After the accident that happened last weekend on the Café highway where a cyclist died after being hit by a truck, the pedal sector spoke about the need for road actors to be more cautious in their journeys.
Regarding the issue, the mayor Fabio Enrique Sierra Sierra, head of the Traffic and Transportation Section of the Quindío Police, said: “During the year 2019, we were advancing various campaigns to the different road actors. By the provisions of Law 1811 of 2016, the use of the bicycle is established as a means of transport and gives responsibilities and duties”.
He emphasized that the behavior of cyclists must assume responsibility when using the road, such as using light devices, protective elements, abiding by and respecting traffic regulations. “Likewise, we have done with the road actors, different from the cyclists, so that they respect the provisions established within the regulations in force in transit avoiding more accidents on the roads.”
He pointed out that there have been several appendixes, who have broken the rule for being very close to the berms, for advancing on the right that puts at risk the riders. “The punctual recommendation for all car drivers is respect for another important road actor that is the cyclist, where they must respect their conditions and rights granted by law to be able to have mobility with all the security both on urban roads as the national roads”.
“Finally, he assured that this year they will continue advancing the socialization, training and awareness campaigns to the actors so that everyone shares the path in a respectful and friendly way.”
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For his part, Edna Patricia Torres Ortiz, of the Departmental Institute of Transit of Quindío, Idtq, said: “In this specific case, the accident occurred on a national road where vehicles drive faster, so it is more careful and as advice personal, if it is for a recreation activity, these routes are not the best option and less in times of tourism”.
He recalled that on the roads, there are several agents. “For drivers, the call is to be patient and put themselves in the place of the cyclist, they must make sure of the turns, be more cautious in their driving, especially at night, slow down, go patiently, and definitely, always respect 1.5 meters away”.
For the riders, he recommended being visible. “They are the most vulnerable road actors on the roads, they must be cautious, cautious, wear a helmet both in rural and urban roads, always wear the appropriate safety elements and the more visible they are, the better, that their clothing(clothing with reflective fabric) is reflective, that all support be easily identifiable.”
Finally, he affirmed that “the most important premise is citizen coexistence so that each road actor is prudent and generates care for himself and the rest of the community.”
“It is a shared responsibility, not only of cyclists and not only of vehicle drivers because both can be impudent. The rule of 1.5 distance, they do not respect it, I have been stuck to the white line, calm and felt when they rub me and pass at an excessive speed or having enough field to pass, they whistle and scare the cyclist. It is possible that in a scare of those, one easily loses control of his bicycle and falls to the gutter. They do not take into account that there is less protection on a bicycle, I prefer to practice mountain rather than road because there is a lot of awareness on the part of drivers of other road actors, I want to point out that we as cyclists should pay special attention to lighting in the afternoons and nights, it is necessary to wear taillights, headlights, reflective clothing and be responsible in practice.”
“The death of our fellow cyclist Hernán Serna Giraldo is unfortunate, this is a situation that has been presented around the mass use of the bicycle and is a problem that occurs throughout the country; Without a doubt, it is necessary to begin to raise awareness among drivers so that they can assume a more responsible attitude towards people who ride their bicycles daily on these routes. We ask the local authorities and at the head of the territorial entity to take action on the matter since this situation is at a nerve point, since every day more people make use of this means of transport. We are a mass that moves on two wheels and we have as a sole means of protection a helmet and the generous will of those who drive a vehicle when we see ourselves as people who have a family”.