The City of San Jose is considering a ban on the practice of people who ride their bikes and walk/run their dogs at the same time. If approved, it would be the first law like it in the nation.
This comes after the death of a 62-year-old woman last month who was tripped by a cyclist whose leashed dogs were running alongside him on the Los Alamitos Creek Trail south of Almaden Lake Park. Beverly Head was tripped by the dog’s leashes, which got hooked behind her leg, causing her to fall and hit her head. She died of brain injuries just a few hours later.
Now city officials are trying to determine if it would be reasonable to make it a crime to lead a dog by a leash while riding a bike. There is nothing in the city ordinances that say it’s illegal, only that the owners must have direct physical contact with their dogs.
Head’s husband Bob claims his wife was worried about the practice before when she saw a little dog having a hard time keeping up with its cycling owner.
Park officials expressed hesitancy at imposing more laws on what many view as an accident.
Thoughts?
