Week 326

Positive post Sunday, May 28, 2023- Week 326. 

At SoCalGas, we take safety and health very seriously.  Each week, one of our executives shares a personal safety message with all employees.  It was my turn this past week and I thought I would share my safety message with all my Facebook friends in hopes it will prevent accidents and help save lives.  I give thanks to the Lord every day for the privilege to continue to serve Him and I pray for the families behind all those ghost bikes you see along the roads (read below).

Here’s my message with a few edits:

Good morning safety leaders (aka, all employees).

At this exact time (6:07am) just over two and a half years ago my life changed forever, and almost ended.  It’s by the grace of God, an amazing medical staff of Loma Linda University Medical Center and loving family and friends, that I am here to share this safety message.

No, I’m not referring to having COVID-19, although that felt like a close second.  On October 2, 2020, while riding my bike near my home, I was hit from behind by a car traveling at a speed of over 30 miles per hour.  My injuries were extensive (literally from head to toe), and it was touch and go in the ER and ICU for a few days followed by a few weeks in ICU and at the rehabilitation facility.

As you might imagine, this is still difficult to write.  I do so in hopes that it will make YOU pause the next time you get in your car to drive (after performing the Circle of Safety) and ask yourself if you are mentally and physically prepared to drive.  Someone’s life may depend on it.  

I was fortunate to mostly recover from my injuries and eventually returned home to my family.

Many cyclists are not so fortunate.  You may have seen one of the white bikes placed alongside a road.  This is called a ghost bike, a memorial to a cyclist who was killed at that location.

According to the Center for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 1,000 bicyclists are killed every year in the U.S. and according to the National Safety Council (NSC), of the 1,260 preventable bicyclist deaths in 2020, 806 died in motor-vehicle traffic crashes.  The NSC also notes that bicycle-related deaths peak in the warmer months, starting in May, and they remain high through October, so this is a timely reminder for all drivers and cyclists to “share the road”.  Although there are bike lanes in many cities, some roads without bike lanes that are heavily traveled by cyclists have a sign painted on the street reminding us to share the road with cyclists while driving (see photo below).  With children getting out of school, and summer vacations beginning, there will be more cyclists on the streets, requiring drivers to be vigilant, patient, and attentive.

In support of our effort to advance our safety culture through Safety Forward, encouraging Psychological Safety and learning, following my incident, I prepared a presentation titled Driver & Cyclist Safety (some photos below are from the presentation).  I realize that many of the slides are personal and specific to my incident so I’d be glad to share more background and details should you or your team want to use this for a safety moment. 

Lastly, to my fellow cyclists of all ages, ALWAYS wear your helmet!!  Simply put, I would not be writing this safety message if I was not wearing my helmet (see photo of my helmet after my incident below).

Drivers: Isn’t a life worth a few seconds?  How can you drive more safely with patience around cyclists?

Cyclists: Isn’t it better to be safe and alive than right and dead?  How can you ride more safely around vehicles, even with drivers make mistakes?