A motorized bike rider died from the injuries he sustained in a crash with a car at 10 p.m. on May 8, 2012.
According to a Tucson Police Department release, Michael G. Beck, 29, was riding his motorized bicycle west on Prince Road near Geronimo Avenue when a driver in a Nissan Sentra exited a driveway directly into the path of Beck.
The release said Beck hit the driver side hood and flew over the car landing on the pavement on the other side of the car.
Beck was taken to the hospital, where he stayed until this afternoon when he died from his injuries.
The release said Beck had both front and rear lights operating on the bicycle at the time of the crash.
The driver was issued a civil citation for failure to yield from a private drive.
Beck is the first bicyclist killed in 2012.
Is that it? A traffic ticket? This wasn’t a fender bender, a person was killed. There should be a ‘resulting in death’ tacked onto the end of that along with a day in court. Sending the message that being so reckless someone dies isn’t worse than a moving violation is insanity.
It’s a traffic ticket unless we rise up and do something. Like participating in events like the Ride of Silence. Or calling our city council members, county supervisors, and state legislators.
It’s easy to sit here and type things into an online forum. But that’s just the beginning. If we don’t stand up for our rights, no one else will.
While this is very unfortunate, I have to say that those motorized “bicycles” are not bicycles. In Germany, where I’m from, those kinds of bikes are illegal and for good reason. Putting an engine on a bike frame without making the necessary technical adjustments to cope with the added force and speed is reckless and asking for a suicide mission, especially if the rider doesn’t wear a helmet. It strikes me that most, if not all motorized bike riders do NOT wear helmets. Also, strapping a little blinky to something that easily goes 30-4o miles an hour and expecting other traffic participants to see you is just nuts. Whenever I ride my bike or drive in the dark, it strikes me how those motorized bikes seem to suddenly show up from nowhere. By the time you see those feeble lights most folks put on them, they’re much too close and much too fast to react accordingly. Of course this does not mean the motorist in this case didn’t have any fault in this, I just want to point out how dangerous those things are in my opinion. There is a reason why real mopeds, which go at the same speeds, have much sturdier frames, wheels and more powerful brakes than those “motorized bikes.” In Germany, wearing an actual motorcycle helmet is obligatory even with those small mopeds. Those “motorized bikes” should not be allowed on the roads in my opinion.
Okay, Daniel, I’m going to agree with you too.
Why? Because these motorized bikes are unsafe for the reasons that you just stated. They’re another thing on our “rise up and do something” action list.
There are 2 types of “assisted” bikes, the kind with the ICE (most kits are 50-80 cc engines, the AZ legal limit is 33 cc) and the electric kind that are allowed up to 750 Watts (1HP) and 20 MPH when powered, by Federal law and required to be treated as bicycles by that same law. Unfortunately this article did not distinguish which kind of assist this bike was using.
Sorry about Beck’s demise. But, these little loopholed motor bikes are not only aesthetically annoying but more importantly, the extra speed of what looks like a bike can be very confusing to motorists. I’ve come close to clipping a couple that zipping through traffic way too fast for the conditions. What purpose do they serve other than non-licensed transportation after a DUI?
Well for those with joint problems they allow pain-free cycling. they allow a cyclist to keep a good average speed without having to ride at car speeds on downhills.
Mike was a great friend of mine and anybody willing to rally with me on this.. my fiance knew him for almost twenty years.. I’ve known him for ten years noone or nothing can bring him back but we as a body can fight for justice and prosecution only with other people and their help can we truly get justice. May christ live through all of us…
I casually dated Mike many, many years ago. He was a good guy who even though made some mistakes, did not deserve to die at 29 years old. I wish I would have known about this earlier. I would have gone to his service to pay my respects. I would be honored to be a part of implementing some sort of change in policies and/or laws pertaining to the legal ramifications of other cases like this. Despite all of the loopholes and whatnot the driver deserves to get something far more severe than a traffic ticket. Please let me know what I can do to help.
Cyndi (Michael’s Mom)
I as a mother have been completely overwhelmed on how this whole thing has unfolded. The Tucson police department has never pervited me with a cell phone record, drug or alcohol test results. I find it very difficult to understand how her story and the police report very so very much and as a mother still not get any answers. meanwhile she is still driving her deadly weapon and I’m still with out my one and only child. Please help me in my son’s fight. Sorry to say but next time it could be your child. She still has a licence to kill.