(Photo courtesy Emily Pape) Emily Pape was biking home in early October on Sand Hill Road when she was hit by a car in the bike lane. Pape was knocked off her bike and walked away with bruises and possibly a concussion. A guy hit me with his car in early October. I was on Sand Hill Road, biking home, when a Honda Element drifted into the bike lane and knocked me off my bike. I’ve seen countless cars do the exact same thing — around corners on Alpine, Junipero Serra, Portola, you name it. It’s easy to casually slide over that white painted line demarcating the bike lane. Most of the time it’s fine — there’s no bike or person there. This time, though, I was there. And the car hit me.
I was lucky. I walked away with a few bruises and what might have been a minor concussion. Next time I may not be so fortunate.
In 2021, cars killed nine cyclists in Santa Clara County and seriously injured another 58. When I say “cyclists,” I mean tech guys in spandex, of course, but also parents running errands, retirees getting around neighborhoods and kids going to school. In February of this year, a car killed Maria Jabon in Los Altos and not one, not two, but three cars hit and killed Sarah Ida Raphaelle Muller , a visiting Stanford student.
This fall, as the days get shorter and our commutes increasingly take place in darkness, watch out for cyclists. […]
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