one less car bike
despite the successful events of mini-bike summer, the past week has not been a good one for cyclists in the county’s most bike-friendly town (as we’ve been named by the L.A.B. and bicycling magazine for several years running).
On the 21st, a 45 year old SE Portlander was killed while riding in a bike lane before dark, when a pickup driver hit him from behind and dragged his bike for nearly a mile. Then this past Wednesday around midnight, Lindsey Llaneza hit and killed two cyclists and severely wounded another. He was driving drunk and his license had been suspended for years. He’d been pulled over for DUI’s and other citations as recently as March, and yet, the cops and the courts saw no reason to make sure he wasn’t driving.
first, lemme just get this off my chest. don’t ever say any shit to me about bikes and cars needing to share the road. this kind of thing continues to happen, all the time, for many reasons, of course, but the chief reason is that the individuals who make our laws, and who define our culture and our political economy continue to prioritize the auto over all other methods transportation (not to mention peace, security, and a humane foreign policy agenda).
of course there have been many calls to push for Llaneza to be punished harshly. while i agree that he should be held accountable for his actions by the communities he has so deeply hurt, a prison sentence for him will do exactly nothing to deter other drivers from ignoring, neglecting, and hating cyclists. it’s not simply that i believe prisons are not the answer, indeed they are not. it’s also that bikes need to be asserted as a more important part of our cities than cars and trucks.
critical mass, of course, is a great way of making that happen. indymedia’s call for tonight’s mass asks us to come out to ensure this type of madness stops, and that we stop the cops from hassling the mass so much.
i didn’t go to the mass tonight. the indymedia call says that if we don’t come out, the cops have won. well, here’s the deal. i’m scared of the cops. by cops in 3 states, i’ve been beaten up, hospitalized, arrested, and harassed a great deal in the last 10 years. and tonight, as i read the news, and wound down from work, and considered going to critical mass, i realized i’m especially scared of the particular blend of my rage and the rage of the cops. i’m no good to any movement, and i can’t support any progressive issues if i’m locked up or injured.
so i’m taking a break from the big actions for now. we all need to recharge our batteries and take care not to burn out. instead, i’m doing some fund-raising work for the awesome new biking advocacy group, shift. and cleaning the garage and walking the dogs.
June 28th, 2003 at 11:01 am
This is what Ross wrote on indymedia about the deaths:
Two Dead on 39th.
author: Ross
It is important that we feel this tragedy as a community. It is important that we share the sense of loss. It is important that we not forget all the lives affected. This is my message but my hope is that from this communal sharing of our loss and through dialogue we will strengthen and build our community so that we can speak together and gain the social recognition and merit the same social standards for protection as drivers of automobiles.
Learning today of the deaths of two cyclists and critical hospitalization of another affects me deeply because it reminds me that it is only by the grace of a benevolent universe that I am safe where others are not. This accident occurred early in the morning near 39th and S.E. Belmont as four cyclists were crossing 39th a speeding van plowed into them (network media is more than willing to provide the graphic details if necessary) I do not have all the facts nor many of the details because I received my information from network media and no two networks agree on the facts as rush through the story to get to the follow-up with condescending bicycle safety tips and segments on drunk driving.
At the core of this nightmare, for me, and at the heart of my sense of loss is my compassionate grief for the loss of these souls and the loss to those who knew them and cared for them. I do not believe that I know any of these people individually but I know that I have ridden with them and they are members of my extended cycling community. It is also a tragic reminder of the peril that exists for cyclists and my own vulnerability on the streets.
All of us who choose to ride weather it is to work, for pleasure, for exercise, as a primary means of transportation, or as a tool to provide for our livelihood place ourselves at the mercy of the emotions, defects, miscalculations, drunkenness, anger, and hostility of people who possess in one hand control over a thousand pounds of machinery and, in the other hand, a burger, a cell phone, a beer, make-up or various other distractions. As cyclists we should not fool ourselves in this endeavor and understand a simple truth: it is our vigilance alone that preserves us on the road…our vigilance and nothing else. As a cyclist we are marginalized politically, socially and should anyone dispute this simple truth they can read the Oregon Drivers Manual and look at the street to observe the geographic marginalization that is mandated by the state.
This message is not intended to cast stones of blame or to minimize the scope of this tragedy or to politicize by spin this very sad thing that has happened. It is rather, my intent to make meaning of the unexplainable, to resolve my sense of loss, and to encourage the acceptance, by everyone, to share this deep feeling of loss within the community and especially by cyclists. As a society we are subject to conditioning which desensitizes us to these “events” and the meaning of tragedy is frequently spun out of context to preserve the “entertainment” value of corporate broadcasts. As a community we cannot allow this to be spun into insignificance because it is our safety in jeopardy.
It is important that we feel this tragedy as a community. It is important that we share the sense of loss. It is important that we not forget all the lives affected. This is my message but my hope is that from this communal sharing of our loss and through dialogue we will strengthen and build our community so that we can speak together and gain the social recognition and merit the same social standards for protection as drivers of automobiles.
If we are insensitive to this tragedy then it is simply a loss to somebody else. If we feel the impact of this tragedy and internalize it then we will create a meaningful touchstone that honors those lives which were so violently, senselessly, and brutally taken. By
strengthening our community we ride down the road toward social, legal, and access parity with American car culture. Please feel this tragedy, remember these people, remember their families, talk to other cyclists, write a note here, engage a dialogue…build the community in which you wish to live.
May cars always give you wide berth, and may your lights always shine brightly.