NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths

[Tony T]

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths (https://www.boropark24.com/nypd-launches-crackdown-amid-spike-in-cyclists-deaths/)

New York – The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

[MagicHour]

That's great as long as the enforcement isn't solely setting up "letter of the law" ticket stings on cyclists (as so often happens in a vicinity immediately proceeding a bike/ped fatality). But hey prove me wrong, would love to not have such a cynical reaction to articles such as this.

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths (https://www.boropark24.com/nypd-launches-crackdown-amid-spike-in-cyclists-deaths/)

New York – The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

[yinzerniner]

NYPD Launches Crackdown Amid Spike in Cyclists Deaths (https://www.boropark24.com/nypd-launches-crackdown-amid-spike-in-cyclists-deaths/)

New York – The NYPD has launched a crackdown on unsafe driving as the number of deaths involving bicyclists doubled this year.
Many of those crashes happened in Brooklyn, including a yeshiva bucher who was killed last month when riding his bike in Boro Park. The crackdown also includes a ramping up of speeding fines and adding dedicated bike lanes.
“We have a long way to go to get to our overall goal, and the truth is we’re trying to change the culture,” NYPD Transportation Bureau Inspector Dennis Fulton told ABC News.
For the first five months of this year, 10 people have died while riding bikes in the city. That’s up from five during the same period last year. Police attribute the 100 percent increase to the rising number of people who cycle instead of drive. In 2000, there were approximately 54 million bicycle trips, while 2018 saw that number more than triple to 178 million.
Fulton said that police is deploying more cops to hard-hit neighborhoods and giving out more tickets.
“Last year we wrote 83,000 speeding violations,” he said. “Another thing is failure to yield, summonses were up 265 percent.”

Well it's better than their previous reactions to cyclist deaths - BLAME AND HARRASS THE VICTIMS!

http://gothamist.com/2017/07/28/greenpoint_cyclist_tickets.php
http://gothamist.com/2019/02/07/vision_zero_cyclist_nypd.php

[verticaldoug]

Were they wearing helmets and did the bike have a bell?

It's all about the bike bell.

Anyone else ever get the 'no bike bell' ticket crossing the GW? or is that just a Jersey thing.

[cderalow]

Were they wearing helmets and did the bike have a bell?

It's all about the bike bell.

Anyone else ever get the 'no bike bell' ticket crossing the GW? or is that just a Jersey thing.

Nope.

Got one from new york side.

It's pretty common in most areas.

Any national park will require a bell on your bike as well.

[R3awak3n]

well NYPD is apparently now giving tickets to people that don't have wheel reflectors....

This is all a big waste of time, giving tickets for stupid stuff is not going to solve the problem. They need to improve infrastructure, more protected bike lanes and more awareness instead of just making people have a bad day and some not wanting to ride bikes in the city anymore.

I have pretty much only had bad experiences with the NYPD while on my bike


edit - I guess I did not read the article title at all. However it seems like they are trying to crack down on both drivers and cyclists

[GregL]

Any national park will require a bell on your bike as well.
This may be specific to some jurisdictions, but is not a requirement across all US national parks (to the best of my knowledge). I just spent a week enjoying the cycling in Acadia National Park and its rules (https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/bicycling.htm)do not require bells (but specifically do not allow e-bikes on the carriage roads).

Greg

[fiamme red]

They need to improve infrastructure, more protected bike lanes and more awareness instead of just making people have a bad day and some not wanting to ride bikes in the city anymore.Please, no more "protected" bike lanes! :crap:

[R3awak3n]

Please, no more "protected" bike lanes! :crap:

everyone that I know that does not ride in the city is because they are afraid of cars... they are not going to ride on shared lanes, more dedicated bike lanes will help with them. Trust me I don't like them, specially when the law now says you have to ride on the bike lanes and sometimes they are unsafe and I will say that a lot of the protected lanes are just terribly thought out so in that case I will agree (1st ave for example, what a pile of crap) but take a look at Amsterdam for example.


For me, the risk/reward of ridding in the city is just not there. I used to enjoy it, now I do it because its the most convenient but I much rather ride my bike for fun instead of a mode of transport

[fiamme red]

everyone that I know that does not ride in the city is because they are afraid of cars... they are not going to ride on shared lanes, more dedicated bike lanes will help with them.Why is it so important to get these "interested but concerned" people on bikes that we need segregated lanes to make them feel safe? Safety in numbers? I felt much safer cycling in the city when I didn't have to deal with so many idiots on bikes who ride erratically and unpredictably.

[MagicHour]

I'd have to agree with you there, it did feel safer in the 90s and with less lanes, but maybe I was also younger and "stupider". Also pre cell phones (more distracted)and ride-hailing apps (more traffic), bike shares, e-scooters/skateboards, e-bikes etc. etc. <old man shakes fist at cloud Smiley>

I felt much safer cycling in the city when I didn't have to deal with so many idiots on bikes who ride erratically and unpredictably.

[Dead Man]

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

[yinzerniner]

I'd have to agree with you there, it did feel safer in the 90s and with less lanes, but maybe I was also younger and "stupider". Also pre cell phones (more distracted)and ride-hailing apps (more traffic), bike shares, e-scooters/skateboards, e-bikes etc. etc. <old man shakes fist at cloud Smiley>

A lot to consider with regards to NYC's current civil predicaments, but in no particular order:
-Total mismanagement of the public transit system. Money being spent on flashy new structures or stations instead of fixing the damage from increased rider usage and natural disasters. Delays, shutdowns, and decaying service are the fruit born from the negligence
-Increased congestion due to more rideshare and delivery drivers as well as implementation of segregated driving/parking/riding lanes
-Overall lack of travelling attentiveness due to overwhelming screen time, be it on the phone, tablet, computer, gps, camera, etc.

Any one of the above would bring about increased danger to cyclists, but all three are terminal. Also need to point out that cyclists probably have the highest risks to personal safety due to the high speed, minimal protection and encumbrances in right of way/way of travel.

Doesn't help that de Blasio and Cuomo make Mayor Quimby look honorable and competent in comparison.

[BubbleWrap]

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

Come ride in the greater NYC area, see how safe you feel. The amount of asshats glued to their phones behind the wheel or being ridiculously aggressive, not giving a single thought to your safety is appalling.

[BobbyJones]

Were they wearing helmets and did the bike have a bell?

