Italian cycling says enough after the fatal collision of Davide Rebellin this Wednesday at the age of 51. The death of the veteran cyclist has exhausted the patience of an Italian peloton that has seen 106 people have died in Italy so far this year, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Following Rebellin’s deadly hit-and-run, the Association of Italian Professional Cycling Riders (ACCPI) has published a carta under the title “Appeal to the institutions: let’s stop the massacre of cyclists today” which is addressed to the president of Italy Sergio Mattarella and to the presidents of the Council, the Senate and the Chamber. Among the signatories of this petition are great figures of Italian cycling such as Gianni Bugno, Paolo Bettini, Elisa Balsamo, Claudio Chiappucci, Filippo Ganna, Giovanni Lombardi, Elisa Longo Borghini, Vincenzo Nibali, Alessandro Petacchi or Elia Viviani among others.
This is the full letter in which Italian cycling calls for an end to the massacre of cyclists on the roads
Mr. President of the Republic, Mr. President of the Council, Mr. President of the Senate, Mr. President of the Chamber
Even when?
For the umpteenth time we mourn a friend who died on the road. First Michele Scarponi and now Davide Rebellin, assassinated this Wednesday. And a 16-year-old boy also died on Wednesday while pedaling in Ferrara. As happened with Tomasso Cavorseo, Silvia Piccini, Thomas Casarotto and many other friends.
In 2021, more than 200 cyclists and almost 500 pedestrians died, many of them victims of traffic accidents run over by people who did not notice their presence, who did not realize they were there because they were distracted by their mobile phones, caught up in the frenzy of always keep your foot on the accelerator and look who knows where.
The road is not just for cars. The streets are also for the child who goes to school, for the mother or father who accompany their children by bicycle or on foot, and for the elderly who move with the only means they have: their own legs. The streets belong to everyone, or so it should be, but that is not entirely true.
We become obstacles in the way of cars that go like crazy or distracted people who do not realize that the car is a deadly instrument if it is driven with distraction and disrespect. Because speed on the road for some is a factor of success and indifference, and that has made it a common fact to cry for a few minutes over the tragedy that affects families affected by the fault of a person who did not look.
Our battle to get stricter highway code rules to protect cyclists will not stop. We have tried again and again and we will keep trying. We ask that limits be established for overtaking a bicycle on the road. It is a small but important step. Establishing a distance when overtaking cyclists saves our lives. A meter and a half is one hundred and fifty centimeters that represents the distance between life and death. We assure you that this is true. We do not want to, we cannot, we must not stop asking for different rules.
A few months ago we had almost achieved it but the bureaucracy and some official stopped us and said that introducing such a simple rule would entail a cost that budgets cannot cover. But how much, however infinitesimal, can a person’s life be worth? Who saves a life saves the whole world. We don’t have to save the whole world here, just pass a simple rule. Give us back the right to live our experience on the road as cyclists with serenity and safety. Set rules so we can travel safely.
Meter and a half. Three steps on foot. Let’s do it! We have to stop this massacre. Now!