The person charged after the first crash under a Vulnerable Road User ordinance in the southeastern USA pleaded guilty yesterday in the Metro Atlanta City of Dunwoody’s Municipal Court. That was important to me, for the sake of future victims as it was a precedential case and it will keep coming up in historical searches as new cities adopt similar ordinances (as the nearby City of Brookhaven already has). Plus a donation, as I requested, was made to Georgia Bikes. Her letter of apology (posted above, addressed to me and all concerned, which means all of us who travel in public space and/or are interested in VRU ordinances) asked for grace, and I’m working on that.
Please encourage your state representatives to support statewide Vulnerable Road User laws all over the USA. Also, please continue to support the great advocacy work that Georgia Bikes does on our behalf.
Finally, please note that planned changes to the road where she almost killed me do not meet NACTO guidelines and will not provide safe access for all, as required in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Please note this busy road includes a community center, a college, and several places of worship and connects to other schools, churches, senior homes, and the city’s biggest park. (Main roads in cul-de-sacked suburbia are unavoidable to actually get places.) Although construction has begun for an unprotected bike lane up the road from where my ghost bike would have been, it is never too late to do the right thing. Perhaps even simple, affordable wave delineators could be added as barriers in the current plan. Who will be a leader on this?
If you are in need of legal representation as a result of crimes against you while Traveling at the Speed of Bike, please contact the designated BikeLaw attorney in your state.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 