It's all about the bike bell.

Anyone else ever get the 'no bike bell' ticket crossing the GW? or is that just a Jersey thing.

I got one years ago on my way to the bridge in front of Riverbank. Cop was a no show

As a side FYI- the Parks police stationed at Riverbank in the white / green accented cars are State Police, not security guards. So don't piss 'em off.

[Tony T]

Cyclist Killed by Cement Truck and 2 Other Deaths Spur ‘Emergency’
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/nyregion/nyc-bicycling-deaths.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

[tctyres]

Cycling has gone way up with the introduction of bike lanes across the city.
Public transportation still sux, despite Andy Byford trying to inch the subway closer to "on time." I can get to midtown faster on my bike than on the subway, even though the subway has only 5 stops to get there. Taxi/Uber/Lyft is 3rd place, depending on traffic. I wouldn't take the bus to midtown. I might as well walk.

Apparently, there's going to be a big ride on the 9th for the three people killed in the past week.

[bcroslin]

Cyclist Killed by Cement Truck and 2 Other Deaths Spur ‘Emergency’
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/nyregion/nyc-bicycling-deaths.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

There's too many g-d cars in Manhattan. Ride share has made matters worse. The only solution is to limit automobile traffic in the city. But the NYPD ticketing cyclists for trivial infractions won't change a thing.

[YoKev]

From my email yesterday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2019
CONTACT: pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov, (212) 788-2958

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR DE BLASIO ON RECENT CYCLIST FATALITIES

“We are seeing a dangerous surge in cyclist deaths on our streets, and we are taking action. I have directed the NYPD to immediately launch a major enforcement action that will encompass every precinct and crack down on dangerous driving behavior like parking in bike lanes. At the same time, I have charged the Department of Transportation with developing a new cyclist safety plan to make biking in our city safer. No loss of life on our streets is acceptable. Last year was the safest year on record—and we have to keep pushing the envelope and increasing our efforts until we achieve Vision Zero.”

[tctyres]

Someone yesterday also mentioned that the issue of distracted driving (ie phones/maps) hasn't been addressed.

Typically, 4 pedestrians are killed in traffic in NYC per week. This number is huge. (Pedestrian deaths from cyclist collisions are about 1 every 2 years in NYC.)

[trener1]

This press release is complete BS!!
The NYPD is very much at fault here, they go around ticketing cyclists for not having bells and reflectors, while at the same time pat the driver on the back that killed that cyclist.

The way the cops act sickens me

[yinzerniner]

This press release is complete BS!!
The NYPD is very much at fault here, they go around ticketing cyclists for not having bells and reflectors, while at the same time pat the driver on the back that killed that cyclist.

The way the cops act sickens me

Classic boorish cop victim blaming. Might as well denigrate a woman or man for wearing revealing clothes when they've been sexually assaulted.

Now not all NYPD are guilty of this behavior, but the great majority of the guys who are put on the cycling assignments are not the cream of the crop, and they often show their lack of general aptitude. Notice how recently during HUGE events with massive police deployment you never really hear about dumb cops doing dumb things since the good cops are also on the scene and know how to handle stuff.

But classic De Blasio - lets actually do the right / lawful thing for THREE WEEKS since it's been getting national attention.

There's too many g-d cars in Manhattan. Ride share has made matters worse. The only solution is to limit automobile traffic in the city. But the NYPD ticketing cyclists for trivial infractions won't change a thing.
This wasn't as much a problem about ten years ago, but two different trends colliding have created the current crisis - rideshare and capital diversion. Adding 2% more vehicles on the road doesn't seem like a big thing unless you're dealing with a finite grid structure with little thruway access like NYC, and each increase of traffic in one area creates a domino effect. And our brilliant Governor Dips#*t shifting billions from the MTA coffers for his shiny new ribbon-cutting backdrops has made the subways worse than Andy Dufresne's journey.

[Gummee]

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

I'm going to disagree with that first statement. Things have gotten worse on the roads overall. More me! ME! Less patience and understanding.

Also more 'I'M going to get ahead' in traffic by jumping onto the offramp and not exiting or by jamming into the front of the queue making everyone behind them jam on the brakes. ...which makes it worse for everyone, making people think they can 'get ahead' by taking the off-ramp...

That translates into more close passes or unsafe passes when I'm out here riding in what was cow fields.

M

[hokoman]

I was a bike messenger one day a week during my freshman year of college (1994), and it was relatively safe - you could anticipate traffic and who was driving in what direction. I never got into an accident.

I lived in SF when Lyft and Uber became a thing, and the problem was that 75% of the regular cars were now drivers. They would stop in the middle of busy streets, take the most f*cked up u turns, etc. Every car became a hazard.

Fast forward to my relocation to Brooklyn. Same thing as being in SF. You have to watch for every single car. When I ride down from Prospect Park to my house, the bike lane on 9th street is scary. I HATE bike lanes that are between the curb and parked cars in NY. It's a bad idea for SO many reasons. I ride my brakes all the time and everyone passes me.

I can't believe the cops are ticketing people for bells and reflectors. I have a bell, no reflectors. I just ride to and from the park though, and I don't think the cops care in the park.

[seanile]

I lived in SF when Lyft and Uber became a thing, and the problem was that 75% of the regular cars were now drivers. They would stop in the middle of busy streets, take the most f*cked up u turns, etc. Every car became a hazard.

Fast forward to my relocation to Brooklyn. Same thing as being in SF. You have to watch for every single car. this. a million times over. i've been riding in boston city traffic for a decade and i'm not doing it nearly as often nowadays because riding is getting really stressful! no matter where a car is positioned, every door is liable to be opened by an uber passenger and dislocate my shoulder again.

[tctyres]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-f6ObzXkAEvGIe.jpg

[bcroslin]

Classic boorish cop victim blaming. Might as well denigrate a woman or man for wearing revealing clothes when they've been sexually assaulted.

Now not all NYPD are guilty of this behavior, but the great majority of the guys who are put on the cycling assignments are not the cream of the crop, and they often show their lack of general aptitude. Notice how recently during HUGE events with massive police deployment you never really hear about dumb cops doing dumb things since the good cops are also on the scene and know how to handle stuff.

But classic De Blasio - lets actually do the right / lawful thing for THREE WEEKS since it's been getting national attention.


