The recent death of a bicyclist on Route 94 has prompted some west county residents to ask whether automobiles and farm equipment can safely co-exist with bicycles on the narrow, overgrown and curving "scenic" roads the county government is intent on preserving.
"Even if you're traveling the speed limit, if you come upon a biker on a curve . . ., there's no place to go, there's no shoulder, there's no way to avoid them," said county Farm Bureau President Martha Clark.
On the afternoon of June 16, 41-year-old bicyclist Janis Seraphin of Millersville, was fatally injured after a car apparently tried to pass her on a blind hill, forcing an oncoming motorist to swerve into the bicycle.
The motorist who struck the bicycle rider was not charged. Police are still seeking the driver of the car that passed the bicycle rider.
"There are some roads that are certainly not designed to handle safely both vehicular and bicycle traffic," said Battalion Chief Donald Howell of the county Department of Fire & Rescue Services. "Where the fatality occurred the other day, there is virtually no shoulder, so a bicyclist would have to be traveling in the [main] portion of the roadway."
Although there appears to be a proliferation of bicyclists on west county roads, the most recent statistics compiled by the State Highway Administration show bicycle accidents countywide to be rare compared with the overall number of traffic accidents.
In 1992, there were 19 bicycle accidents out of 3,915 traffic accidents in the county. In 1991, there were 17 bicycle accidents among 3,173 accidents and, in 1990, there were 20 bicycle accidents out of 3,675 traffic accidents.
Bicycle enthusiasts say that they are well aware that some west county roads can be hazardous.
"As both a motorist and a cyclist, it would be nice if all roads had a shoulder on them," said Ed Cahill, an Ellicott City resident who organizes bicycle road trips in the west county for the Baltimore Bicycling Club.
Although he is not uncomfortable riding on west county roads, Mr. Cahill admits that his feelings may be an exercise in self-deception.
"You have to know that it takes a certain amount of denial not to be afraid of a car overtaking you from the rear," he said.
He said that a cyclist should know and obey traffic laws.
"The law states that I have a right to the roadway, but I have to be as far to the right as possible," he said. Sometimes it is difficult, or even dangerous, to ride on a shoulder if it is made of gravel, or in poor condition, he said.
