Shannon Bowers of Loxley plans to ride her bicycle on the Natchez Trace from Nashville, Tenn., to Natchez, Miss., in memory of her younger brother, Braden Scott Bowers, and to call attention to the need for barriers along highway medians.

Bowers’ brother died Feb. 16, 2006, after he was forced to swerve to avoid hitting another vehicle, while driving on Interstate 10. The 18-year-old honors student at Pensacola Junior College wasn’t speeding or driving recklessly, but when he was forced to swerve, his car crossed the median and into the path of oncoming traffic where he was struck by a vehicle traveling at normal Interstate speeds.

“He was on his way to class. It was a beautiful day. He was not late, speeding or driving recklessly, yet he was the one forced to swerve and ended up in oncoming traffic on the other side of the Interstate. He was the one who died,. If there had been a barrier of some sort, Braden would not have crossed the median and the accident probably would not have cost him his life,” said his sister.

With tears in her voice, Bowers recalled that her parents, Terry and Janie Bowers of Loxley, were so devastated by the accident, that she, as Braden’s “big sister” handled the funeral arrangements.

“I wrote his obituary. I gave his eulogy. I kissed him goodbye and watched as the doors closed at the cremation. I told his fiancee he had died. No sister should have to do that,” she said.

Bowers said her brother’s death was just a senseless accident. “Accidents happen. I know that, but if there had been a barrier of some sort, Braden would not have crossed the median and the accident probably would not have cost him his life,” she said. It is to raise awareness of the need for more median barriers on highways that she is bicycling 444 miles — starting out on what would have been her brother’s 20 birthday.

“Hopefully, along the way I will meet a person here or there and have the opportunity to tell Braden’s story. Maybe they will tell his story to someone else and so on. Maybe in those moments, Braden will get to live again. Maybe someone else will begin to wonder why there was no median barrier to save his life,” she said.

Bowers said she chose to ride along the Natchez Trace because it is a highway that is designated for cycling. The Natchez Trace is also a low-traffic highway and no large trucks are allowed on it. Bowers also has family and friends in the Jackson and Canton, Miss., areas, which the Trace skirts.

She bought a Obrea Diva brand carbon fiber road bike for the trip and has been in Mississippi for a year training.

“Before, I used to ride just for fun. This is different. I’ve also been running, walking and swimming,” she said. She estimated the trip will take her five or six days, although she has allowed eight days for it. “I don’t know exactly how long it will take, because I can’t ride in the rain,” Her parents will be following her along the route in their car.

Before Braden’s death, Bowers, 27, was planning to attend graduate school in hopes of earning a double mater’s degree in sustainable development and Spanish. Those plans were put on hold, something she said she does not regret, because her brother never got to attain his dream of becoming an industrial designer of theme parks.

After that fateful day in 2006, when Bowers discovered that something as simple as a cable barrier between the road and the median could have saved her brother’s life, she has researched highway barriers.

“Accidents like Braden’s are more common than you think. There are a lot of barriers that can be used, but cable barriers are the cheapest and the easiest to install and they are effective,” she said. She said many states, including North Carolina, Kentucky, Iowa, California, Washington, parts of Mississippi and parts of north Alabama, are installing cable barriers along highways.

Most states use three general types of highway barrier: cable, guardrail and concrete. All of these barriers are designed to protect drivers, though they do so in different ways and at varying costs.

Guardrails and concrete barriers are often used in areas with obvious dangers, such as sharp curves. Bowers said few people ever think of the danger of crossing the median on a smooth, straight road, like Interstate 10, where he brother died.

“If there had been a cable barrier there to prevent Braden’s car from crossing the median, he might have survived,” she said.

The state of Washington uses cable barriers and according to statewide statistics provided by the Washington Department of Transportation, 95 percent of cars that hit the cable barrier are stopped from crossing the median.

Although no barrier can stop every mishap every time, cable barriers greatly improve safety for drivers, according to Bowers. She said she would like to see every Interstate and every state highway equipped with the barriers.

“We can’t stop all accidents. We all know that, but in the states that have installed median barriers, accidents like the one that killed my brother have decreased by 90 percent,” she said.

Although cost is often the reason sited for not installing median barriers, Bowers said it is a small cost compared to the loss of a beloved brother.

“My brother was an honorable young man. I want a politician to look me in the face and tell me my brother’s life wasn’t worth the expense of installing barriers,” she said.

She hopes her bicycle trip down the Natchez Trace will help call attention to the need for barriers. She prepared and sent out 1,080 press kits to newspapers, radio stations and to state senators and representatives in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, as well as the Washington, D.C., representatives from those states. Along with the information about her ride and Braden’s death, she included a page of Web sites with information about median barriers.

Once her 444 mile journey is complete, Bowers said she will concentrate on other safety issues, as well as support for families who have lost loved ones in road accidents.

“Unlike natural disasters or war, we can do something about road safety. Everybody has some control over road safety. People who drive forget that driving is not a right, it’s a privilege. We all need to pay attention and remember to be careful on the road,” she said, adding, “My brother should not have died. I don’t want another sister to have to go through what I went through.”