Left In Lowell

Please Be Safe, Folks

12 Responses to “Please Be Safe, Folks”

1. massmarrier Says:
   July 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

   If anyone doubts the helmet rule, I have an object lesson — my old helmet with three well-defined cracks in it. The emergency room doc said it was either three in the helmet or three in my skull. I keep it handy to show folk and my three sons wear theirs.

   A driver T-boned me at a major intersection, just not looking where she was going. I had a serious concussion, broken fingers and a ruined bike. The helmet took the most serious damage.

   Don’t ever count on a driver to see you or obey the laws of the road or common sense.

2. Tom Says:
   July 29th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

   This city needs some serious bicycle education, for both children and adults, both motorists and bicyclists. What we have now is a really unhealthy environment. I’m surprised that there aren’t more incidents like this.

3. Lynne Says:
   July 29th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

   Agreed, Tom, after seeing what I’ve seen both as a biker and as a driver. Especially the kids, but certainly the adults appear to be not much better.

4. Tom Says:
   July 29th, 2008 at 6:11 pm

   The adults like to blow through red lights and ride on the sidewalks downtown. This certainly isn’t setting an example for the kids.
   The kids have this annoying habit of just riding out in the road directly in front of your car, playing a game of chicken.
   Meanwhile, motorists have this penchant for running bicyclists off the road as if they aren’t supposed to be there……

5. kpem Says:
   July 29th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

   “The kids have this annoying habit of just riding out in the road directly in front of your car, playing a game of chicken”

   I can not say that this has anything to do with this one young mans unfortunate incident, but I agree we have a real problem with teens playing chicken with cars atleast in South Lowell. I had to call an ambulance after a group of boys purposely rode their bikes into oncoming traffic (they were playing a game of chicken) and one of the boys was not so lucky and swerved to miss an oncoming car and went face first through a parked cars window. His friends ran with the bike he was riding (they took him off all bleeding and ran with the bike). It was not the first time a group has done this while I was driving. I think it is too bad these kids are that bored. Maybe if they could get to the mountain bike trails in the state forest it would help or some other activity like a skate park. I know many adults are riding bikes to save gas, but if you are doing it for the excercise there are montain bike groups that meet several evenings to ride Lowell State and it is great riding. (people come from all over the area)

6. Tom Says:
   July 30th, 2008 at 7:12 am

   kpem, I have witnessed several incidents like the one you related. Reiterating my first post, this city needs some SERIOUS bicycle education.

7. Robby Says:
   July 30th, 2008 at 7:49 am

   I agree with all of you. As a young driver, Ive notcied that Lowell is a dangerous place to drive around. I understand that people on bikes are supposed to ride in the street and not on the sidewalk, but why can’t they move over when cars are coming? Half of the streets in Lowell can barely fit two cars side-by-side, let alone having bikes to swerve around. I think the bikers are the biggest problem; Ive seen many just blow right through stop signs, and Ive yet to see one of them using the hand signals to turn.

   Another pet peeve: Is it just me, or does anyone notice that no one in this city realizes that you CAN go left on red on a one-way street. For example, the intersection coming up from Central going left on Merrimack, you can go left on red (so long as its safe, of course)

   Not a big deal, but if your gonna drive in the city at least know how to.

8. Shawn Says:
   July 30th, 2008 at 8:51 am

   “Left on red” when going from a one-way to a one-way is legal, but I had a friend pulled over for doing this.. and he had to argue their case with the magistrate because the police officer did not know the law.

   He now carries a copy of the law in the car with him.

9. Tom Says:
   July 30th, 2008 at 9:37 am

   Some police officers do not know that bicycles are supposed to ride on the street. I’ve read anecdotes of cyclists carrying that law in their pocket too.

10. Link Says:
    July 30th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Robby, as a cyclist I agree that a lot of the roads around here (especially the bridges) just don’t have room for cyclists. On the Rourke bridge I’m definitely using the cage.

11. kpem Says:
    July 31st, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    The Lowell police came out and said that it seemed to be a trend with kids riding with no brakes. The Sun quotes “A spokesperson at the National Bicycle League in Hilliard, Ohio, said she has never heard of such a trend.” They are such dopes. Why would a bike league in Ohio know about a local trend in Lowell? As I said I saw a group of young men go down a hill and South Lowell and one of them smashed into a parked car and then the other kids left him there and took his bike running. He never slowed down other then trying to put his sneakers on the ground. The Lowell police would be the ones to identify a trend in the city but leave it to the Sun to disagree. It was not some fancy BMX bike this boy or the one that I saw hit a care were riding. They were playing chicken with cars and I have seen it on multiple occasions at the lights at Flether too.

12. Peter Says:
    July 31st, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    This is a terrible terrible thing. The kids riding around on their BMX usually have even better sense than the adults with their fancy costumes and expensive paraphermnalia. I have seen dozens and dozens of adults run red lights this summer but the kids are usually very very cautious.

    This is just so sad.

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