Driver Plows Into Cyclists
Jun 3rd, 2008 | By Fredcaster | Category: News, SafetyI was planning to talk about this on the show tonight, but in light of the flood of emails I have received, the horrific nature of the crash, and in light of the Cupertino and Sydney incidents, I decided to post this on the site.
The following horrific photo from the Associated Press shows the exact moment a drunk driver plowed into the peloton at a bike race in Mexico yesterday. The driver, Juan Campos, was charged with killing Alejandro Alvarez and injuring a dozen others.
The racers were just 15 minutes into the 34 km road race between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros (just across the border from Brownsville, Texas).
KARE has video of the aftermath.
UPDATE: Check out these photos on Flickr.
While I feel it is important for us as cyclists to understand the dangers we face on the road – I’m shocked at the amount of times this image has been posted around in news articles. There is NOTHING to be gained from viewing this picture in which a life was lost. IMO – Cyclingnews.com got it right, they reported the incident but did not link to the graphic image.
The types of comments posted from anti-cyclist types on these news sites do nothing to promote sharing of the road and identifying cyclists as legitimate road users.
I linked to the photo from my blog and from a couple of mailing lists — it’s a dramatic image that creates strong reactions. But I’m sure the cyclists in the photo are identifiable to those who know them. Most of us are posting the photo because of the shock value rather than the newsworthiness of it.
There’s long been debate about the value in leading news reports with dramatic crime reports. Is there value to the public in reporting a local crime of this nature to a national audience?
The Matamoros incident highlights that even a casual 15 mile charity ride at 8:30 in the morning with a police escort can be deadly when you bring a drunk driver into the mix — okay, what do I do what that information? Lobby for stronger drunk driving laws in Mexico? Avoid early morning charity rides on empty roads with police escorts? You have to admit, this incident is about as unusual as it gets.
I spent a few regrettable days in Matamoros in the early 80s: I don’t know about now, but back then it was a nasty border town close to the beach with a lot of bars, a lot of heavy drinking and drug use, a lot of drunk driving, and sometimes murderous drug violence.
@GPLama,
You bring up a great point and I would like to think that every journalist, blogger, podcaster, etc. who showed this photo over the past two days must have had the same thought. I’ve heard from Carlton Reid, Tim Jackson, Donna Tocci and Fritz about this and everyone agrees that they really had to think about whether to post the photo, email it to friends, etc.
So the question in this case is clear: Is this photo pure sensationalism or does its display have some redeeming social value?
I believe that there is value in posting the photo. I had two reasons for posting this photo on the site and talking about it last night on my podcast.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard about several high-profile incidents between cars and cyclists. The first that comes to mind is the accident in Cupertino where a deputy is said to have fallen asleep at the wheel, veered into oncoming traffic and killed two cyclists. The second incident occurred in Sydney when an irate motorist slammed on his brakes in front of a pack of cyclists, injuring many.
It is one thing to read about these incidents and quite another to actually see the trauma of such an incident at the moment it occurs (and to see the vivid images of the aftermath. So this was one reason why I published the photo.
The other reason I published the photo was in the hopes that it might have a lasting impact with those who drive after a beer or two, while tired, or who use their vehicles to try to ‘make a point’ to cyclists. If the widespread publication of these photos causes just one person to hand the keys to a friend, stop at a rest stop for a nap, or give cyclists a bit more of a buffer zone, then it was all worthwhile.
That’s my $0.02. I’d love to hear from others.
All the best. Ride safe. Enjoy the ride.
David
I agree with your comments Dave.
Here’s my take; http://masiguy.blogspot.com/2008/06/tragedies.html