Bike safety should be all our responsibility

In the short span of six months, two area bicyclists have been killed in collisions with motorists, one on the Spaulding where bicycles, tricycles and mopeds are not allowed.

On Nov. 6 a Lebanon man, Jonathan Fisk, was killed when he was struck by two cars while trying to cross the Spaulding Turnpike with his tricycle in the dark.

What happened was an unspeakable tragedy for his family and for the motorists who struck him who also have to live with the horror that happened that night.

Then on May 7 around 12:30 a.m. a Rochester bicyclist, Jeffrey Howarth, died when he was struck by a pickup truck in the vicinity of the southbound onramp at the intersection of Farmington Road and the Spaulding Turnpike.

Police say Howarth's bike had no headlamp, which by law is required for night riding.

Howarth was only 51, Fisk just 34.

Both men had loving families and friends. Both men are missed.

But the scars of their deaths are not limited to their families. The drivers of the vehicles that struck them and their families also will carry a heavy burden for the rest of their lives, too.

In the case of the most recent accident, an accident in which the driver allegedly left the scene, a person of interest has been identified but not named by Rochester Police.

That person must also be in a dark and awful place right now.

The question is: Could these tragedies have been avoided, and if so, how?

We think one way to lessen the chances of this happening is have more enforcement of bicycle safety laws.

We're not saying police don't do a great job already. They do. We think this may be a responsibility of us, the driving public.

We suspect the same person who would readily call 911 to report a suspected drunken driver might not bother to call police if they saw a person on a bicycle with no lights late at night or trying to cross the Spaulding.

We think that has to change now.

If you see it, report it. You might save a life that night. You might save a life down the road.

- HT