‘Capital to Coast’ campaign stops in Macon

May 5, 2021

Ariel Schiller,

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Bike Walk Macon, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and local law enforcement came together to make sure people are educated on bike safety.

The ‘Capital to Coast’ campaign is this week. The tour stops in five different Georgia cities, and Macon was on the list for Wednesday. Jimmy Sumner is the Deputy Director for the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. He says the goal of the campaign is to promote bike safety.

“This is something we should practice everyday of every year. Our goal is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our road ways,” says Sumner. “This is one of the things we great Georgians to, and that’s bicycle crashes.”

According to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, 846 cyclists were killed across the U.S. in 2019. 20 of those deaths were in Georgia. Preliminary data from the Georgia Department of Transportation shows cyclist fatalities increased to 28 last year.

Part of the event had an escorted bike ride through Macon. Sumner says they hope to educate people on bike safety.

“We share the roads with a lot of things out here. Pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, all these things. We’re just trying to bring awareness to bicycles and safety,” says Sumner.

Bike Walk Macon Executive Director, Rachel Umana, says there are many grassroots initiatives to improve pedestrian and bike safety. She says this event not only shows how the state takes bike safety seriously, but Macon does too.

There are many free events Bike Walk Macon hosts to get people comfortable with biking and walking on local streets. They also work with local and state governments to get funding and policies to improve the infrastructure of local streets. They also help educate people about bike safety.

“Just getting out with people and sharing those really basic things about how to bike safely, how to communicate with people you’re riding with, also car drivers,” says Umana. “And just how to be predictable so when you are biking on your own you can do it confidently and safely.”

Umana says bicyclists should ride predictably, follow traffic laws, and make sure you’re visible to others. She says drivers are required by law to give three feet of space to cyclists on the road.

“A bicyclist has every right to be on the road just as much as a car. We should treat bicyclists just as we would any other vehicle that’s on the street.” says Umana.

Bike Walk Macon is hosting a series of events throughout this month for Bike Walk Month.