By Diane Jenks, The Outspoken Cyclist
Forget about sales, forget about profits, forget about tariffs, and forget about manufacturers and suppliers.
What this industry needs to focus on — AS A WHOLE — is the epidemic of why people are afraid to ride or allow their children to ride a bicycle.
When 26-year-old U.S. boxer Hannah Rapp was killed by a driver who allegedly stopped his car, put it in reverse, and then hit her today, you have to wake up and realize that, as an industry – from manufacturers to shop owners – we need to unite and find a way to not only hold drivers accountable, but find ways to actually change the laws AND have them enforced to put angry, distracted, and impaired drivers away.
The slap-on-the-wrist punishment that is S.O.P. by the legal system doesn't seem to see the gravity of the problem. Legislation is spotty or non-existent.
So far in 2026, 1,075 adult cyclists have been killed while riding, an annual total that has been increasing year on year. And, it's only July.
It's all well and good to build more trails and protected bike lanes, which we know the administration doesn't care about as it clawed back another $1.7B in already bike/ped committed funds, but the issue isn't access nearly so much as it is the entitled thinking – and driving – of those who would just as soon run us over as give us any deference.
So — while Rick Vosper talks of a "got milk" type campaign — and his reasoning is certainly sound — I believe that a campaign that makes safety our #1 priority – not only a public facing campaign, but one that has political teeth, and more importantly one that will give people more confidence, might give us a much bigger bang for our buck.
If the bike industry needs a PAC or some other way to make politicians sit up and not only take notice, but to act, then so be it, because what we have been doing up until now isn't working. We need to invest in the common good of our customers.
Jenks is a former bicycle retailer and hosts The Outspoken Cyclist podcast.
