Driver behavior study by Bicycle Colorado captures alarming habits

Teri Vogel takes her husband's bike wherever she can.

"This is the damage that was done to Chuck's bike," said Vogel.

It's a visual worth a thousand words.

"Chuck was my high school sweetheart," Vogel added. "We were just a month away from our 41st wedding anniversary, and so he was my best friend and my partner in life."

Chuck Vogel was killed on July 4th, 2019, while riding his bike. It's a tragedy that turned his family's life upside down. Sadly, they're far from the only ones who've lost a loved one this way. 

"Anytime I hear the story again, or read or know that someone's been hit on their bike or any other type of hit and run, it's that gut punch all over again."

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, more than 700 people died in traffic accidents last year alone. A total of 124 of those were pedestrians or cyclists. 

"It's someone's family," said Vogel. "It's their loved one. It's someone who didn't come home at the end of the day. And it doesn't just stop there."

It's the people behind those numbers that prompted Bicycle Colorado to conduct their own study at nearly 200 intersections in 25 communities across the state. What they discovered was more alarming than they imagined. 

"Cameras in those intersections taking 30 minute windows in each 196 intersections identified close to 7,000 violations in those 30 minute windows," says Peter Piccolo, the organization's executive director. "Basic math leads us to the conclusion that in a given day, in those 196 intersections, there were 200,000 violations."

They say 45% of the 40,000 drivers they observed rolled a stop sign, and 18% were speeding.

"If you're traveling 40 miles an hour and you hit a pedestrian or a bicyclist, there's a 70% chance that you're going to kill that person," said Piccolo. "If you reduce your speed by a mere 10 miles an hour -- 40 to 30 -- the likelihood of that person surviving improves from 70% to 30%. One of the most dangerous areas for bicyclists is in an intersection in a right-hand turn. So, this idea of like we are gliding through a stop sign is really problematic."

People like Teri Vogel, and organizations like Bicycle Colorado, have made it their mission to share their story, to share their data to insight change for these accidents they believe are preventable. 

"I think we're all in this together. You know, we're not cars against pedestrians or cars against bikes or scooters or joggers, but you just have to look out for one another."

Vogel and Bicycle Colorado will be advocating for new laws, including stiffer penalties, this legislative session to make roadways safer.