Activists Demand Change After Fatal Crash in Indianapolis

86th Street by the Monon Trail entrance, Indianapolis, IN; the site where cyclist Frank Radaker was struck and killed by a car. (Source: Connie Schmucker/Bicycle Garage Indy.)

On October 28, 2021, Frank Radaker became the seventh cyclist to be fatally struck by a motorist in Indianapolis since July of that same year. In 2021 alone, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization reported over 200 traffic deaths, with their map displaying at least five within a mile of where Radaker was struck and killed. "We're on track for one of the deadliest years for traffic violence in Indianapolis, right after setting a record last year,” said Damon Richards, executive director of Bike Indianapolis, in reference to an increase in traffic violence during 2020 despite a decrease in actual traffic. “People keep saying something has to be done, but assume someone else has to do it.”

So far, what has been done to the intersection since Radaker’s death is not enough, asserts Connie Schmucker, the advocacy director at Bicycle Garage Indy. The “No Turn on Red” signs erected as a direct result of her advocacy are routinely ignored. In fact, a citizen-led traffic report conducted at the site—on 86th Street by the Monon Trail entrance—revealed that within a 280 minute period, 86 vehicles turned right on red and one even turned left on red. Additional data collected from volunteers outside of the concentrated study claimed as many as 157 vehicles made a right turn on a red light. The study also recorded crosswalk encroachment (when vehicles partially or completely obstruct a crosswalk) and the frequency of pedestrian and cyclist crossings.

Schmucker noted that a similar citizen-led study conducted on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive catalyzed safety improvements within weeks. Indianapolis, by contrast, hasn’t been so quick to respond. 

Following Radaker’s death, both his and the driver’s behavior were scrutinized, as is routine in these incidents. “IMPD says detectives are still trying to determine the speed of the car at the time of the crash, as well as who had the right of way leading up to the crash,” reported WishTV a week after the incident. 

This type of investigation might paint a fuller picture of what precisely happened to lead to Radaker’s death, but experts note that the law has its limitations. “In Indiana, there are only criminal penalties to fatal crashes when they are linked to criminal behavior, such as drinking and driving,” according to Indy Star. “It's possible to fatally strike a pedestrian without getting a traffic ticket. It's up to families to pursue recourse through civil lawsuits.” Furthermore, litigation might offer compensation and closure, but as Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn points out, it can likewise further entrench us in the “reckless driver narrative.”

In his book Confessions of a Recovering Engineer and elsewhere, Marohn argues that focusing on fault inhibits us from examining what role our street design has on vehicle crashes. The resulting narrative attributes injuries and fatalities exclusively to a criterion of recklessness, absolving the “deadly design of our public spaces” of culpability. He also points out that the entirely ordinary risks drivers assume when on the road can easily dovetail with the definition of “reckless driving,” writing:

By the official definition, we are all reckless drivers. Ponder your own behavior. Who reading this article, when noticing a police cruiser parked on the side of the road, doesn’t immediately look down at their speedometer to check whether they are compliant with the law? Reckless driving behavior—exceeding the posted speed limit, being not 100% alert, having some distraction—is ubiquitous. We’re all one random incident away from being in the wrong place at the wrong time and becoming the statistical Reckless Driver™.

For Marohn, our proximity to “recklessness” and potential for human error needs to be mitigated not primarily through a cultural campaign, but via street design that prioritizes safety over speed. “We must have a transportation system where the price for common errors is paid in fender benders and shattered headlights, not human lives and suffering.”

While activists in Indianapolis are also pushing for legislative protections for pedestrians and cyclists, many recognize the most impactful preventative measure would be to redesign the intersection. Radaker was killed and countless others injured where the Monon Trail—a Rails-to-Trails paved path spanning through Central Indiana—intersects with an arterial road: 86th Street. The trail is lauded as “one of the best urban biking experiences in the U.S.” but there isn’t enough to indicate a major trail crossing or encourage driver vigilance on 86th Street, as Schmucker of Bicycle Garage Indy argues. She points out that many other crossings either accommodate less vehicular traffic or feature bridges that separate motorists from more vulnerable road users. 

“The fight isn’t done until we get a tunnel,” says Schmucker. Until then, she’s championing bump-outs, pavement markings, rumble strips, and even street murals in partnership with a local school. In other words, tactical urbanism—short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions—to catalyze long-term change. 

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In the interest of accelerating that change and setting a precedent, Schmucker also nominated this fatal crash to be studied in the inaugural Strong Towns Crash Analysis Studio. The purpose of the studio is to model a new standard of care for cities, towns, and neighborhoods concerned about reducing automobile fatalities.

Through a series of live web broadcasts, an assembled team of technical and non-technical experts will demonstrate how to do a full-cause analysis of fatal automobile crashes. They will look at data, hear testimony, and document the many factors that contributed to the crash.

Most importantly, they will publish a list of those factors so that the community can learn from the tragedy and work to reduce the number of traumatic crashes over time.

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