Fifty-seven cyclists -- every one of them wearing a helmet -- rode from South Main Street to the state Capitol on Wednesday evening to commemorate the four cyclists killed in Arkansas over the past year.
The Ride of Silence, a dignified and solemn affair replicated in 49 states and 18 countries, served to remember these people:
Bobby Gist, 64, of Danville.
Makayla Hawkins, 7, of Helena-West Helena.
Courtney Book, 24, of Maine, a student at Harding University.
Merritt Levitan, 18, of Milton, Mass.
Perhaps the one most in the public consciousness is the last. Levitan was with a group of cyclists on a cross-country trip when she was killed July 2 near McCrory.
Her death has had consequences. Back in September, Teagan Ross Martin of Newport pleaded innocent to a charge of negligent homicide, plus several other traffic offenses. Martin was 21 at the time he was charged.
Negligent homicide is punishable by up to a year's incarceration in a county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, and a lifetime of regret and recrimination.
A white bicycle, a ghost bike, was put up at the Capitol as a reminder of these four, and cyclists who through the years have perished.
Willa Williams, a bicycle and pedestrian safety coordinator for North Little Rock, was at the Capitol. Her best safety advice applies equally to both cyclists and drivers, she said.
"Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles."
Everyone should keep this one thing in mind, she said.
State law agrees. Arkansas Code Annotated 27-49-111 tells us: "Every person riding a bicycle ... shall have all the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle." Emphasis added.
"When a motorist is behind a bicyclist," Williams said, "treat the bicyclist like a car. A slow bike is like a slow car. Pass only with a safe distance. Just because it's a bike, you can't pass it at will."
Really, it's quite simple.
Courtesy. Safety before convenience. A few minutes or seconds of time saved aren't worth the danger. Remember, too, that Arkansas has a 3-foot rule. When passing a cyclist, a driver must give that rider a minimum of 3 feet of space. So says Arkansas Code Annotated 27-51-311.
Mason Ellis, president of Bicycle Advocacy of Central Arkansas, asked drivers to watch out for cyclists. Be aware. And be patient.
"The five seconds you save by zooming around a cyclist isn't worth a life."
Not that cyclists are blameless, Ellis said.
"They're traffic, too. The laws apply to them. One of our biggest problems is cyclists blowing through red lights. But they probably do that when they're driving, too."
Final word from Ellis:
"Helmets save lives."
And as they came, silently, the cyclists dispersed.
One of our favorite readers offers two vanity plates: OBEHAVE and YES DEAR.
Another sends along this one: STRGZR.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 05/24/2014