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Local cycling community talks safety after 2 killed in accident

Posted at 6:12 PM, Mar 12, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-13 10:45:59-04

LEHI, Utah -- Members of the local cycling community said the fatal bicycle crash in Lehi has focused them to take a hard look at what they could do better to stay safe on the road.

Erik Harrington, president of the Rocky Mountain Cycling Club, said after an accident like this happens people want to assign fault. Click here for details regarding the fatal crash.

“I think we need to get beyond that and figure out what went wrong and how do we avoid it,” Harrington said.

Harrington drafted an email to the cycling community to remind them to pay attention, follow traffic laws, and always wear safety gear.

“You have your lights, you have your bright-colored clothing, which is a really ugly jacket, the uglier the brighter the better,” he said.

The cycling club said sometimes Daylight Saving Time can catch them off guard.

“It's easy to get caught riding out in the dark,” he said.

Cyclist will take the lights off their bikes in the spring but forget to put them back on when it gets dark again after the time switch.

“I think we need to follow the rules of the road as much as we can so the cars know what we are going to do, and we need to predict what the cars are going to do and do it and plan for the worst case and be watchful for ourselves,” said cyclist Alison Vrem.

The cycling club suggests finding safer routes using free resources online like the website SLC Bike. Harrington said accidents shouldn't keep people from riding, though he said it's a sad reminder for the entire cycling community to stay safe.