“Come pedal in our shoes for a day and see what we experience …

Cyclists in Florida have made an emotional plea for urgent measures to improve road safety following an incident in the first week of the year which saw seven riders taken to hospital, two reportedly in a critical condition, after a driver of an SUV smashed into the group ride at high speed. The collision was caught on camera, footage shared on road.cc[1] showing the moment the 77-year-old woman hit the group, reportedly while driving "well above the speed limit" and on the wrong side of the road. The impact of the crash has been felt throughout the state's cycling community, 11 leaders from cycling clubs now forming the Florida Share the Road Coalition (FSRC) to urgently call for action on road safety.

*Warning: Some may find the footage upsetting, viewer discretion advised* [embedded content] It has committed to talking to local authority leaders about adding signage and bike lanes along the A1A in Palm Beach County, where the collision happened, to improve awareness and safety.

One of the riders involved, Cameron Oster, has spoken about the danger of the road and told the local press that it is time for action. "We have to get our hands dirty and really make the change," he told WPTV[2]. "This isn't just about the people on bikes, this is about the safety of everyone." Having used the route by bike regularly throughout the past 20 years he believes he is suitably qualified to suggest changes that could improve safety, notably a protected bike lane to prevent close passes and collisions.

"There's no bike lane. There's no shoulder. There's not even unpaved run-off.

So if you ride your bike within six inches of the white line on the shoulder of the road, your arm will actually hit branches that are hanging over that white shoulder line," the cyclist, whose friend remains in intensive care following the recent collision, explained. "From what I hear, it's going to be many weeks, four, six, eight weeks then go straight into a rehab facility before he has a chance to go home." Another member of the FSRC, Richard Gertler, said he had been hit before and called on the campaign to "humanise" cyclists because "all too often a driver will start yelling" as "we're not people to them [...] just an obstacle".

"Come pedal in our shoes for a day and see what we experience," he said. "We're people. We're somebody's mother, father, son, daughter." Last weekend, hundreds of riders gathered to call for change at an organised rally ride.

Carlos Martinez, one of the group ride hit, was in attendance to support the event, and said that he could not feel safe any more. "The next thing I saw was the car passing very close. I got minor scratches.

And then everybody was on the floor," he recalled. "You don't feel safe any more. I came today because I feel like we have to create awareness. We want things to change.

I want to give my part to change the community."

References

1. ^ footage shared on road.cc (road.cc)
2. ^ WPTV (www.wptv.com)