Woman trying to make drivers aware of cyclists

Tammy Drury knows she's lucky.

The Sandy resident was on the losing end of a bicycle vs. car accident this past summer, and she lived to tell about it. Now she's on a mission to make people share the road.

"I feel very fortunate to be here," Drury told the Salt Lake County Council earlier this month.

Drury loves to bike on roads.

On the morning of July 4, she went for a ride with her husband and a friend out in Duchesne. She was riding behind the two other men when she heard a speeding car approach.

Before she could turn her head to look, the car slammed into her. The force spit her out into the gutter and the weeds, but not before the window sliced her arm. She said her helmet saved her from major trauma.

She doesn't remember much after that. But she does remember this: "At the time he hit me, he was just trying to come as close as he could to give us a scare," Drury said.

Vehicles are supposed to stay three feet away from a bicyclist, according to a state law passed in 2005. Drivers in violation of the law could face up to a $750 fine.

But not enough people know about the law, Drury said.

"If you knew there was a fine behind this law, it would make a huge difference," Drury said.

Earlier this month, the Salt Lake County Council voted to urge the public works department to start developing new road signs that not only encourage drivers to share the road, but also warn them about the fines.

The council also urged the sheriff's office to ramp up enforcement of the rule.

"We are seeing an increase in what we call road rage," said Mike Watson, assistant chief of the Unified Fire Authority and an avid road biker. "They don't think we should be on the same roadways and pathways they are on. We really believe in the share-the-road concept."