FOUND BICYCLING 'ALMOST LIKE AN ADDICTION'

by Kitty Caparella

Philadelphia Daily News, September 11, 1991
 

Free as the wind, squeezing between cars and trucks, a bicycle courierraces to deliver packages.

It's a race against time because time is money. The faster he goes,the more packages he delivers, the more money he makes.

"The courier doesn't have the world's best safety reputation out there,"said Jihon Jordan, a cyclist himself who is redesigning intersections forthe Streets Department.

Despite the dangers of the job, the death Monday of a bike courier inCenter City was a rare occurrence. Sgt. George Golden, supervisor of fatalitiesfor the police Accident Investigation Division, said he could not recalla similar incident involving a courier.

On Monday, police said David A. "Drew" Ditzen, 24, of Stafford Streetnear Morris in Germantown, was riding south on 8th Street near Chestnutin lunchtime traffic when he apparently tried to push off from the trucknext to him by planting his foot against a rear wheel.

He was dragged under the wheels and crushed, police said. He was pronounceddead at the scene.

"It's tough riding in the city," said Will Maus, who is a salesman andwas a messenger for seven years at Diamond Courier, where Ditzen worked.''You're riding a delicate machine surrounded by tanks driven by peoplewho don't know what's going on."

Ditzen's father, L. Stuart Ditzen, an Inquirer reporter, said his son''just loved racing around the city on a bicycle. It was almost like anaddiction."

His parents worried about his safety, fearing what they call now "theinevitable." His father, who used to bicycle to work daily from the suburbs,warned him repeatedly of the dangers "but I couldn't dissuade him."

The mystique of the courier was popularized by the recent movie, "QuickSilver," and enhanced by recent newspaper accounts.

Messengers yesterday wore black armbands in Ditzen's memory as theyraced through the city delivering packages. And last night, friends gatheredat McGlinchey's Tavern to plan a memorial benefit to honor him.

An owner of Diamond Courier had earlier urged the messengers to stagea fund-raiser in Ditzen's honor for helmets for messengers, according toMaus. But messengers spurn helmets.

"A helmet can be a problem when you're riding in the city," Maus said.''You really need your peripheral vision. It's almost an impediment."

However, Jordan, a cyclist and member of the bicyclist advisory boardto the state Transportation Department, recommends wearing helmets, widerlanes to accommodate cars and bicycles or special lanes for cyclists, andbeing mindful of road hazards. He said 75 percent of the people involvedin bicycle accidents annually have head injuries, which could be preventedby wearing helmets.

Last year, two of Philadelphia's 178 traffic fatalities were bicyclists,Jordan said.