This wasn't as much a problem about ten years ago, but two different trends colliding have created the current crisis - rideshare and capital diversion. Adding 2% more vehicles on the road doesn't seem like a big thing unless you're dealing with a finite grid structure with little thruway access like NYC, and each increase of traffic in one area creates a domino effect. And our brilliant Governor Dips#*t shifting billions from the MTA coffers for his shiny new ribbon-cutting backdrops has made the subways worse than Andy Dufresne's journey.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you about the NYPD. My interactions with them have been terrible every single time. With that said, NYC is a friggin mess all the way around and it bums me out. My mother and grandmother were both born in Brooklyn and I love the city and was prepared to move back a few years ago but it's just not a livable city any more IMO.

[thegunner]

you'd feel just as safe today, maybe safer, if you just stopped reading the "news"

thats the only difference, at the you-level, gents.

90% of the time i'd agree with you, but the number of T&LC plates now in NYC (and the number of drivers who are staring at their phones while driving) is something you don't need news to confirm. **** is straight terrifying sometimes.

[fiamme red]

Sadly, some crashes may be due to lack of skills on the part of the bike riders. In the latest fatality in Bushwick, the woman rode off the sidewalk, then appeared to tumble right in front of the cement truck. See the video here: https://abc7ny.com/traffic/29-year-old-cyclist-fatally-struck-by-cement-truck-in-brooklyn/5373433/.

[hokoman]

Sadly, some crashes may be due to lack of skills on the part of the bike riders. In the latest fatality in Bushwick, the woman rode off the sidewalk, then appeared to tumble right in front of the cement truck. See the video here: https://abc7ny.com/traffic/29-year-old-cyclist-fatally-struck-by-cement-truck-in-brooklyn/5373433/.

I drive to work everyday. Today I almost ran over a cyclist that ran a really late red light. I started into the intersection and he swung all the way to the middle and I missed him by 10 feet.. which sounds like a lot, but it's not... When I was in SF, the little red scooters you could rent always scared me. Now they have that in NY and I can't believe there hasn't been more reported accidents with those. Almost everyone I see is ridden illegally - one guy was jamming down the bike lane on one the other day.. today I saw two girls doubled up without helmets zooming down the street.

[fiamme red]

I drive to work everyday. Today I almost ran over a cyclist that ran a really late red light. I started into the intersection and he swung all the way to the middle and I missed him by 10 feet.. which sounds like a lot, but it's not... When I was in SF, the little red scooters you could rent always scared me. Now they have that in NY and I can't believe there hasn't been more reported accidents with those. Almost everyone I see is ridden illegally - one guy was jamming down the bike lane on one the other day.. today I saw two girls doubled up without helmets zooming down the street.I was standing on 15th St and 2nd Ave in Manhattan the other day. I saw a Citi Biker who was headed south in the segregated lane blow through a red light, and a motorist who was headed west on 15th barely missed hitting him. Then I saw the exact same scenario, with another motorist and Citi Biker, about 15 seconds later.

[jet sanchez]

As a person who cycles and drives in Toronto, Uber/Lyft has a lot to do with it, they are very careless and flout the laws of the road constantly.

[thegunner]

i'm sure a bunch of the NYC locals on the forums know this, but you can take down the plate # and report it to 311 -- if you're willing to possibly appear for a hearing (sometimes they'll do it over phone with just a testimony) they'll at least record the incident and also fine them if it's egregious and a repeat occurrence.

i find it's less likely to get me into a bad situation if i simply report it after the fact rather than confront the driver.

[fiamme red]

This is all a big waste of time, giving tickets for stupid stuff is not going to solve the problem. They need to improve infrastructure, more protected bike lanes...Like this one?

https://twitter.com/shaneferro/status/1149067823697842177

I've been ticketed several times by NYPD for riding in traffic instead of in a "protected" bike lane.

[yinzerniner]

Like this one?

https://twitter.com/shaneferro/status/1149067823697842177

I've been ticketed several times by NYPD for riding in traffic instead of in a "protected" bike lane.

I bike that area minimum four times a week.

My favorite is if you look at the street view, it's pure chaos:
https://goo.gl/maps/1y9UyuhAHLpQBrfk8

Oftentimes I think that "protected" bike lanes aren't the answer, but rather a bigger problem since we live in a completely selfish society where people fight tooth and nail over ownership rights for things they think they're entitled to.

People who walk think they own all the places you can walk. People who drive think they own all the paved areas. People who bike think the bike lane is their own personal superhighway. And god forbid you take any combination of the three and put paint on it with a symbol of a pedestrian, cyclist or car on it - pure bedlam.

In the times I've been in different European countries what always strikes me is the roadways and walkways are used by all, and people don't bat an eye. Walkers get to walk where they want, cyclists get to cycle wherever, and cars go around both once it's safe since they're both faster and heaver. There's mutual respect and empathy for everyone, and the attitude is do what you want unless it seriously impacts me.

[Tony T]

New York Was Supposedly Getting Better for Cyclists. What Happened?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/nyregion/nyc-cyclist-fatalities.html

The lanes are often obstructed by parked cars and the police, who have long maintained a skeptical if not hostile disposition toward cyclists, blame them in many cases for crashes that are ultimately the fault of motorists.

[fiamme red]

New York Was Supposedly Getting Better for Cyclists. What Happened?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/nyregion/nyc-cyclist-fatalities.html

The lanes are often obstructed by parked cars and the police, who have long maintained a skeptical if not hostile disposition toward cyclists, blame them in many cases for crashes that are ultimately the fault of motorists.Last year, the NYC DOT and Transportation Alternatives (the anti-car organization that fights for segregated lanes in NYC) took credit for the decline in cycling deaths, and attributed it to the increase in segregated bike lanes. Now that cycling deaths have increased, they're saying that the cause is not enough segregated bike lanes. They can't lose.

[fiamme red]

There was a pretty bad crash a block from R&A Cycles yesterday. Fortunately the Citi Biker wasn't killed.

https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/29/dtg-park-slope-bike-collision-2019-07-16-bk.html

Footage from a shop's video camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddaXzYC8LUM.

https://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/photos/42/29/dtg-park-slope-bike-collision-2019-07-16-bk01_z.jpg

[BobO]

There was a pretty bad crash a block from R&A Cycles yesterday. Fortunately the Citi Biker wasn't killed.

https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/29/dtg-park-slope-bike-collision-2019-07-16-bk.html

That's one of those shake your head, what the hell was the cyclist thinking moments. I feel for the driver having to live with that. As an aside, the writing in that piece is awful.

