Jan Mosier’s scars, her crutches, those ugly black bruises—all are manifest signs of the crash.
But what you don’t see is the shattered faith, after a lifelong devotion to the bike. This you discover only in her words, alternately angry and dismayed. They raise tremendous questions about two-wheeling in what’s touted as one of the nation’s best bicycling towns.
The day was Jan. 21, near dusk. Mosier left work and was pedaling home along Mountain Avenue, toward the UA. That’s when the truck roared out from a side street and ran her down. A witness pegged the vehicle’s speed at 50 mph.
“He slammed right into me,” Mosier says. “He left pieces from his truck’s trim in the road.”
But he took what remains of his conscience with him. To date, he has not been found.
Mosier suffered a dislocated thumb that required surgery and a broken ankle that’s now pinned together. A forehead gash called for 18 stitches, and the road rash was vast. So was the mental trauma. “I never thought this would happen to me,” she says. “I’ve never even had a broken bone, never had any problems.”
So these days, she’s prepared to hang up the helmet for good.
That’s certainly not the message boosters want to hear about our supposedly bicycle-loving town. After all, the League of American Bicyclists gives Tucson a gold rating, and last year Bicycling magazine ranked us America’s 12th most bike-friendly city, asserting that our 620 miles of bike lanes “helped increase bike commuting by 58 percent.”
Of course, some accidents are inevitable—even those involving seasoned riders such as Mosier. But the stubbornly high rate of crashes each year—including one in February when a driver deliberately careened into a training team—raises questions about how bike-friendly Tucson really is.
Not that we’re alone. According to the latest data available from the U.S. Department of Transportation, 675 cyclists were killed by drivers in 2011, a 10 percent jump from the year before. And since 1975, bicycle deaths among adults have jumped by 167 percent.
Little wonder, then, that recent surveys such as one in Portland, Ore., found that the biggest barrier to bike riding is that people are scared to share the road with cars. “Riding a bicycle should not require bravery,” that survey concludes. “Yet, all too often, that is the perception among cyclists and non-cyclists alike.”
Still, there is reason for hope. Although the hundreds of bicycle accidents across Pima County are unacceptable, those numbers are coming down. Local government data shows 235 bicycle-related crashes and zero fatalities in 2012. That’s down from 454 crashes and three fatalities in 2010.
The trends “have been fairly constant,” says Matt Zoll, manager of the Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. “It could be safer, by all means. But if you factor in population growth, it’s definitely gotten better.”
Zoll sees even more safety in the numbers. “Research has found that when you increase the number of bicyclists,” he says, “drivers become more aware, everyone becomes more aware of each other.”
Police attention to bicycle accidents also seems to be improving. For instance, cyclists have asked TPD to focus its federal bicycle and pedestrian safety grants on monitoring crash hot spots. They’ve also requested that officers “educate” cyclists about the dangers of riding in the wrong direction along roadways—a leading cause of collisions.
“But we also want police to look for motorists turning flagrantly at red lights, turning right at stop signs without stopping, or coming too close to cyclists and failing to yield on left turns,” Zoll says. That’s in addition to watching for speeding motorists, which factors into 60 percent of bicycle-auto accidents.
Police also seem to be taking those accidents more seriously, says Erik Ryberg, a Tucson attorney who specializes in cycling injuries. “When I first started paying attention to this issue six years ago, it was deplorable the kind of treatment that cyclists got at the hands of the Tucson Police Department.”
For instance, he recalls when a cyclist was assaulted by a carload of teenagers wielding baseball bats. “In that case TPD even had their license plate number,” he says. “We tracked down the car and asked the police to go talk to them. The police knew exactly where the car was, but they absolutely refused to lift a finger. I don’t think that would happen today.”
Ryberg attributes the improvement to new staffing in the department’s traffic division. “TPD has changed its attitude about whether cycling is a legitimate use of the roadway,” he says. “I certainly think they have a long way to go, but I’m nowhere near the critic of them that I used to be. I’m just not hearing the horror stories on a regular basis that I used to hear.”
Sergeant Maria Hawke, a TPD spokeswoman, says any perception that her department doesn’t value cycling safety “is unfortunate. It is something that we always pay attention to.”
For example, Hawke notes, TPD was recently honored for aggressively pursuing the irate driver who intentionally plowed into the training team. “That’s the type of service that we always provide,” she says, “and always intend to provide.”
So where does all this leave Mosier, who is still licking her wounds? At first, Mosier says, she was confident that the cretin who ran her down would get caught. “Of course, I was just laying there in shock,” she says. “At that time I had a lot of faith in TPD.”
Today, not so much.
Still, even attorney Ryberg believes that cops have limited options if reckless drivers don’t even care enough to stop and help. “When it’s a hit-and-run,” he says, “and police don’t have good witnesses or they don’t have a license plate number, there’s not really much you can expect them to do.”
In the meantime, Jan Mosier’s scruffed-up helmet hangs on a hook, gathering dust.
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2013.
Really-riding down mountain avenue on a bike during rush hour is not exactly the smartest move on the book–but of course it is always the driver of the vehicle who is at fault (I will agree, that this may not be the case here, but there is not information provided about where the bike in question was located, so I can only assume she was in the bike lane). So tired of it all and really do not care if bike riders are not comfortable riding on city streets during the busiest times of the day.
