SANDY -- News of a cyclist’s death hit his cycling team hard Monday morning.
Craig Buchi, 58, of Murray, was killed Sunday when he collided with a minivan that was making a left-hand turn on 700 East in Sandy.
Teammate Dirk Cowley said the way Buchi died happens too often because drivers rarely realize how fast cyclists are actually going and how difficult it is for them to stop.
“I think a lot vehicles don`t understand how fast a cyclist is traveling and they will either turn in front of you or they will come up from behind you go around you and make a right hand turn around you,” Cowley said.
Sgt. Jon Arnold with Sandy Police Department said sharing the road is a dual responsibility. Cyclists should be looking for drivers and drivers should remember they are sharing the road with more than just cars.
“Drivers particularly need to be paying attention and seeing what else is out there whether it`s a pedestrian, a cyclist, and motorcyclist,” Arnold said.
Another cyclist, Brayden Neilson, 36, was killed in a collision with a vehicle earlier this month in St. George.
Cowley said laws have been passed but no one is following them and police aren’t enforcing them.
The three feet law requires cars to leave at least a three-foot cushion space between them and a cyclist on the road. Sandy Police say they have only issued one citation to someone breaking that law.
“That`s the law If the law doesn`t have any teeth then don`t pass the law,” Cowley said.
Cowely said it’s part of the cyclist’s responsibility to report drivers, but ultimately drivers need to share the road and give the vulnerable cyclist some space.
“Just remember there is nothing in the world that is more important that you should run over the top of somebody a cyclist a pedestrian, nothing in the world is that important,” he said.
