TownTalk Commentary with Dan Jackson, “Everything can change in a heartbeat.”

by Eric

Listen in to today’s PAC show with Dan Jackson & Eric Horton as they talk about Texas’ District 19 US House Rep Jodie Arrington, the 86th Texas Legislature, and Dan’s Commentary.

Commentary

A little departure from the norm today…Last summer on my way to Meadow I came up on an accident on FM 41. I walked up and immediately saw the bike, then the gentleman that had been riding it. There were three men assessing his condition, which from my vantage point did not look good. Traffic was becoming a problem so I went and grabbed a flashlight out of my pickup and began directing traffic. Emergency response folks started showing up and began assisting those working on the bike rider, and the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department showed up and after looking the scene over took over for me. I turned around and one of the gentlemen stood up that had been performing CPR, and I knew him. I asked if he was okay, and his reply was I never saw him. My heart sank…The sadness in his eyes and the shock of what had happened was awful. I told him it was an accident….that’s all I could say because that’s what it was. The problem is, this should have never happened…That day two lives, and two families were changed forever. It was all started by a very poor decision that was made by the rider to go down a busy Farm to Market road early on a weekday. Now for those who ride and will be very quick to tell me they have a RIGHT to be on any road they choose, that is correct. My problem is why ride on a road you know has a shoulder that’s about twelve inches wide most places and narrower in others? Why ride on a busy two lane? For the vehicle driver you are hard to see, you blend in, especially in the morning and evening. On a two lane you have three things that can happen in high traffic times. The first is the driver goes to the ditch, the second he tries to get around and depending on traffic could have a head on. Lastly, and sadly they hit the rider. All life changing and all happen in a split second.

Since that day I’m much more aware, but I can’t say the same for most of the bicyclists I see. I still see them riding down FM41, I still see them wearing all black on a black bike with a light flashing on the front…That’s really not helping those of us who are coming up behind you…Most of all I don’t understand why they don’t ride where there’s a designated lane for them, or at least on East FM 1585 where the shoulder is much bigger. Now in fairness, I have seen those who are trying to at least make themselves more visible with safety vests, and flashing lights on front and back of their bikes, and I’m thankful. But they still choose high traffic roads, why?? I hope at some point the State of Texas changes the law about where our bike friends can ride and makes the roads safer for all of us…I never want to see a bicyclist in a ditch fighting for his or her life, or a driver who was doing everything right and hit a biker…

Let’s all be careful because everything can change in a heartbeat…

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