{"id":13062,"date":"2015-05-20T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T16:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=13062"},"modified":"2015-05-20T13:45:19","modified_gmt":"2015-05-20T20:45:19","slug":"washington-state-ride-silence-2015-voices-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2015\/05\/20\/washington-state-ride-silence-2015-voices-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington State Ride of Silence 2015: Voices for Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Spokane<\/a><\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

The black armbands tell you<\/strong>: This is a somber procession.<\/p>\n

The bicycles tell you:<\/strong> This is because we need safer streets.<\/p>\n

The national statistics tell you:\u00a0<\/strong>The U.S. has a cyclist injury rate twenty times that of Denmark and The Netherlands and seven times Germany\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The worldwide map tells you:<\/strong> All around the globe, on this day, people are riding together in silence because we need to draw attention to the collisions, the injuries the deaths.<\/p>\n

The petition* tells your legislators:<\/strong>\u00a0A state investment in safer bicycling and walking connections saves lives. \u00a0(Sign it at the bottom of this page.)<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ride of Silence tells everyone:<\/strong> We ride in silence to speak up for safety.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Tonight in towns around Washington state, people who care about safer streets are participating in a global event. The\u00a0<\/span>Ride\u00a0of\u00a0Silence<\/a>\u00a0honors those who have been injured or killed while bicycling on public roads and highways. Chris Phelan of Dallas founded the event in honor of his friend Larry Schwartz, struck and killed by the side mirror on a bus, to raise awareness\u00a0of people on bicycles and to ask that we all watch out for each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

At WA Bikes we work tirelessly on safety issues and funding for better infrastructure so families won’t have to suffer the loss of a mother, father, sister, brother, grandma or grandpa, aunt or uncle, friend or teacher. The Ride of Silence reminds us how much more we have to do.<\/p>\n

Several communities around Washington organize local rides. If we missed your ride on this list, add it in the comments below with details. (Next year, add your event to the Ride of Silence list for Washington and put it on\u00a0our statewide events calendar<\/a>\u00a0to help spread the word.)<\/p>\n