A friend of mine just saw a crowd, police, a bike flattened under the wheels of the truck, and a body on the ground covered with a sheet -- around Ninth Avenue in Chelsea. Does anyone know what happened?
another biker got runover?
Thu, 08/10/2006 - 12:48pm
Thu, 08/10/2006 - 1:20pm
#1
yup
Sad to say, the truck flattened the cyclist as well.
http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/08/10/trucker-kills-cyclist-on-ninth-ave...
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 5:59am
#2
A sad and depressing story. But thanks for the link; a useful report that has good reminder for cyclists. Stay away from these big trucks and assume the driver is a total moron oblivious to anything moving on less than 4 wheels.
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 9:28am
#3
Another lesson
Ride on the left side of one-way streets, and especially one-way avenues with fast-moving heavy traffic. Don't ride on the blind side of cars and trucks, if you don't have to.
Thu, 08/10/2006 - 8:40pm
#4
No Ticket
Interesting: according to the above link, the truck clearly committed a traffic violation, killing the cyclist, but according to NY1.com the truck driver was (yet again) not given so much as a traffic ticket.
Obviously, the correct course of action is to give tickets to cyclists who run red lights on the loop at 6am.
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 7:10am
#5
I think it was a typo
I think the ny1.com story had a typo--the truck was actually turning from 9th onto 29th. What exactly was the traffic violation?
I see close calls of this type all the time--a car (or truck) is turning right and a cyclist is passing on the car's right. The car brakes just in time and the cyclist gets ticked off. If the car is in the right turn lane, why would the driver look to see if there is any traffic travelling to their right?
A physically-separated bike lane would not have prevented this accident, since the physical barrier would have to be interrupted at the intersection and the truck still would not have seen the cyclist. This is the issue I have with TA--while they're writing letters trying to make NYC's streets safer, little mention is made of what cyclists can do right now to avoid scenarios as common as the right hook.
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 8:39am
#6
How to not get hit by cars
"There's a website with some good diagrams called bicyclesafe.com. It has good advice for cyclists about how to avoid crashes with 10 different scenarios.
But I agree with Ron--while I like TA and am a member, a certain kind of emphasis has entered the bike community dialogue that is NOT empowering. Too many cyclists are emphasizing how dangerous cycling is (I recently had a conversation with someone who said that cycling is ""inherently dangerous."") I don't think cycling is inherently dangerous, though it's not risk free; if I thought it was inherently dangerous, I probably wouldn't do it. To constantly harp how dangerous cycling is or how dangerous the city is for cycling I think discourages and disempowers would-be cyclists. Secondly, there's a lot of emphasis on what the city (NYPD, DOT) and drivers should be doing for us, and darn little discussion of what cyclists can do for themselves. The good news is that cyclists themselves have a lot of control over the safety of their trips by how they ride, the condition of their bikes, what they wear. There are a lot of cyclists who not only don't take control of these things themselves, but they argue vociferously on message boards that cyclists SHOULD'NT do those things (wear a helmet, obey traffic laws) . It's sort of a ""I'm not going to wear a helmet, and I'm going to run red lights, race through lines of traffic the wrong way, and demand that the city do more and more to make it safe for cyclists.""
Rich"
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 9:13am
#7
"Life is ""inherently dangerous."" Cycling is somewhat riskier than walking, and significantly less risky than fishing.
We should be telling people how much fun cycling is."
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 11:42am
#8
I don't know about fishing....
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 12:36pm
#9
That's what I said. LESS risky than fishing. Though most fishermen die by drowning, not puncture wounds.
Sat, 08/12/2006 - 9:28am
#10
Not Sure of the Origin
But I remember learning in college that riding 21 miles a week had the same mortality risk as smoking three packs of cigarettes a day.
Mon, 08/14/2006 - 1:51pm
#11
If that were true...
Insurance companies would not insure cyclists. In fact, they encourage cycling as a means of staying fit.
Mon, 08/14/2006 - 2:02pm
#12
Illegal turn
Did the Truck pass the cyclist as he approached the intersection? If he did, he should have SEEN the cyclist and known that the cyclist would be cut off by this turning.
Even if he didn't pass him the driver should check his mirrors.
It's like making a right hand turn from the left hand lane and hitting a car in the right lane that you just passes. The cyclist is not invisible, he's where he should be expected to be, (outer edge of traffic flow).
Mon, 08/14/2006 - 2:15pm
#13
Another reason why I will continue to ride in Central Park despite the ridiculous ticketing (i.e., before 7 am).
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 6:46am
#14
contact
Who would be contacted to find out why a ticket was not issued? Or contact to put pressure on to issue a ticket, if one was warranted? Police Precinct? Police Public Relations? Press? Mayor? Do we try to get the press to make inquiries?
I do not know the details, but it SEEMS that the truck driver did not yield the right of way to the traffic to his right.
Fri, 08/11/2006 - 7:08am
#15
A Right Hook Can Kill Yal
"The right turn that the truck driver made is called a Right Hook. Usually defined as a quick fast right turn at a corner. With a cyclist to the truck or car's right. The problem is that a)The curb is to the cyclist's right and b) most drivers never use their mirrors or look to their side before turning.
Solutions:
a) stay further to the left of the curb or parked cars as safely as you can
b) think like a truck and make yourself visible to them by waving, yelling or assume they will turn and wait.
Oh Yeah, I was in the same situation this am, but obviously lived to write about it.
Simply put, ""Bike today,to see tommorow.""
Rob Marcus"
Tue, 08/15/2006 - 8:18am
#16
Even safer way
Solutions:
a) stay further to the left of the curb or parked cars as safely as you can
b) think like a truck and make yourself visible to them by waving, yelling or assume they will turn and wait.
.........................................................
I'd say the easiest and safiest solution is simply ride on the right-turn lane, BLOCK any car/truck that may even THINK about turn right!
Anyone who drives regularly in the city (I'm one of such) will learn quickly not to bother driving on the right-most lane due to double-parked cars, cars looking for parking spots and buses making stops etc. So that lane is often empty of traffic anyway. By riding on that lane, you're acting like a slow-moving car (such as those looking for parking spots). The risk of being run down from behind is minimal.
Majority of driver will not run down a cyclist from behind. But if they don't see you on their right EASILY, they can kill you. They may even feel sorry afterwards, but it'll be too late.
Tue, 08/15/2006 - 10:43am
#17
One aspect of riding is anticipating what could happen. This includes looking at wheels of a car that is passing you, looking at heads of pedestrians as they prepare to walk into the street, listening for a revving motor of a car passing you (just so he can turn in front of you--a classic driver's maneuver).
I try to ride on the left side of an avenue or a one-way street, whenever feasible or practicable. Drivers who see you generally give you a little more room. Of course, there are exceptions.
This is also the reason to ride not immediately up against a curb or against parked cars (aside from to avoid getting doored).
There have been many instances when I stay behind a truck, because there is just enough room for me to get by, and I want more space.