[tctyres]

That's too bad. That area in Brooklyn has a lot of cycle traffic, and at peak times, there are many people on bikes. 5th ave has sharrows the whole way through these blocks.

[trener1]

I'm not surprised, yes it has lots of cycle traffic, it also has lots of trucks making deliveries especially in the morning, lots of double parked cars, and just generally lots of traffic mayhem, made even worse once they built the Barclay Center

[hokoman]

That's one of those shake your head, what the hell was the cyclist thinking moments. I feel for the driver having to live with that. As an aside, the writing in that piece is awful.

Wow, that was crazy.... We are going to see a lot more of these types of accidents happen with the Revel electric scooters in the city now.

[johnmdesigner]

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/17/biking-while-female-slut-bitch-and-dumb-broad/

[johnmdesigner]

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/17/ballistic-firefighter-who-used-his-car-to-run-down-a-cyclist-is-back-on-duty/

[johnmdesigner]

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/17/mayor-i-want-to-do-citi-bike-on-the-cheap-and-ill-try-to-keep-riders-safe/

[fiamme red]

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/17/mayor-i-want-to-do-citi-bike-on-the-cheap-and-ill-try-to-keep-riders-safe/Streetsclog won't admit that even if every street and avenue in NYC had a segregated bike lane, the intersections would still be unprotected, and that's where the vast majority of crashes happen.

[johnmdesigner]

Streetsclog won't admit that even if every street and avenue in NYC had a segregated bike lane, the intersections would still be unprotected, and that's where the vast majority of crashes happen.

You can't have safe, segregated bike lanes when 90% of the cities inhabitants deny their existence.

[SlowPokePete]

Tuesday riding in Manhattan...

one of MANY times the bike lane was blocked.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48313495762_6272e4edd6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gBii5f)July 16, 2019 (https://flic.kr/p/2gBii5f) by SPP™ SlowPokePete (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156678813@N02/), on Flickr

That's my bike messenger friend Danee ahead of me...

SPP

[Dead Man]

Tuesday riding in Manhattan...

one of MANY times the bike lane was blocked.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48313495762_6272e4edd6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2gBii5f)July 16, 2019 (https://flic.kr/p/2gBii5f) by SPP™ SlowPokePete (https://www.flickr.com/photos/156678813@N02/), on Flickr

That's my bike messenger friend Danee ahead of me...

SPP

is there no citizen citation process in place in new york, or are city vehicles exempt from traffic and parking rules? i can tell you this sort of thing would never fly as a general practice in Portland- cyclist citizens would be citing PPB right out of their budget

[SlowPokePete]

If you're on Instagram check out @onthebikelane

SPP

[tctyres]

Another cyclist squished.
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/29/another-cyclist-is-dead-its-now-18-fatalities/

The map of cyclists hit in Brooklyn is really sad.

[fiamme red]

Another cyclist squished.
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/07/29/another-cyclist-is-dead-its-now-18-fatalities/

The map of cyclists hit in Brooklyn is really sad.The cyclist killed yesterday was riding with no front brake. Even if her bike was a fixed gear, that's not safe.

https://xheimmxl4gfvfghng2jjos4qhb.gcdn.anvato.net/captures/4AA/64E/4AA64EC62C92448C94F41CCE12618759.jpg?Expires=16590 82389&KeyName=mcpkey1&Signature=jBXdDLzfggyKyr-70Dzesb38Fb4

[sonicCows]

The cyclist killed yesterday was riding with no front brake. Even if her bike was a fixed gear, that's not safe.

https://xheimmxl4gfvfghng2jjos4qhb.gcdn.anvato.net/captures/4AA/64E/4AA64EC62C92448C94F41CCE12618759.jpg?Expires=16590 82389&KeyName=mcpkey1&Signature=jBXdDLzfggyKyr-70Dzesb38Fb4

Thanks for pointing that out. But, there's a lever for a rear brake there on the handlebar. Sure it's unsafe, but does it sound like a lack of front brake affected anything the rider could have done to avoid being killed? If there were laws governing bicycle setup–would you rather have NYPD stopping every cyclist to ensure they have reflectors and bells, ticketing you if you didn't? Or a city-wide licensing scheme with bicycle inspections and renewals to make sure your bike was up to standards?

[jdp211]

The cyclist killed yesterday was riding with no front brake. Even if her bike was a fixed gear, that's not safe.

https://xheimmxl4gfvfghng2jjos4qhb.gcdn.anvato.net/captures/4AA/64E/4AA64EC62C92448C94F41CCE12618759.jpg?Expires=16590 82389&KeyName=mcpkey1&Signature=jBXdDLzfggyKyr-70Dzesb38Fb4

How about, don't victim blame. A working front brake wouldn't have changed the circumstance (as reported). The cyclist was avoiding a door opened illegally into the bike lane.

[fiamme red]

Thanks for pointing that out. But, there's a lever for a rear brake there on the handlebar. Sure it's unsafe, but does it sound like a lack of front brake affected anything the rider could have done to avoid being killed?Yes, she might have been able to slow down and stop, rather than swerving around the open car door into traffic.

[benb]

Lack of a front brake is 100% relevant in this accident...

Lack of front brake means stopping distance is instantly 2X further than a bike with 2 properly functioning brakes. Two good brakes may have given the rider the option to stop without hitting the car door and to have turned the whole thing into a non-incident.

I get the outrage though.. no matter what stuff is going to happen and the atmosphere sure does seem to have gotten hostile.

I think I was a bit combative in this thread earlier this summer, I'd say sorry for that.. last month I had a car try and push me into the curb commuting. Cars were stopped and I was passing by on the shoulder and a driver turned their car at the last minute to squeeze me into the curb. I absolutely would have crashed and gotten hurt if I didn't have a front brake. I was able to stop before hitting him or the curb but I was at the rear wheel of the car. Gave the window a good slap... scary situation, it made me think of this thread. It was extremely bad behavior by the driver. I live in a small town, it'd have been interesting what would have happened if I'd crashed and had to call the police. The town is small enough I have talked to just about every officer in the department at town events, etc..

Maybe in my head but when I had a fixed gear bike I only had a front brake. That's not as bad as only a rear brake but I always felt like that bike always stopped poorly compared to a non-fixie, even when I braked with my legs and used the front brake at the same time.

