, so I'm unable to drive to school. Additionally, the school bus won't come to my house as it's just inside the region that is too close for bus service, but it takes me nearly fifty minutes to walk to school, far too much time I could spend in the morning sleeping or afterschool finishing homework to make it reasonable. The public buses in my area are also notoriously unreliable, so my only option every day is to bike.
Drivers must be educated on how to appropriately and safely share the road with bikes. According to the CDC, over 2% of the yearly fatalities due to crashes with automobiles are cyclists. Additionally, approximately 130,000 bicyclists are injured by cars every year in the US. By improving infrastructure to aid both bikers and drivers and educating drivers on bike signals so drivers can understand which way a biker intends to turn and the appropriate amount of space to leave a cyclist, the number of accidents can be greatly reduced. To become a better driver on the road, I can remain vigilant about not only checking for cars in my vicinity but also bicycles additionally, from my near daily experiences of almost being grazed by cars drifting too far into bike lanes or a biker's space I can ensure I always leave enough room so both I as a driver and the cyclist can have enough space to maneuver safely. All steps to prevent motor accidents are beneficial, so even if a plan is just focused on reducing cyclist-involved accidents, educating drivers on the need for increased vigilance will also reduce other types of driving accidents, ultimately making our communities safer for everyone involved.