The number of bicycle fatalities in Maine remained the same as in 2019, with two bicyclists killed in car crashes.
Jean Sideris of the Maine Bicycle Coalition says the statistic is still disappointing. This summer, her organization launched an action campaign called Slow ME Down after numerous riders reported that they felt more unsafe this year.
“When the pandemic hit and we saw this situation with fewer cars on the road and cars driving faster, we decided that this was the right time to step forward and launch this campaign. So I hope this is something that we can continue well past the pandemic, to talk about this more. To ask ourselves what we really want in our communities, how we can make our communities safe,” she says.
The same phenomenon was reported earlier this week by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, as a possible explanation for an unexpected increase in serious auto crashes and fatalities during 2020.
Ten pedestrians were killed by vehicles on roadways, according to the state, down from 17 the year before.