Two children were hospitalized in Pittsburgh this past Sunday after separate bicycle collisions with cars. To honor them, and the many others who have been injured while riding, Bike Pittsburgh organized a local Ride of Silence for Wed May 28th.
“The Ride of Silence is a national event to honor and remember people who’ve been killed or seriously injured while riding bikes on our streets. So we help put this on locally,” said Scott Bricker, Executive Director for Bike Pittsburgh.
The event begins at 6:30pm at the corner of Forbes and Schenley Drive Ext. with victims talking about their experiences with bike crashes. Among the speakers is a 9-year-old boy who was dragged under an SUV last year after a driver failed to yield.
Around 7 pm the riders will embark on an 11-mile journey to various crash sites throughout the city.
Everyone will remain silent for the entire ride and will sport two types of armbands. Those who have been in bike accidents will wear red armbands, while others will wear black bands.
“Statewide bicycle and pedestrian fatalities on our roadways have been increasing in rate, while overall traffic fatalities rates have been decreasing,” said Bricker, “So we really need the state and local governments to act and to change this. These so called ‘accidents’ are actually very preventable in most cases.”
One key stop on the tour will be on Penn Avenue near the Pittsburgh/Wilkinsburg border. Two summers ago two men were killed there, after being hit by unlicensed drivers. The accidents came within two weeks of each other according to Bricker.
