OUR VIEW: Bicyclists have a place on road

A recent study by an Indiana University group on behalf of Bicycle Indiana shows that bicycle collision rates increased in 2010, but overall are down from 2006. The study could help policy-makers shape better regulations and perhaps offer educational programs aimed at helping motorized and human-powered vehicles coexist. That’s part of the aim of Ride of Silence, an annual bicycle ride promoted locally.

The number of Hoosier bicyclists involved in traffic collisions increased 7 percent from 2009 to 2010, with 9 percent of those individuals experiencing serious or life-threatening injuries, according to Bicycle Collisions in Indiana, a study conducted by the IU Center for Criminal Justice Research, a School of Public and Environmental Affairs-affiliated research center.

It reports young bicyclists, ages 8 to 20, accounted for a high percentage of fatal and serious injuries. Two such fatalities struck the Seymour area in 2009, when two Seymour High School students were killed while riding a bicycle on U.S. 31 south of U.S. 50.

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