Thursday, December 22. 2005Scary Cycling Moment Yesterday I was riding my new Orbea bicycle on some empty frontage roads in the southern half of Salt Lake county. This is a route I take regularly for recreational rides because it is not very heavily traveled. Near my southern most point I was passed by two state vehicles, both of them white 8-passenger vans with state seals on the doors, and “EX” exempt license plates. The second van passed within less than six inches of me while the passenger rolled down his window and simultaneously screamed at me the instant his window was closest to my position. Because the vehicle was traveling so fast, I would estimate in excess of 50 miles per hour on a 35mph street, the shock of the close proximity combined with the verbal assault, I was too startled to get the entire license plate number beyond just seeing the “EX” on the Centennial tag. While I have found that this type of behavior is relatively common among drivers, I was disgusted that this is how an employee of the state of Utah would behave. Additionally, the fact that the driver “buzzed” me while the passenger screamed out his window clearly shows that they pre-meditated their actions. I am almost certain they simply thought it to be funny but were unaware of how potentially dangerous their actions were. Had I flinched and veered even a few inches towards the vehicle I would have most likely been subjected to serious injuries. In my opinion, state employees should behave as a positive example, not utilizing some of the rudest, unprofessional and juvenile behavior imaginable, not to mention willingly and potentially causing serious injury.
Right now, 66 year-old Elizabeth Deseelhorst faces charges of negligent homicide. She has been accused of driving the Jeep Cherokee that hit 25 year-old bicyclist Josie Johnson, then proceeding to drive away, leaving Johnson to die on the side of Big Cottonwood Canyon. During the trial Deseelhorst stated that she didn't even notice the bicyclist until Johnson's body smashed into her windshield. Her actions and the tragic death of Johnson has resulted in HB-49, or the “Josie Law” as it has been coined, that requires all vehicles to allow for a three foot buffer zone around all cyclists. This makes the behavior of these state employees all the more deplorable! It also begs to question, how much worse the action of these state employees was that they willfully took such a risk with my safety, and I can only assume the safety of other cyclists or even pedestrians, for their petty amusement. I plan on writing a nice letter to the Governon about this, but I can't imagine anything will happen. Because this sort of thing is so common, it really didn't dampen my ride or anything. It was just another common occurance, but after reading the update on the trial over Josie Johnson, I felt morally obligated to say something. Comments
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