“50” MPH, and only got a broken thumb and ankle….?
Bicycle riders NEED to Respect the fact, that they are much lighter than cars, just like cars should respect that they are much lighter than trucks, and not believe that just being in the Right, does not guarantee safety. Drive and Ride Defensively, not Aggressively.
… And every road user needs to obey traffic signs & signals all the time. If the driver had not blown through the stop sign, the rider would not have gotten hit.
I hope the rider gets back on her bike after she heals. Tucson is a bike friendly place to ride, despite the actions of this careless driver.
How did TPD let this woman down? It was a hit and run with no witnesses. Plus the articles title uses the plural “victims” when just one is interviewed and she has no basis to question TPD. Even the attorney quoted here says TPD is getting better with bicycle accident investigations. Not to mention this quote from article: “Police attention to bicycle accidents also seems to be improving.” So why does the title imply something that’s not even borne out in the article??
Unbelievable, riding on the bike path on Mountain during rush hour is not a smart move? This has to be the most used best marked bike path in town, what kind of idiot driver wouldn’t expect there to be multiple bikes on this path at all times, he either was intoxicated or not paying attention. We bikers have every right to be safe and use our bikes as transportation. This just goes to show the mentality of driver’s in this town. This poor lady had no chance to get out of the way. Perfect example, this kid killed at Broadway and Campbell, seems like the fact that he hit the passenger door of the big truck that killed him shows the truck right hooked him, this happens all the time! People need to pay attention!
Mountain is a designated bike route with a wide space for bicycles. If not Mountain then where? The problem is cars having used up all of their available infrastructure are spreading out sideways and cutting through neighborhoods. Witness Josh Brodesky’s crash on Mountain earlier this year. Same thing, failure to yield by a car on a side street. Perhaps Matt Zoll is a tad optimistic? By my count we have at least 32 bicycle fatalities in the county this year and another recent one in the city just this past week.
Oops. That was a 3 that I corrected to a 2 and forgot to delete the 3. So not 32 but 2 fatals in the county.
Sorry, no sympathy for the bike riders. To this day 39 years later I have the vision of my 10 year old friend in a casket after he was hit on his bike. If you ride your bike on ANY STREET expecting cars do what they are supposed to do at all times and you don’t drive your bike defensively in case they do not, well, what good does it do to be right “legally” if you’re maimed or dead?
first mistake, thinking that it won’t happen to you. This allows one to drop their guard and not pay attention to what is going on around them. The driver may have run the stop sign but was the bicyclist prepared? Considering that she got away with relatively minor injuries I’m guessing that she was. When you’re on a bike and at odds with 1 ton+ vehicles one should assume that everyone is going to run the stop sign/light/turn in front of you and be prepared when it does happen. When you ride a bike an altercation with a car is a matter of when, not if, never think that it won’t happen to you. Second mistake, riding at dusk. This is a bad time to do anything on a road walk, ride, drive, anything. This is when visibility is at it’s worst. Plan your ride accordingly. you are better off riding after dark with a light than at dusk when the natural angle of light does a great job at hiding small, non reflective objects. I am not trying to blame the victim here, as it may seem. The driver was in the wrong, running a stop sign and hitting anyone or anything is wrong. That person should be prosecuted if they are ever found. I am however advocating for cyclists to understand the inherent dangers of riding on roads that we share with large, heavy, death inducing tin cans operated by people who are erratic in their behavior, lacking in driving skills and likely not paying attention or impaired by drugs, alcohol or lack of sleep. the driver of the car might be the one in the wrong, they may be the one who broke the law, but they are not the ones who end up in the ER or dead, those of us on the bikes are, so it is our responsibility to look out for our own safety as much or more so than it is theirs.
I feel that if cyclists use the road and designated bike lanes, we would be rightfully visible. What I mean by that is: motorists would get used to our presence and how we navigate road rules and etiquette while riding. I am quick to correct an individual who feels the solution is to ride on the sidewalk-how reckless that is! Another item to note, is that sometimes I think drivers that harass (yes, they are out there, albeit not with much of an impressive vocabulary ) don’t consider that we indeed have a vehicle or two at home, but choose to ride instead. This summer I have only had one glass bottle thrown at me, by a truck with those ridiculous testicles hanging from the tow bar. How does he/she think I won’t find him? Ahahahaha! Oh, its ON.
If you need more victims, here’s a piece Josh Brodesky wrote for the Star last year about getting creamed along the same stretch of road: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/josh-brodesky-my-brush-with-death-and-my-new-rules/article_53fedad6-1ff6-5083-8610-2f4a77303c81.html
I assume there will be a follow up article discussing the dangers of being in a car in Tucson traffic. How many people have been injured or killed in cars in Tucson this year?