This stuff is why some of us are so persnickety about our brake setups.

[fiamme red]

How about, don't victim blame. A working front brake wouldn't have changed the circumstance (as reported). The cyclist was avoiding a door opened illegally into the bike lane.The driver who opened the door was certainly at fault, but the cyclist might have lived if she wasn't riding in the door zone with no front brake.

[seanile]

how about we focus on the fact that a door was opened into a rider and catapulted them in front of a semi-truck. a ****ing front brake would not have changed that. jfc

[tctyres]

How about, don't victim blame. A working front brake wouldn't have changed the circumstance (as reported). The cyclist was avoiding a door opened illegally into the bike lane.

+1 Not sure what a brake does in this situation or even if it's indicative of anything about the cyclist. What we know is that there is no bike lane, and the woman was riding a beater. I think that's about it.

Had the police issued a summons for failure to look before opening the door, that would have opened up an insurance settlement. One sad part here is the reaction of the police to do nothing and then be "joking around" about it.

[rallizes]

how about we focus on the fact that a door was opened into a rider and catapulted them in front of a semi-truck. a ****ing front brake would not have changed that. jfc

Exactly

[FlashUNC]

Nothing like some cyclists eating their own by blaming the dead for being run over by a semi.

And hey, if she wasn't on a bike and had taken the subway none of this would have happened at all, amirite? So let's just get rid of bikes. Dangerous things.

We are our own worst enemies on this issue.

[sjauch2]

F-Uck all you people blaming the cyclist. I hope you get run over by a car on your next bike ride.

[AngryScientist]

F-Uck all you people blaming the cyclist. I hope you get run over by a car on your next bike ride.

2-week ban in effect for you, starting now.

the art of civil conversation will be enforced here.

expression of opinions is welcome. being a jerk, is not.

[nooneline]

you know what?
the whole point of agitating for safer streets is that small little pieces of abject BS that some of y'all focus on, like "oh she didn't have a front brake" (omg so many bikes only have rear brakes, coaster brakes fill the world outside of this internet bougie bike nerd bubble) - the whole point of it all is that small things that you consider unsafe SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED WITH DEATH by an unsafe environment.

didn't wear a helmet?
strayed out of the bike lane for a moment?
swerved around a pothole instead of bunnyhopping it like you're peter ****ing sagan?

shouldn't kill you because the streets in our city have been wholly turned into highways and the rich drop their monocles and file endless lawsuits over anything that might inconvenience the wealthier minority who drive.

[fiamme red]

you know what?
the whole point of agitating for safer streets is that small little pieces of abject BS that some of y'all focus on, like "oh she didn't have a front brake" (omg so many bikes only have rear brakes, coaster brakes fill the world outside of this internet bougie bike nerd bubble) - the whole point of it all is that small things that you consider unsafe SHOULD NOT BE PUNISHED WITH DEATH by an unsafe environment.

didn't wear a helmet?
strayed out of the bike lane for a moment?
swerved around a pothole instead of bunnyhopping it like you're peter ****ing sagan?

shouldn't kill you because the streets in our city have been wholly turned into highways and the rich drop their monocles and file endless lawsuits over anything that might inconvenience the wealthier minority who drive.Third Avenue has been a truck route for as long as I can remember. What do you propose?

[sonicCows]

Third Avenue has been a truck route for as long as I can remember. What do you propose?

How about NYPD enforcement of oversize trucks, for one? See here for interesting photos of oversize trucks getting stuck in NYC: https://twitter.com/illegal53nyc

[jdp211]

Third Avenue has been a truck route for as long as I can remember. What do you propose?

How about the mayor doesn't encourage and endorse people temporarily parking illegally in bike lanes? How about the NYPD issue tickets/make arrests when drivers blow through red lights and kill cyclists when doing so?

[AngryScientist]

to me, it's all about awareness. every driver in NYC should be well aware that cyclists are a legitimate form transportation and we all have to safely share the road.

vans and trucks present a unique problem, since many of them are not NYC locals and navigating the city can be a harrowing, stressful experience in the first place, and if you're not acutely aware that cyclists are all around, it would not be hard to get overwhelmed and have a catastrophe. unfortunately, what is a fender bender for a van is a potential life threatening situation for a cyclist.

it would never happen, but the ultimate solution would almost be a NYC 5-borough endorsement on a driver's license. you cant drive in NYC unless you get the endorsement and pass a pretty rigorous class laying out the rules of the road and specific hazards/concerns in NYC. then any incidents can lead to loss of NYC endorsement and loss of privileges to drive in the city.

half baked idea, but it might help.

[nooneline]

Third Avenue has been a truck route for as long as I can remember. What do you propose?

I propose we ride around NYC for a day together, and then you try to tell me with a straight face that things are as good as they can possibly be.

[FlashUNC]

to me, it's all about awareness. every driver in NYC should be well aware that cyclists are a legitimate form transportation and we all have to safely share the road.

vans and trucks present a unique problem, since many of them are not NYC locals and navigating the city can be a harrowing, stressful experience in the first place, and if you're not acutely aware that cyclists are all around, it would not be hard to get overwhelmed and have a catastrophe. unfortunately, what is a fender bender for a van is a potential life threatening situation for a cyclist.

it would never happen, but the ultimate solution would almost be a NYC 5-borough endorsement on a driver's license. you cant drive in NYC unless you get the endorsement and pass a pretty rigorous class laying out the rules of the road and specific hazards/concerns in NYC. then any incidents can lead to loss of NYC endorsement and loss of privileges to drive in the city.

half baked idea, but it might help.

If the job of driving a multi-ton delivery van in a crowded city is too stressful for someone to manage that they get people killed, they're in the wrong line of work.

[nooneline]

But if you're asking specifically about 3rd Avenue - I'm not a transportation planner so I think I'd be well out of my lane proposing how to improve 3rd Avenue.

However, it would be nice if the Mayor's Office took the advice of transpo experts on transpo policy. It would be great if, once safer infrastructure were installed, that the NYPD enforced it, so that a bike lane isn't rendered nonexistant by trucks parked in it or, just as commonly, NYPD itself parked in it.

It would be nice if there were fewer cars in the city - if car ownership weren't so blatantly subsidized, at everyone else's peril, and if the costs weren't so outlandishly shifted from those who benefit from cars to those who don't.

