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Last week, Tucson cyclist, Brendan Lyons and his girlfriend Lorena Evans were struck by a car while out on a ride celebrating Lorena’s birthday. They were riding a popular route and in the bike lane when an inattentive driver smashed into the back of them. Brenden just so happens to be a member of the local fire department and the man behind the local movement Look! Save A Life / Arizona.
We have been reporting on these types of incidents for quite some time but this one has a twist we have never seen before. Brendan just happens to have his computer with him while he is laying in that Level 1 trauma bed. He is fired up and reaching out to anybody he can think of to use his unfortunate situation to bring attention to cyclist safety. He has already had some local news coverage and has even met with a couple of state representatives to help get his message out. Brendan reached out to me this afternoon asking if the DC community could help spread the word and I am more than happy to help.
We chatted briefly and I was deeply moved by the exchange. Here is a little bit of what he had to say:
“It is very important to me to see change so that this does not happen to anyone else. Even if I could help save just 1 life, I will surely have made a difference.”
Brendan is determined to keep moving forward with his mission of getting drivers to actually see cyclist on the road. He broke it down a little more for us here:
“Look! Save a Life / Arizona is a campaign to promote cycling safety and awareness. Many cyclists are unaware of, or choose not to ride according to the laws which govern the use of public roads. Most drivers only expect to see other cars on the road, or even deny the right of cyclists to be on the road at all. (Or worse yet, feel cyclists should not be on the roads at all.) That creates a disconnection between what drivers expect and what cyclists do on the road. These problems culminate in at best, apathy towards cyclists, and at worst, deliberate, hostile, unsafe, and possibly fatal confrontations between drivers and cyclists. My hope is to “Realize that we can not change personalities, but to help in better changing the “attitudes” drivers and cyclists have for one another.”
Technology has allowed us the ability to communicate with our injured friend while he is laying in a hospital bed, and it will help us spread the word far and wide. If you would like to drop him a get well soon note or show your support for his cause, hit him up on the Look! Save A Life page.
You can read more over at Tucson Velo, the Local News and from his buddy Bikepilgrim
Spread the word.
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Read this guys blog, he’s James Cracknell. An Olympic gold medalist from Britain who had a near fatal accident in Arizona on his pedal bike whilst riding across the United States for a TV Programme he was making. He’s lucky to be alive. Get well soon and spread the word. Us cyclists definitely need a lot more protection.
http://www.jamescracknell.com/about
Another reason why I ride and run on trails only. If I crash, it’s only due to my inattention….not someone else’s.
Tough on all involved. I’m glad that they survived. It’s usually not so. Thanks to Brendan for taking the civilized approach. PO’ed don’t cut it. We are better than that.
Death rides to my left.
Happy to hear lives were spared. I too survived being struck from behind at over 50 mph just over 1-1/2 yr ago. I have tried to increase not only motorist awareness of cyclist as well as cyclists need for safety. Bright colors and bright lights even during the day are some of the cheapest tools in our defense. Here’s to hoping their story is heard and shared often.
Y’all are amazing! This thing has spread around the interenet like wildfire and Brendan has received messages from all around the world. The DC family never disappoints. Thank You!
I was recently broadsided while riding my mountain bike on the road on way to ride the dirt when I was broadsided by a guy in a Jeep. Only dirt for me after my rehab!
That first pic brings back very bad memories of what happened when my S-Works road bike met a 72 Olds about 11 years ago. At this point I run the brightest taillight I can find (Light & Motion Vis180 or Serfas TL60), even during the day if I’m riding alone. I would use them on group rides if they weren’t so blindingly bright to the riders behind me.
It doesn’t matter how bright your light or clothing are when the drivers are looking at that text message instead of the road.
Around here the police wrote tickets like crazy until everyone wore seat belts, but they can’t seem put their own cell phones down long enough to stop the texting
This is great, and I wish him a speedy recovery.
However, campiagns will only go so far, as many motorists just don;t give a f–k.
I was stuck by a car WHILE I WAS CROSSING A STREET IN A CROSSWALK, byt a distracted (cellphone) driver…my bike was wrecked, I went to the local trauma center, and and the driver got off with a hand slap. Drivers who do this should be sent to a Turkish Prison.
This fucking sucks. Motorists fucking suck monkey balls. What activity, other than driving, seemingly forces us to become uncaring, angry, impatient, homocidal maniacs?
I saw mention of someone here only riding on trails because of this! Please don’t let bad drivers hurt our rights! Keep of road biking to show them you are here to stay for the long run. The only way people are going to get it is if we show them no fear and let them know we are here to stay. One other tip I have seen a lot of success with is those video cameras riders are placing on their helmets. No one wants to get taped doing stupid things in the vehicle so if anything, its a good prevention tactic. Thanks for the post! :)
Only way to stop drivers from killing cyclists: Start killing them back.
These stories give me chills every time I read them. Glad to see everyone is relatively alright. Also glad to see UofA socks as part of the recovery uniform. Bear Down, Brendan!
I swear that the odds are higher for road cyclists getting mowed down in Arizona. WTF
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=159434654251232&set=vb.184885218237888&type=2&theater
Please share this PSA, non cyclists tend to connect with it. We found that drivers develop a different attitude toward people on bicycle when they realized that they are just people like them. Humanizing the cyclists and encourage personal responsibility can have a huge impact in how we all use the road.