With the DA’s decision today to not pursue criminal charges against the man operating the truck in the collision that claimed the life of Kathryn Rickson, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance says, “It’s time to act.”
In a blog post this afternoon, the BTA is renewing a push for a list of specific changes they called for immediately following the tragedy last May. “The investigation is complete,” they write, “It is time to implement some changes.”
The list of safety measures they are demanding is below:
- Bike activated sign indicating the legal right of way for people who ride bikes, similar to the treatment at NE Couch and Grand.
- Safety warning in the bike lane to alert people to be aware of the blind spots of turning vehicles.
- Ensure the roadway is properly lit and street lights are free of obstruction.
- Give exclusive signal control to people who ride bikes, similar to NE Broadway.
- Assemble a short-term working group to analyze citywide safety concerns at similar intersections and propose proactive solutions.
- Revisit commercial driver safety education in the context of vulnerable road users. Are current eduction standards sufficient? What improvements are warranted?
- Repeal Oregon’s mandatory side path law.
- Require all commercial trucks operating in Oregon to install mandatory side guards.
And they’ve added another request: “Require all commercial trucks operating in Oregon to install tripod-mount hood mirrors.”
In their report detailing the Rickson investigation, the DA said the collision was a “tragic event” and an “accident” and that the driver of the truck, “did what he was supposed to do in his situation.”
In response, the BTA says, “Whether or not criminal wrongdoing was involved, the BTA is firm in our belief that crashes like the one that killed Kathryn Rickson are preventable.”
Read the full BTA blog post here.