Enforcing the ban on semis, removing free curbside parking for cars so that trucks can have loading zones without blocking streets, parking in bike lanes, and forcing cyclists and autos to swerve into the same places - all these would be part of a nice and necessary network of changes that could improve safety significantly.

[nooneline]

to me, it's all about awareness. every driver in NYC should be well aware that cyclists are a legitimate form transportation and we all have to safely share the road.

vans and trucks present a unique problem, since many of them are not NYC locals and navigating the city can be a harrowing, stressful experience in the first place, and if you're not acutely aware that cyclists are all around, it would not be hard to get overwhelmed and have a catastrophe. unfortunately, what is a fender bender for a van is a potential life threatening situation for a cyclist.

it would never happen, but the ultimate solution would almost be a NYC 5-borough endorsement on a driver's license. you cant drive in NYC unless you get the endorsement and pass a pretty rigorous class laying out the rules of the road and specific hazards/concerns in NYC. then any incidents can lead to loss of NYC endorsement and loss of privileges to drive in the city.

half baked idea, but it might help.

Not the worst idea.
There's already a very sensible, on the books ban on trucks over 53 feet - that is, semis/tractor trailers - on NYC surface streets. Why? Well, it's obvious why these shouldn't drive down narrow, residential streets. I see them stuck at corners all the time! Because despite the ban - which goes completely unenforced - they're all over the city.

So yeah, an endorsement would be a good idea.
But frankly - who'd enforce it?

Sometimes I wonder if the DOT could create a uniformed traffic enforcement force. Obviously the NYPD is completely unreliable - they won't address speeding, red light running, failure to yield, oversize restrictions, double parking, sidewalk parking, bike lane blocking, etc etc etc. What if the DOT took matters into their own hands?

[tctyres]

The recent deaths have all been from large vehicles: delivery truck, SUV, concrete truck, semi. What has not been reported on in any of the cases is which of these drivers was staring at their phone. In at least one instance, the cyclist looks bad for what happened (concrete truck) but no one asked what the driver was actually doing.

IMO, put trucks only in the center lane on 3rd ave with a mixing zone a lights, put a bike lane on the outside. It's not ideal, but it starts to solve the problem and alleviates the excuse, "I didn't see them." That BS only flies so far, and I've gotten it as a cyclist.

[tctyres]

2-week ban in effect for you, starting now.

the art of civil conversation will be enforced here.

expression of opinions is welcome. being a jerk, is not.

Thanks for keeping things civil around here, Angryscientist.

I realize being a mod can be a major pita at times, but these kinds of posts are over the top.

[fiamme red]

I'd propose that we have a campaign to educate inexperienced cyclists. That section of 3rd Avenue has three lanes each way in addition to the parking lanes. Just take a lane, never ride in the door zone.

And two working brakes certainly can't hurt.

[jdp211]

The recent deaths have all been from large vehicles: delivery truck, SUV, concrete truck, semi. What has not been reported on in any of the cases is which of these drivers was staring at their phone. In at least one instance, the cyclist looks bad for what happened (concrete truck) but no one asked what the driver was actually doing.

IMO, put trucks only in the center lane on 3rd ave with a mixing zone a lights, put a bike lane on the outside. It's not ideal, but it starts to solve the problem and alleviates the excuse, "I didn't see them." That BS only flies so far, and I've gotten it as a cyclist.


This is a fine idea, but it only works when NYPD decides to actually enforce codes for vehicle infractions, and not just ticket blitzing cyclists in the aftermath of an inevitable accident.

[AngryScientist]

If the job of driving a multi-ton delivery van in a crowded city is too stressful for someone to manage that they get people killed, they're in the wrong line of work.

that's exactly my point.

many drivers who are fine and capable on country roads and out in the spacious burbs are in over their heads once they get into the congested city. if they could not enter without some endorsement and education, that might keep the city streets safer.

take the case of one of the most dangerous situations i've ever experienced in NYC: NYU move-in day! My wife went to NYU and freshman move-in day was an event! thousands of people who have never driven in the city, some of them in rented u-haul trucks driving around manhatten without a clue! chaos in the streets, it is nuts.

that really shouldnt be allowed.

[fiamme red]

Corey Johnson, speaker of the city council, was interviewed on NY1 today, and he said: "You're literally taking your life in your hands if you are cycling in New York City outside of a protected bike lane."

https://twitter.com/NY1/status/1156173067892211712

What nonsense! Does Corey even ride a bike? How did he become an expert on this?

I actually feel that I'm taking my life in my hands any time I'm riding in a "protected" bike lane. I've had too many close calls with pedestrians, skateboarders, wrong-way cyclists, e-bikes, e-scooters, etc. Riding in traffic feels much more predictable and safer to me.

[tctyres]

I'd propose that we have a campaign to educate inexperienced cyclists. That section of 3rd Avenue has three lanes each way in addition to the parking lanes. Just take a lane, never ride in the door zone.

And two working brakes certainly can't hurt.

Taking the lane is technically illegal. The law states that a cyclist must be as far to the right as practicable. You could argue, and it has been done, that taking the lane in a high traffic area is the only practicable way to ride through.

[benb]

There's no way you're ever going to get any kind of additional training on commercial truck drivers (who already have stricter requirements than normal drivers) without additional requirements on cyclists happening as a negative side effect.

Cyclists have the least requirements right now.. try to put more requirements on drivers and you're going to end up with registration/inspection/licensing, two brakes required, helmet required, whatever.

I think that is the thing with these arguments. Rebuilding NYC or any other major city to have separated bike lanes everywhere and get cyclists moved up the food chain is very hard work, a lot harder than getting cyclists to do additional things like have working brakes & learn to take a lane in a door zone. Nobody wants to see the NYPD kicking cyclists when they're down but in the mean time take things into your own hands whenever possible. Take every step you can that you have control of, even when that means moving up the shoulder slower than you'd like to so that you have the best chance of dodging a driver who tries to block you by pulling right into the curb at the last minute. (Guilty here)

[johnmdesigner]

My wife and I were just leaving a Japanese restaurant around 44th and 8th Ave. yesterday afternoon when we were greeted by this spectacle:

Two Secret Service sized black SUV’s (with ride share plates) decided that they didn’t want to wait in traffic so they turned into the mid block parking lot on 44th and then proceeded to drive down the sidewalk. Mind you this is about 3:30pm, the beginning of rush hour and there is a major entrance to the Times Square subway station on the corner. All the while blasting their horns and gunning their engines (both vehicles were empty save for their “drivers”).

