This news article featuring Bob Mionske has been reproduced here for our media archives.
Thursday June 17, 2010
Thursday was day one of the Tour de Nez bike race. Bicycle enthusiasts used it to highlight what they call an ongoing, dangerous problem. That is, that motorists and cyclists don’t always share the road,
A forum at the Nugget in Sparks Thursday came after two recent bicycle accidents in town. One of those accidents was last week. A three year old girl was riding her bike on Lewis Street when she was hit by a truck. Last month, a Tour de Nez rider was in the bike lane on McCarran Boulevard when he was hit by a car from behind. Luckily, both survived.
A bike law expert said that with more people than ever before now riding bikes, there’s now more conflicts than ever. Bob Mionske is a former Olympian and now lawyer and columnist for Bicycle Magazine. He says cyclists have every right to use the road, but often don’t get justice on the roadways when they’re blamed for accidents even if a motorist is equally to blame.
With the Tour de Nez in town, he says it’s a good time to remind motorists and cyclists a simple lesson that can save lives — slow down and pay attention.
“It’s a societal thing, we’re all in a hurry, we make too many apointments, we rush to get there, when you do that you make mistakes,” said Bob Mionske. “When you make a mistake against a car, maybe it’s only a fender bender but when you do it against a bicyclist or pedestrian, you take their life; we need to put more importance on how we drive,” he said.
A Reno PD Sargeant also spoke. Police have received a grant to target and ticket cyclists and pedestrians who disobey traffic laws, as well as cite motorists who do not share the road.
