WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - March 16, 2021 - March is Florida Bike Month and Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Robert S. Weinroth is hosting a Bicycle Safety Panel to shine a spotlight on efforts to reverse a disturbing trend of pedestrian and bicycle fatalities. The webinar will feature various local leaders to talk about bicycle safety here in South Florida, why there has been a recent increase in accidents, and what needs to be done to keep us all safe. The webinar is being made possible by Pike & Lustig.
Though bicyclists and pedestrians represent just two percent of commuters in Palm Beach County, they made up a whopping 30 percent of all transportation-related fatalities on county roadways from 2018-2020, according to the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency. The increases in fatalities in 2020 is probably part of a national trend related to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though vehicular traffic was down earlier in the year as people stayed home, TPA staff said. The reduction in congestion on roadways may have prompted motorists to drive faster, exacerbating risky driving behaviors, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics suggest.
"These are our most vulnerable users and they're a large disproportionate share of the total fatalities,'' said Weinroth, who is vice chair of the TPA governing board. Weinroth called on local leaders to take "a more proactive approach" aimed at preventing accidents, similar to the intense effort given to airline crash investigations.
Attorney Michael Pike adds that during Covid-19 the number of crashes seems to be going to in the wrong direction: "There is an uptick in the number of accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists because of surges in health and fitness during the pandemic combined with speeding and empty roads. It's critical that both vehicles and bicyclists need to be more aware during this time."
When: Monday, March 22, 4:00 to 5:00PM
Where: The Webinar will be broadcast directly from the following link: http://bit.ly/BikeSafetyWebinar
Who: Featured panelists include:
Robert Weinroth, Palm Beach County Commissioner and Vice Mayor
Michael Pike, Personal Injury Attorney and Managing Partner, Pike & Lustig
Alyssa Frank, Lead Planner and PED-Bike Coordinator, Palm Beach County Transportation Planning Agency
Representative, Delray Beach Police (Name TBD)
Kristy Breslaw, Boca Raton Triathletes President and Avid Cyclist
Maria Price, Bicycle Crash / Hit & Run Survivor
Contact
Melissa Perlman, BlueIvy Communications