I realize I am old and naïve but I can’t help but wonder what has brought society to this point where a person thinks it is acceptable to drive a 2-1/2 ton vehicle onto the sidewalk and expect everyone to get out of their way? They should not possess a chauffeur’s license (or any other license for that matter). Many videos of license plates and screaming people were taken but I doubt they will be of much good.

After the traffic cleared we noticed a NYPD cruiser on the opposite corner, engine running, tinted windows closed and both officers working their Instagram.

[nooneline]

near my work, i deal with police and delivery trucks parking in the bike lane, and news trucks constantly parked on the sidewalk; i can't believe people drive into soho, my walk around the office is full of watching people run reds, take left turns on reds, and drive into and remain in the crosswalk when i've got the light. it's rough when it's hot and every idling car i walk by is like walking by an open fire.

it's just a ****ing drag, this city could be so much more.

[hokoman]

near my work, i deal with police and delivery trucks parking in the bike lane, and news trucks constantly parked on the sidewalk; i can't believe people drive into soho, my walk around the office is full of watching people run reds, take left turns on reds, and drive into and remain in the crosswalk when i've got the light. it's rough when it's hot and every idling car i walk by is like walking by an open fire.

it's just a ****ing drag, this city could be so much more.

The problem with driving, walking, riding in the city is how lights are set up. I've lived in SF, LA and NY and think that cities could do a better job with traffic signals that would benefit EVERYONE.

My problem with LA was that you never have a dedicated left hand turn signal, so you can be at a red light for 5 cycles with just 10 cars in front of you. So much traffic that you have to wait for a yellow to go - then you have everyone running red lights and jamming the box. You could also take the scenic route that might be faster which is 3 right hand turns onto your street you intended to go left on.

NY is similar in a different way, there are so many pedestrians, that if you are taking a right or left hand turn in a crowded neighborhood, you'll be waiting for pedestrians to cross the street in record slow times staring at their phones. This causes everyone stress and honking that leads to people doing stupid things to get places. What they should have is a 3 way stop - pedestrians can cross in whatever direction they want - across in either direction, or diagonal. Then the other traffic lights for cars.

SF was a mess when I left because of construction and ride share traffic, but same thing - pedestrian traffic really jammed up the intersections when it is in relationship to car traffic.

Bad traffic always makes people do stupid things in their cars - speed when possible, fit into spaces they don't fit, etc. If the cars were more organized and civil, then cyclist would have much easier times navigating and riding on the roads as well. Just my totally unprofessional opinion of city traffic.

[jtakeda]

The problem with driving, walking, riding in the city is how lights are set up. I've lived in SF, LA and NY and think that cities could do a better job with traffic signals that would benefit EVERYONE.

My problem with LA was that you never have a dedicated left hand turn signal, so you can be at a red light for 5 cycles with just 10 cars in front of you. So much traffic that you have to wait for a yellow to go - then you have everyone running red lights and jamming the box. You could also take the scenic route that might be faster which is 3 right hand turns onto your street you intended to go left on.

NY is similar in a different way, there are so many pedestrians, that if you are taking a right or left hand turn in a crowded neighborhood, you'll be waiting for pedestrians to cross the street in record slow times staring at their phones. This causes everyone stress and honking that leads to people doing stupid things to get places. What they should have is a 3 way stop - pedestrians can cross in whatever direction they want - across in either direction, or diagonal. Then the other traffic lights for cars.

SF was a mess when I left because of construction and ride share traffic, but same thing - pedestrian traffic really jammed up the intersections when it is in relationship to car traffic.

Bad traffic always makes people do stupid things in their cars - speed when possible, fit into spaces they don't fit, etc. If the cars were more organized and civil, then cyclist would have much easier times navigating and riding on the roads as well. Just my totally unprofessional opinion of city traffic.

SF has been introducing these 3 way signals you’re talking about. There’s one on 2nd and market and it DOESNT WORK. Everyone just walks against the pedestrian cross light when the light turns for the cars and it leads to mass confusion and frustration.

[yinzerniner]

The problem with driving, walking, riding in the city is how lights are set up. I've lived in SF, LA and NY and think that cities could do a better job with traffic signals that would benefit EVERYONE.

My problem with LA was that you never have a dedicated left hand turn signal, so you can be at a red light for 5 cycles with just 10 cars in front of you. So much traffic that you have to wait for a yellow to go - then you have everyone running red lights and jamming the box. You could also take the scenic route that might be faster which is 3 right hand turns onto your street you intended to go left on.

NY is similar in a different way, there are so many pedestrians, that if you are taking a right or left hand turn in a crowded neighborhood, you'll be waiting for pedestrians to cross the street in record slow times staring at their phones. This causes everyone stress and honking that leads to people doing stupid things to get places. What they should have is a 3 way stop - pedestrians can cross in whatever direction they want - across in either direction, or diagonal. Then the other traffic lights for cars.

SF was a mess when I left because of construction and ride share traffic, but same thing - pedestrian traffic really jammed up the intersections when it is in relationship to car traffic.

Bad traffic always makes people do stupid things in their cars - speed when possible, fit into spaces they don't fit, etc. If the cars were more organized and civil, then cyclist would have much easier times navigating and riding on the roads as well. Just my totally unprofessional opinion of city traffic.

At some intersections they've implemented "Leading Pedestrian Interval Signals" which basically delay the green light for vehicular traffic so that the queue of pedestrians who've gathered at the crosswalk can clear before cars start making turns. It works really well and I don't understand why they don't implement it further.
https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/leading-ped-intervals.shtml

Pairing this up with dedicated left and right turn lanes greatly mellows congestion at the intersections. The problem is implementing these measures and making sure enforcement actually catches those who don't abide by the new traffic laws.

Problem is, 100% of NYPD traffic enforcement officers drive and walk regularly and probably 10-15% cycle regularly if that. Their own experiences will naturally prejudice themselves against a style of travel which they can't empathize with. If the NYPD made it a rule to have traffic enforcement officers ride bikes instead of use huge SUVs they'd be 1000% more effective at actual safety and enforcement. 16-18 hours a day in Manhattan it's quicker to get around on bike than car, so it should only help in both policing effectiveness and congestion.

