Jerry Hinnefeld
Henry Scott
judithrobert
Jeff Nixa
memooney
Adam Bee
bspitzer
Nate Barnett
Paul Taylor
Danny Graber
lhierony
Phil G-E
petercolan
Jim Moffitt
Judy Lee
2wheelpeddler
dickkuehl
Memorials
Posted by Phil G-E on October 9, 2008
Ghost Bike
I just ran across this article on memorials for bicycle accidents, though I’d read about Ghost Bikes before. I thought it might be time for such a thing in our region.
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Scott Kelsey said
I think this sounds like a good idea as a reminder of a fallen rider, My shop will donate the painted bike and the lock.
Scott Kelsey
The Avenue Bicycle Station
Nancy Sawyer said
Scott,
Did Pat and I meet you earlier this year down by the Notre Dame boathouse on the St. Joseph River? Are you the one who helped me take down kayaks from my van and then met my husband Pat when he got there? If so, Pat really liked and admired you–he really liked what you’re doing. After he died, I found one of your shop’s flyers in his truck.
I do think the Ghost Bikes should be placed in our area. I’m not sure where, though. Pat was struck on Cleveland Road right in a residential area near some private mailboxes.
Nancy Sawyer
Paul Taylor said
I was in Seattle WA last year, and saw several of these bikes chained securely to signposts or lampposts. They were old beater bikes with flat tires, or no tires, maybe no seat, but they all had one thing in common: they were slopped with white house paint and had a sign saying “xxx was struck and injured here on 99/99/9999″, or “xxx was struck and killed here on 99/99/9999″.
As a biker myself, it was very moving.
Phil, Scott, Nancy: do it!
Scott Kelsey said
Nancy,
Yes, I think it was me that day that helped you, I take my morning ride down that way almost everyday. I would be honered to place a bike out for Pat. I will paint it friday night and have it ready for the weekend. I will be “working” late on friday night if anyone wants to help or just drop by to chat.
thanks
Scott Kelsey
the avenue bicycle station
574-904-6626
Scott Kelsey said
me again
I just talked to my father who lives on ash road very close to where peter was killed (1 house away) I have his permission to chain a bike to his roadside walnut tree. So I will be painting 2 bikes friday night.
Look for the ghost bikes to appear this weekend.
Scott Kelsey
the avenue bicycle station
574-904-6626
Nancy Sawyer said
Thank you, Scott! I think these visual reminders will certainly make an impact on the community. I pass by the spot where Pat was struck every day.
In looking at the site, Ghost Bikes, I am simply overwhelmed at the number of bicyclists killed while doing the right thing–riding their bikes to work/school with all the proper gear and obeying all laws.
As much as I want all drivers to be more aware of bicyclists, I want more people to ride their bikes. Unfortunately, after Pat’s death, I’ve heard from more people now firmly convicted that bike-riding is dangerous. I wonder what the Ghost Bikes will do to the effort to convert more drivers to bicyclists?
Nancy
Nancy Sawyer said
Correction!
This is the proper link to Ghost Bikes:
Ghost Bikes
Adam Bee said
Yeah, I also hear a lot of huff-n-puff from non-cyclists about how dangerous cycling is.
It’s a frustrating bind: if cycling is perceived as too dangerous then nobody will ride. If it’s perceived as too safe, then nobody will improve the roads.
My take: It’s probably safer than driving, especially when long-term health benefits are taken into account. But it’s not as safe as it could be under certain infrastructure and legal improvements, as well as better driving behavior.
How infuriating is it for a responsible cyclist to hear drivers complain about the dangers of cycling when it is drivers who create those dangers? It’s like the school bully complaining that his victims have too much lunch money! Argh!
It could be that the relative safety of cycling varies over time horizons. That is, it could be that if one’s goal is to live through the next year, one should drive. If your goal is to live for the next thirty years (and be healthy enough to enjoy them!), bike.
But this is also a tough nut to crack from an empirical point of view. It’s a challenge to measure how much longer drivers would live if they rode bikes instead because we don’t observe that in the data, by necessity.
Another problem is that humans tend to (rationally) counterbalance risk in one area by shifting it to another. This is sometimes called the Peltzman Effect, after the guy who discovered that seatbelt laws actually caused more deaths. Drivers knew they were safer in case of an accident, so they drove more recklessly. Drivers ended up dying at rates no different than before, but pedestrians did not benefit from the seat belt and so they died in greater numbers.
