Chris Scott has been hit by a car while on his bike three times in his life. Maybe three and a half times, depending on the way you look at it. There have been several other close calls he’s had over the years. He’s also encountered reckless and angry drivers who don’t want to share the road with cyclists like him. Scott, who lives in Overland Park, is an endurance cyclist who has competed in multiple long-haul races. He likes to cycle to work in Olathe when the weather cooperates, too. Transportation experts consider individuals like Scott to be vulnerable road users. That is, anyone traveling on the road on foot, by bike or scooter or even in a wheelchair. They are more at risk of being seriously injured or killed in traffic accidents since they lack the protection of a car’s steel frame, seat belts and airbags. In the past decade, 617 people have been killed or seriously injured in Overland Park in traffic accidents. More than 10% of those individuals who were killed were either walking or biking at the time of the accident, according to data presented to the Overland Park City Council during a Committee of the Whole meeting in June. City leaders in Overland Park are looking to change all of that, and eventually, bring the number of people killed or seriously injured to zero.
Read more: Johnson County Post
