My son, Rob, was a world-class athlete, always pushing himself to get stronger.
He was in the prime of his life and thriving when a drunk driver crossed the center lines and hit him head-on in October 2017. He was killed at just 36 years old.
In cycling, Rob had found community and adventure. Most Sundays, he and his friends would bike to the top of South Mountain in Phoenix.
But it was all snatched away in a minute.
We miss Rob every day. But our family is doing everything we can to spare as many other families from this type of heartbreak as possible. In honor of Rob, I founded the Rob Dollar Foundation shortly after his death. Over the years we have worked with cyclists on riding safely and educated motorists on the three-foot passing law, in our efforts toward keeping everyone safe on our roads.
In Phoenix, about 450 cyclists and 640 pedestrians are hit by drivers every year. Our city’s roads on a per-capita basis are more deadly than streets in Los Angeles, and our state is sadly a leader in traffic fatalities across the nation.
We know that with better protections, many of those crashes could be prevented.
It’s in this spirit that I wanted to speak up about a troubling bill moving through the Arizona Legislature right now. SCR 1002 would potentially ban photo speed safety enforcement throughout Arizona.
This measure, if successful, would set back efforts to improve safety on our roads, especially at a time — following the pandemic — where we have seen a surge in recklessness and speeding. Our law enforcement resources in Arizona are already spread thin, and this would make the crisis worse.
Speed safety cameras have shown to be effective in reducing serious and fatal crashes everywhere they are implemented, as speeding is the cause of over 30% of road deaths in the U.S. And while Arizona’s program — being one of the oldest systems in the country — might need some updates and improvements, it’s not a good reason to completely throw it out.
I urge the Legislature to act with caution about dismantling the tools available to communities to handle this urgent problem. I think every Arizonan would agree that we don’t want any more families joining the horrible club that my family joined the day Rob was killed.
After all, none of us are immune to the risk of sending our child off on a bike, or in a car, and having them not return because of the irresponsible acts of others. Grieving parents like me would like to see our legislature advancing known safety solutions, rather than ignoring the real harms that are borne by ordinary people in this state by dangerous drivers.
Editor’s note: John Dollar is the president of the Rob Dollar Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting safety and awareness in the cycling community. He lives in Chandler. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Share with others
