The Facebook page, “Share the Road – Share the tickets,” a new safety campaign proposed by Malibu Public Safety Commissioner Susan Tellum, is a poor solution to a very serious problem. The PCH through Malibu is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in California and cyclists are not the problem. Like it or not, every weekend thousands of cyclists ride PCH to enjoy riding thru the beautiful canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains. They all have as much right to the PCH as those driving cars and trucks.
Was Rod Armas and his teenage son a “rude cyclist” when a DUI, hit-and-run driver ran into them on PCH, killing him, and sending his son to the hospital with multiple fractures? Were Stanislov Ionov, a senior researcher at Hughes Laboratory, and Scott Bleifer, a vice president at Union Bank, “crude cyclists” when a catering truck plowed into them, killing both, in a construction zone at the Malibu Jewish Center on PCH? And what longtime resident of Malibu can forget Tracy Clarke, the beautiful 26-year-old lifeguard and triathlete killed August 2, 1990 at 8 a.m. while cycling on PCH. The Dolphin Fountain in the Malibu Country Mart is dedicated to her memory.
The truth is that they all were not annoying obstacles to traffic on PCH, or a hindrance to homeowners trying to exit their driveways on PCH. They were all somebody’s husband, somebody’s father, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s son, somebody’s loved one-lives now gone forever!
The solution to cyclists’ safety on PCH is not in writing tickets to cyclists. I suggest that all your readers log on to Dave Zabriskie’s website, http://yieldtolife.org. Dave is a world renowned pro cyclist. He recently finished on the podium in the Tour of California, and is currently competing in the Tour de France. He puts it very simply: “We all travel life’s roads. I stand before you to ask for your cooperation in providing safe space for cyclists. When you see a cyclist on the road, please, yield to life”.
John Abbe