There is an important event happening in Chicago tonight: the Ride of Silence, gathering at Daley Plaza at 6:30 and departing at 7pm.
If you've ever seen around town a bike painted completely white and chained to a spot, these are known as "ghost bikes", memorializing a person who was taken in a car-vs-bike accident. Every single one of these memorials is one too many.
I am both a driver, and I ride my bike around town. As a cyclist, I know what it is like to be concerned for my safety on the road. As a driver, however, I recognize that there's an awful lot of cyclists who don't think the rules of the road pertain to them: they ride without helmets or without reflectors/safety equipment; they blow through stop signs; they wear dark clothing after dark or in the rain. I have had angry cyclists do things like pound the roof of my car when I am in a safe, non-blocking position on the road while I've waited for a parking spot.
Both drivers and cyclists need to be more aware and better prepared on the road. The "rules of the road" apply to everybody.
If you're a driver, stay alert, especially in the summer when the number of bikes on the road multiple.
If you're a cyclist, don't assume that people see you. Do everything you can to be visible, to bike safely. Yes, it may be 'more effort' to stop for every stop sign, but what's more important to you - a bit of extra physical effort, or your life?
