Three individuals trauma-alerted in three separate Gainesville crashes
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three individuals have been trauma-alerted since midnight in three separate crashes in Gainesville; two of the drivers left the scene without stopping to render aid.
At about 12:03 a.m. on April 7, a 49-year-old man was found lying in the road on SW 34th Street near Hull Road. A preliminary GPD investigation found that a scooter and an electric bicycle collided in the bike lane; the 49-year-old male was transported under a trauma alert, and a 19-year-old male transported himself for medical treatment.
At about 5:45 a.m. on April 7, GPD officers responded to the 5700 block of NE Waldo Road, where a scooter driver, a female, described by first responders as around 35 years of age, was found in the grass near the woodline. A preliminary GPD investigation found that a van hit the scooter from behind at a high rate of speed and then drove away southbound. The scooter driver was transported to a hospital under a trauma alert; according to GPD, the victim is currently conscious and stable.
At about 8:25 a.m. on April 7, officers responded to a report of a crash between a vehicle and a motorcycle at the intersection of SW 13th Street and SW 9th Road. A preliminary GPD investigation found that the vehicle was traveling southbound on SW 13th Street and ran a red light. The motorcyclist, a 55-year-old male, was crossing SW 13th Street from SW 9th Road. The driver of the vehicle abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot; the motorcyclist was transported to a hospital under a trauma alert in critical condition.
When you cut traffic related law enforcement details accidents like this will continue to be more common. Road cops have been MIA for years now. The countless AI cameras all around are for surveillance, not traffic enforcement. Our privacy and safety is simultaneously being hacked to pieces.
Can we all agree that bike lanes are for bicycles and not for:
1.Scooters
2. E-bikes that go over 20 mph
3. Skateboards (motorized or not)
4. One Wheel electric scooters
5. rental e-scooters (that get left in the middle of a sidewalk most of the time)
Oh and stop riding against traffic on your bikes you psychos!!!
I have had endless close-calls with wrong-way bicycles/E-bikes/skateboards. The Uniform traffic code needs to specifically address these vehicles and law enforcement needs to get some teeth. Maybe impounding the vehicle for violation would be a wake-up call.
Actually, riding or walking against traffic would be much safer for an alert rider/walker. It would give them at least a chance to see danger and avoid being hit.
Too many people are too self centered, both drivers and walkers/riders. Much more the walkers/riders, though.
When cycling, the biggest problem is the closure rate with vehicles. You riding 20 mph, oncoming traffic at 45. that is 65 mph closure rate. Works much better with 25 mph closure rate. Also about being where you are expected to be on a bike.