Two recent events that occurred this September in Salt Lake City, share the same goal of ensuring bike safety. One way is through invoking Divine Providence to bestow safety and protection to the bike users, while the second way is an active campaign on ro
ad safety that is already two years old in the running.
Let us tackle the first one. Hundreds of bicycle owners patiently waited for their turn outside the Cathedral Church of St. Mark for the 8th Annual Blessing of the Bikes. Even scooters, motorcycles, tricycles and unicycles participated in this annual event.
Very Rev. Ray Waldon said that he is not simply putting everything in God’s hands for he also emphasized in his teaching safety awareness to the bikers. After the prayer, the also hosted “bike rodeo” together with the Salt Lake Police Department. Very Rev. Waldon hopes that participants will put their faith in helmets too.
Pat Peterson a member of the Vestry of the Cathedral Church of St. Mark disclosed that the fun event also includes a food drive in support of Hildegarde’s Food Pantry to feed people who need help in times of economic uncertainty aside from raising awareness for bike safety.
The second event called “Road Respect” is a 2-year-old grassroots campaign sponsored by the State Department of Public Safety and Bike Utah, in cooperation with the Utah Department of Transportation. Its goal is to promote awareness between drivers and cyclists. The tour on bike safety message was taken from communities in St. George to communities in Logan
To promote bike safety among children, each Road Respect tour stop has included a community event, like a bike rodeo.
Thirty cyclists wearing the black and gold Lycra biking attire took to the road to peddle the message of road sharing. Clyde Stauffer, a rider and route planner for Road Respect stated that if all road users (motorists and bicyclists) show respect to each other and follow the traffic rules there would be absence of conflicts and problems.
The safety rules that drivers must obey when around cyclists include keeping a safe distance (3 feet) and avoid underestimating the speed of cyclist.
On the part of cyclists, they should obey the rules of the road and specifically do the following:
- ride on the correct side of the road
- ride single file
- don’t impede traffic and
- avoid situations that could potentially be catastrophic for the rider, because in a collision between a bike and a car, a biker is always going to lose.
Faith and safety measures can be greatly beneficial to all cyclists when exercise properly. May all the cyclists use these campaigns into good use. After all it is for the greater good.
If you have however been injured in an accident from a vehicle on your bike, please do not hesitate to contact us at Christensen and Hymas for a free consultation.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.