Yes, if a bike rider is hit by a car the personal injuries can be extreme … but is the risk really that great. I, along with many friends, ride in and around Tucson on a regular basis and do not share this fear. Just as I do when driving my vehicle, I don’t do things on my bike that increase the chances of being in an accident
I hope Jan Mosier heals quickly and do not mean to minimize her injuries … but really, is this quality journalism to cite one accident as proof of how dangerous bike riding is for all. Yes, many non-riders have said they don’t ride in Tucson because they feel unsafe … and this article does nothing to diminish those fears.
Accidents happen … regardless of what a person does.
Hailing from Germany, I have to admit that “bike-friendly” is extremely relative. By German standards, Tucson would qualify as the worst possible, bicyclist-maiming-and-killing monstrosity imaginable. The fact that by American standards, it is supposedly bike-friendly is kind of scary to me as it implies other US cities are even worse. At the same time, I see a great community of cycling enthusiasts here who have done an awful lot to make this city better for cyclists. Improvements are happening all over town. But to me the biggest hurdle is not the infrastructure, but the attitude and lack of responsibility on the part of the drivers.
I have been riding bikes for my entire life. Never owned a car while living in Germany. In 25 years of bike-riding over there, I can’t remember ever hearing about a serious or fatal bike accident in my vicinity or my circle of acquaintances. Not once. Within weeks of moving to Tucson, I began hearing about seriously or fatally injured cyclists, now almost on a daily basis.
What baffles me most is the common practice of hit-and-run here. This simply doesn’t happen in Germany. At least nowhere near to the extent it does here. I have no explanation for why it is so rampant here. Are Americans inherently less responsible than Germans? I find that hard to believe, but it seems that way. Plus, here we face the additional circumstances of uninsured drivers and illegal immigrants behind the wheel, who have a vested interest of fleeing the scene if they get into or cause an accident. And wherever I look, I see drivers texting, endangering others’ lives in the name of “personal freedom.”
I have ridden my bike all my life, it is an integral part of my life, but living here has me seriously question whether I have to give it up. After all, I don’t smoke or sky-dive either, even though I’m convinced that either of those activities carry a much smaller risk than cycling in Tucson.
This thread shows the stupidity of the anti-bike crowd. If there were in a car that got hit blindsided by another car, then it would be the other drivers fault. But when a bicycle is involved, it is always the fault of the bicyclist. I have lived in other places, like San Francisco, and this place is far scarier than any other. The only reason that people consider it a bike friendly place is because there is SO MUCH asphalt that the tiny portion devoted to bikes seems large.
There are idiots who drive cars and there are idiots who ride bikes. I would much rather be hit by an idiot on a bike, than one with car. I am a very defensive cyclist and I know it is just a matter of time before I get hit again. Last time I was hit, the driver got out and said he didn’t see me because I wasn’t riding on the sidewalk (well, neither was he!). I was riding in a well marked bike lane.
Mountain is one of the safest places to be on a bike. The person who feels otherwise is an obvious troll, just out to inflame people.
Cheez-Wiz, people! Why all the name-calling and pitchfork-throwing at cyclists?! Get a grip on your manners and think it out. Ridiculous. And now, I am going to ride my bike. Ready for me? Ahahahahaa!
p.s. Jan, I do hope you are feeling better and get back on the path. This stranger to you is in your corner!
Hailing from Germany wrote, among other things, “But to me the biggest hurdle is not the infrastructure, but the attitude and lack of responsibility on the part of the drivers.” Although I agree with his almost all of his observations, I am not in complete agreement that infrastructure is less of an issue than the obviously dreadful driving that happens in Tucson all the time, putting many more than bicyclists at risk.
To me, superimposing all modes of transportation onto one line of travel is as senseless as putting pedestrian sidewalks in the middle of streets. Bike paths deserve and warrant separate arterial road beds in a city like Tucson. A six inch stripe of white paint is meaningless.
Ultimately the laws of physics rule the roads. Historically that has been the case, and it should remain the case, due to the immutable nature of weights, velocities, momentum, and maneuverability. Mounted horsemen yield to carriages, which yield to lorries. Small light aircraft yield to large heavy aircraft. Small automobiles yield to heavy automobiles. Small nimble watercraft yield to heavy lumbering tankers. Why? It’s just fact that when they collide, the smaller vehicle does all the yielding.
Bike paths on major automobile arteries seek to repeal the laws of physics in ways that I am suspect are not sought in Germany. Tucson needs more dedicated, separated bike paths across town, bike paths that are not an afterthought on an existing relatively high speed thoroughfare. Tucson also needs sane drivers. I learned in motorcycle safety courses, and in personal experiences, that as a two wheeled mode of transportation, I am a fly, and traffic is a swatter. Insane drivers are bad, but they are neither responsible for the laws of physics being what they are, nor responsible for bicyclists arguments that we should repeal them.
It’s dangerous riding a bike in Tucson. I can’t say that I have tried it since High School. It’s dangerous driving a car here!!! And the condition of our roads is tough on my car much less a bike.
The real problem is that not all people with operator licenses should be driving a car. People think that driving a car is a Constitutional right. IT IS NOT. Many people, young and OLD, need to think whether they should be operating a vehicle that can kill or injury. People that have medical problems or taking drugs that may hinder their clear thinking when driving a vehicle. Maybe they should take a bus or a taxi, to save a person life. Driving is a right.