Concern growing over bike accidents

Anne Arundel overrepresented in state numbers

By KEVIN ROBILLARD Staff Writer

Published 07/18/08

A collision between a bike and a van on Route 2 in Annapolis yesterday has highlighted concerns about bike safety in Anne Arundel and could be indicative of a looming problem as motorists find themselves sharing the road with more bicyclists.

J. Henson - The Capital A bicyclist shares the road with motorists on Whitehall Road near Route 50 East. Thursday, a cyclist was airlifted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being hit from behind by an van on Route 2 in Annapolis, raising concerns about the safety of biking in the county.

Though some avid bicyclists said any road can be dangerous, riding a bike along a road in the county is typically safer than hitting the streets of more urban areas, such as Baltimore.

Yesterday's collision, which took place during the morning rush, happened when a 2005 GMC van was driving northbound on Route 2 behind a school bus. When the van switched lanes in order to turn onto...

This story has expired!
You can purchase the full text in our news archives.

YOUR COMMENTS

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

If you encounter other problems, please email ewiffin@capitalgazette.com and include your name, username, and any errors or messages that are displayed. The more information you can provide, the better able we will be to assist you.

In order to post or vote on a comment, you must be signed in with a hometownannapolis account.

Take a look at a summary of Commenting Guidelines.

Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight. 0

Try to Share - 2008-07-20 12:49:21

I share the road with cyclists the best I can. Today I was coming back on Route 424 and there were three cyclists on the side of the road--barely any room for them or me trying to get by them. Of course there's someone behind me who more than likely wants to go faster. Trouble is the road is narrow and two way. I got past the cyclists cautiously but wondered about having a better bike lane on the road for them.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

J. Jovkovich - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Route 2 in general - 2008-07-18 18:23:42

Hi all -- I live in Edgewater. I wish that they would have bike lanes between say the new Parole Shopping Center all the way down to the K-mart shopping Center in Edgewater. There is room. It would be helpful and make the road safer for everyone. Another concept to consider would be sidewalks. Pedestrians face the same challenges. I would walk to these places but am taking my life into my own hands. Ugh.
T. Hruzd, Edgewater MD.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

T. Hruzd - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Bad

Transportation & fitness - 2008-07-18 16:42:50

I agree, what difference does it make whether a cyclist is riding for tranportation or fitness? I wonder how much money the state/fed' govt could save in health care costs if more people cycled to work or just for pleasure. Wouldn't it make sense to educate the public and update our infrastructure to accomodate cycling for health care and energy conservation purposes.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Helen B. - Churchton, MD - Karma: Bad

Share the Road! - 2008-07-18 16:27:37

Maybe we should have a $25 bike path fee added to the sidewalk fee to add bike paths on the side of all Annapolis roads? Joking aside, as someone who occasionally uses the public roads as "my own personal gym" as R. Hooper sarcastically stated, bicyclists have as much right to most roadways as cars as well as pedestrians. In fact, the paving of roads in the US started in the early 20th century as a result of increased cycling during that era. Furthermore, as an avid runner, I am always amazed at the carelessness and disrespect for joggers by motorists who refuse to obey basic traffic laws, such as yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks. I have had many a rude driver throw beverages and food intentionally at me, as well as infantile drivers jokingly serve in an attempt to ?hit? me. Whether or not this is coincidental, I never encountered these types of issues in other areas of the country where I run or cycle, not even in NY! Perhaps this is indicative of how rude many Marylanders are, or maybe why Marylanders tend to be the least healthy, most obese state in the country? So, unless a bike rider or jogger is illegally using an interstate as a ?personal gym?, respect all people who use our public roads.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Mark Reyero - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

human life vs. car ? - 2008-07-18 16:16:31

Mr. Hooper, What difference does it make as to why they would be on the road? I've been riding for 30+ yrs.and the last I checked, in most states it is legal to ride on most roads,for whatever reason!

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Gene R.Evans - Taron Springs, FL - Karma: Bad

bikes - 2008-07-18 15:31:30

It would be nice to see how many of these people getting hit by cars are traveling to work or the store -vs- those using the roads as their own personal gym?

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

R Hooper - Chester, MD - Karma: Bad