Columnist Susan Snyder: Cars, bikes should share the road

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000 | 8:43 a.m.

Susan Snyder's column appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Reach her at snyder@vegas.com or 259-4082.

We can only hope the new county signs reminding cyclists and motorists to "share the road" can prevent others from dying like Nicholas J. Klapp.

The 40-year-old bicyclist perished Feb. 3 when a pickup driver purposely backed over him.

Maybe -- probably -- the yellow signs showing a car and cyclist riding side by side wouldn't have made a bit of difference. The motorist roared backward about 200 feet just to hit Klapp.

That places the driver only slightly lower than a rock on the food chain and certainly lowers expectations that he would understand the meaning of "share the road."

Still, Sam Wright hopes that isn't the case.

He's bicycle coordinator for the Regional Transit Commission, which is erecting 4,000 of the yellow diamond-shaped signs throughout Clark County.

They are part of a national study. Federal transportation gurus want to see whether the image alters the way motorists and cyclists treat each other, Wright said. Las Vegas is the first city to get them.

Wright hopes the image will help remind motorists and cyclists that sharing isn't some whacko political movement or something we do only when we're not in a hurry.

It's the law.

"The reason we put the signs up in the first place is we want people to be gracious, courteous and respectful of each other," Wright said. "The road belongs to both."

Since the end of last year, Wright and a co-worker have been hitting the streets with a video camera, radar gun and four volunteer cyclists. The cyclists rode alone through five specific areas of town while the RTC workers taped drivers' reactions and checked their speed.

The whole entourage will return to those same areas 30 days after the signs are posted to see whether drivers react differently. Wright says he already has noticed one thing that makes drivers and cyclists get along better.

"Most people are slowing down for the cyclist who is not too intimidated to take the lane," he said.

Wright's right. His study shows what other studies have shown for years -- cyclists and motorists get along best when those on two wheels confidently follow the same traffic laws.

The signs are being posted along roads RTC officials recommend under their bicycle plan. Those are roads with a right lane 14 feet wide and moderate traffic flow.

One of the routes is Oakey Boulevard, where Klapp was riding before he was hit by a motorist who hasn't been caught yet.

Metro Police say the pair exchanged angry words after the motorist crept out from Santa Margarita to turn right on Oakey. The cyclist reacted, and the motorist did the unthinkable.

Police also say it appears that Klapp was riding against traffic on Oakey. Nevada law says bikes must ride with traffic.

No one is saying Klapp deserved to be run over. That's idiotic. The motorist's criminal actions killed Klapp.

But if everyone had been where they were supposed to be, they might have avoided the first confrontation, Wright said. Fewer people fight when everyone legally shares.

It's a lot of hope to hang on a little yellow sign. But we have nothing to lose in trying.

Share the road.