Posted speed limit signs dot Cook County Forest Preserve trails, this one at Old Stover Trailhead near Barrington. | Courtesy of Ralph Banasiak
By Ralph Banasiak | Daily Herald
“You can’t remind people about safety too much,” reader David Owens commented.
With warmer weather and more cyclists hitting the roadways, safety should rank top-of-mind for anyone sharing traffic with vehicles of greater mass and speed. As of early May, motorist crashes have already killed four Illinois cyclists, including two in Cook County. In 2023, 42 cyclists died in vehicle crashes.
Safety, however, applies to trails as well as roadways. For those biking on multi-user trails, roles are reversed. Cyclists are the “motorists,” faster, often heavier and more maneuverable. Trail traffic is diverse — runners, walkers, equestrians, dogs and others — all slower-paced.
A trail sign near Westminster, Colorado, offers safety advice applicable to all trails. | Courtesy of Ralph Banasiak
With trail users, ages range from toddlers to seniors, quick-reflexed to slow, able-bodied to those with disabilities, including visually and hearing-impaired. People frequent trails for different reasons, not necessarily to move quickly from point A to point B, like roadway users.
If we are all truly “along for the ride,” as this column aspires, responsibility for trail safety also must be top priority.
One Northwest suburban reader who walks frequently with her husband in numerous parks and forest preserves expressed frustration with zooming cyclists. Her complaint: they approach too fast and offer little warning or none at all. Consequently, the couple avoid Fabbrini Park and Barrington Road Pond in Hoffman Estates, and especially Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village.
Her fears are not unfounded. A June 2013 bike-pedestrian crash at Lake Arlington took the life of a trail walker there. A young biker collided with a 74-year-old woman who died from a head injury two weeks later (dailyherald.com/20130709/news/fatal-lake-arlington-trail-accident-renews-calls-for-safety).
The woman’s death led to improvements by the Arlington Heights Park District that included painted path arrows, directional signage and a change in the flow of biking vs. foot traffic.
Yelling is free
Cyclists can use horns, whistles or bells to signal their approach from behind. These inexpensive devices break the ambient calm of Mother Nature, easily heard even on windy days. Of course, yelling costs you nothing.
It’s just pure courtesy to alert someone you are about to pass. By the way, this also applies to all you speedier cyclists when overtaking riders like me.
Read more here.
Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.
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