Bicycle Safety

All too often, bicyclists and motorcyclists do not wear helmets.  The recent change to the Michigan Motorcycle Law, which now allows motorcyclists to choose for the themselves if they want to wear a helmet, has only increased the community's acceptance of helmet-less riders being simply an expression of freedom of choice.  But what riders forget is that there are many elements out of their own control.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 677 bicyclists died in 2011 in the United States.  Wearing a helmet can significantly reduce this number, as can other precautions.  When a bike is on the road, it is considered by law to be a moving vehicle.  As suggested by the Michigan Department of State, this means that there are a number of measures a rider should take:

• Always ride with other vehicles (contrary to walking or running on a road.)
• Obey the rules of the road as any other vehicle operator; this means stop at stop signs and lights and use hand signals to indicate turns
• Wear a helmet and reflective clothing
• Yield to pedestrians
• Never ride drunk or distracted
• Ride as far to the right as possible
• Attach a red and white reflector when riding at night

Following these suggestions does not guarantee the absence of an accident; however, the precautions are proven to decrease the risk of a fatality.  If no other measures are taken, at least, wear a helmet.

Jackson County's Most Dangerous Intersections

The Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning identifies Jackson County's most dangerous intersections.  Unfortunately, between 2003 and 2007, the intersection of West and West Michigan Avenues was the county's most accident prone area; it was home to 139 crashes according to an MLive article.

Provocatively, even though this and a few other intersections in Jackson County see a frequent number of crashes, the accidents are rarely serious.  Because 18,200 vehicles flow daily on West Michigan Avenue, across West Avenue, John Holda, Jackson County's Police Deputy Chief, says that the high volume of traffic causes the accidents.

Next, the intersection of N. West Avenue and West North Street has the second highest number of crashes, at 135.  However, just because an intersection has a high number of crashes, does not mean that it needs to be re-engineered.  Often, these intersections are engineered correctly, but it is the volume of cars traveling through them which raises the probability of an accident.

This data suggests that in order to avoid an accident, avoid these two intersections all together.  Secondly, if you must travel through these intersections, do so with more caution than you otherwise would.