Really, the optimal policy change wouldn’t be to make reckless driving safer for those who do it, but to make it more costly to them. One possibility is to mount a sharp stake to the center of each steering wheel. Drivers would take fewer risks and die as often as before, while the rest of us would be considerably safer. A more realistic possibility would be larger fines for those who drive recklessly or get into accidents.
Another possibility is to tax vehicle weights themselves (in addition to the gas they burn), since heavy vehicles (eg SUVs) impose safety costs on the rest of us while insulating their operators. The arms race to heavier vehicles leaves drivers no safer than before but leaves the rest of us considerably less safe. I love free markets as much as anyone, but here we have a clear case of a market failure justifying government intervention.
I hope to soon get around to doing some research in this area. Interesting stuff!
Scott Kelsey said
hello
The ghost bikes are out. 1 near the of Cleveland and Hickory and 1 on Ash road. Should there be signs on them with names and dates?
thanks
Scott Kelsey
The Avenue Bicycle Station
855.bike
Phil Good-Elliott said
I’d say so. Might want to put something up temporarily until family members get a chance to work something up. Most folks won’t know that a ghost bike is a memorial w/o a plaque. For more info, see the Ghost Bike How To page.
Paul Taylor said
As I mentioned in an earlier comment, when I was in Seattle last year, I saw some ghost bikes (didn’t know that’s what they were called). I was very moved by them. I thought the signs were a really important element. As I recall, the signs said “A cyclist was struck and injured at this site on xx/xx/xxxx” or “A cyclist was struck and killed at this site on xx/xx/xxxx”. From my recollection, a name was not mentioned. I have been thinking about this since my earlier post, and I don’t think a name was mentioned on the ones I saw.
So my vote would be to include a sign. Leave it to the cyclist or family to decide if the name should be mentioned.
Nancy Sawyer said
Scott,
Thank you for all you have done to create this memorial ghost bike. It’s 9:45 p.m. right now, and I just drove by the bike on Cleveland. It was dark out and the bike is on the dark side of the street. It looked lonely.
I have had a few friends and family say that they’ve seen it and it was quite striking for them. I was wondering what kind of sign/plaque to put up. I’ll look some more at the Ghost Bike site and see what others have done.
Thank you!
Nancy
Nancy Sawyer said
I’m wondering if the ghost bike for Patrick would be better at the intersection of Cleveland and Swanson Dr. Pat was hit on the north side of Cleveland just east of the Swanson/Cleveland intersection.
I put a temporary sign up with Pat’s name. My mother put flowers on the bike. I’m just thinking it would be more visible at day and night if it were at a lit intersection.
Has anyone else seen the bike that Scott put out for Pat? What do you think?
I have not seen Pete’s ghost bike yet.
Nancy
Paul Taylor said
I took a detour home from church this morning, to drive by the bike. I was very moved. As Nancy said, “It looked lonely”. There was no sunshine; it was raining.
As a cyclist, I think it should be as highly visible as practical, day and night. I liked the sign. If I were a family member, or a close friend of the victim, I would want to see it in the proper location, if practical.
Also, as a cyclist, I salute Phil, Scott, and Nancy for taking this initiative.
Nancy Sawyer said
Patrick’s ghost bike was hit by a car yesterday. I was coming home late last night with all the kids and, of course, looked for the bike in the dark as we passed by. It’s still chained to the pole, but twisted and a bit mangled. Unbelievable. So sad….
Nancy
Phil Good-Elliott said
Unbelievable, without a doubt! I wonder if this might benefit from some local media attention?
Henry Scott said
Wow… I can hardly believe this either. I haven’t even had a chance to go by yet… I’ll try to make it up there this weekend and get some photographs.
Scott Kelsey said
Hello,
Should I fix or replace the bike? Should we move it? Looks like a wheel is off and the bike is mangled. I have the key to the lock. Anybody seen the bike on ash road?
scott
Adam Bee said
Wow that is unbelievable. This should really be in the news. Someday the world will look back on these days when we let cars roam the streets freely just like how we look back on the days when drunk driving was looked upon as humorous.