[benb]

All the problems you're talking about are near universal in the US.

There are only 13k people in my town and we are running into all the issues you mentioned at rush hour because another 50k cars from out of town drive through and turn the entire main stretch of town into a parking lot for 3 hours in the morning & again at night. The police in town are incredibly frustrated with it all from talking to them. 50k extra cars every day with non-residents.. they (actually both PD and FD) have to respond to tons of calls from people who are just detouring through town cause the highway is a parking lot, distracting them from real work. And then we all have to pay extra taxes for the extra costs.

It gets so futile & frustrating to be in the car at all. Many car-centric folks think the roads are "made for cars" but none of it is well designed for cars either... all the problems are 99% created by too many cars.

It makes it easy to want to use your bike more, but meanwhile all the road features are designed poorly for cyclists too...

Near where I work there are tons of businesses I can walk too. But crosswalks are often missing completely making it near impossible to get across 4 lanes (it's actually better on a bike), and when the crosswalks are there they usually give right turning cars a green light to turn through the crosswalk while the "walk" sign is lit, so you can get stuck not being able to cross for fear of getting hit by someone with a green right turn arrow.

[fiamme red]

There are only 13k people in my town and we are running into all the issues you mentioned at rush hour because another 50k cars from out of town drive through and turn the entire main stretch of town into a parking lot for 3 hours in the morning & again at night. The police in town are incredibly frustrated with it all from talking to them. 50k extra cars every day with non-residents.. they (actually both PD and FD) have to respond to tons of calls from people who are just detouring through town cause the highway is a parking lot, distracting them from real work. And then we all have to pay extra taxes for the extra costs.A town in NJ tried to ban non-resident drivers from driving on its roads, because so many drivers used them as a shortcut to or from the George Washington Bridge. A judge ruled against the ban.

https://www.apnews.com/ed260e2f42d745d8a23ad248d638f49c

[hokoman]

SF has been introducing these 3 way signals you’re talking about. There’s one on 2nd and market and it DOESNT WORK. Everyone just walks against the pedestrian cross light when the light turns for the cars and it leads to mass confusion and frustration.

That's because it's the only light around there that has it. If all the lights were like that in SF, then people would get used to them. Aren't regular cars banned from Market? Only buses and cabs? I think they were doing this just as I left SF.


A town in NJ tried to ban non-resident drivers from driving on its roads, because so many drivers used them as a shortcut to or from the George Washington Bridge. A judge ruled against the ban.

https://www.apnews.com/ed260e2f42d745d8a23ad248d638f49c

Gotta love Waze and Google Maps for making small quiet streets into congestion zones! Waze and Google should actually charge for a subscription to get to places the fastest. With apps being available to everyone, nobody goes anywhere!

[benb]

A town in NJ tried to ban non-resident drivers from driving on its roads, because so many drivers used them as a shortcut to or from the George Washington Bridge. A judge ruled against the ban.

https://www.apnews.com/ed260e2f42d745d8a23ad248d638f49c

I am hoping we eventually start putting in congestion tolls in the walkable/bikeable centers of towns and villages like has happened in some places in Europe.

NYC would seem to be the #1 candidate in the US. Make people pay a healthy toll for bringing in a car when there are so many other options.

Our towns problem is 100% attributable to Waze according to the PD.

We are getting to the point the main road through town is nearly impassable and Waze is detouring cars through neighborhoods to the point you can get stuck having to wait to even get out of your own driveway, and streets are having to get repaved at accelerated intervals.

We do walk almost everywhere in the town center from our house. It is faster 99% of the time.

[nooneline]

Congestion pricing is coming to NYC in a year or so! Hopefully they get the details right. It's projected to raise a ton of money for transit AND reduce the number of cars in Manhattan!

[jtakeda]

That's because it's the only light around there that has it. If all the lights were like that in SF, then people would get used to them. Aren't regular cars banned from Market? Only buses and cabs? I think they were doing this just as I left

How about Montgomery and pine? Montgomery and Sutter? Mo and cal?
All those lights also have timing to stop walkers from crossing to allow people to turn on and off Montgomery but people ignore them.

Mission and front?

Re the no cars on market technically yes, but it’s not enforced.

[tctyres]

At least the CPW bike lane is not blocked:
https://gothamist.com/2019/07/31/uws_bike_lane_lawsuit.php

[fiamme red]

At least the CPW bike lane is not blocked:
https://gothamist.com/2019/07/31/uws_bike_lane_lawsuit.phpYou can be sure that the NYPD will set up ticket traps along the CPW bike path. And pedestrians will treat it like an extended sidewalk.

[galgal]

Well, these threads understandably come up as we all have to deal with these issues and thus think about them. Seems from following the thread, a number of things
A) Laws and their enforcement would obviously be great. Protected bike lanes are far from perfect, and nobody who has ridden them regularly can assume they guarantee safety or protection. But they are a step in the right direction for at least raising awareness that such a thing as cyclists exist as part of the urban fabric.
B) The awareness issue of course relates to a cultural and educational one. Which, at bottom, might involve an awareness that we share these spaces and roads, we don’t own them, they are not our sole property, like our driveway. And in the absence of proper laws or their enforcement, we can all still build this awareness and sharing. I don’t find any solace in yelling at pedestrians who walk in a bike path, that is hopefully not how they learn to avoid doing so. More critical is the guy in the SUV who almost ran me over the other day on a bike path in Brooklyn as he gunned his car across and then proceeded to yell at me for wanting to get myself killed. An awareness and acknowledgment that he had messed up, would have been good. But no, we all have our right of way, and the bigger our ego and vehicle is the better.
C) I’ve biked for years in cities, NYC, SF and Paris. NYC is the worst, but in any of them, as a cyclist you have to have a sense of what is around, not only your awareness but the lack thereof around you. That being said, I find it difficult to follow the line that the woman who died needed a front brake! How many of us have swerved to avoid a door, a pothole, etc., rather than brake to a stop.

[tctyres]

You can be sure that the NYPD will set up ticket traps along the CPW bike path. And pedestrians will treat it like an extended sidewalk.

Your comments read like sour grapes.

[fiamme red]

Your comments read like sour grapes.From the media, you'd think that all cyclists love and demand segregated lanes. But I know I'm not the only one who hates them and goes out of his way to avoid them. And I do not believe that they are safer. They just give the illusion of safety, and are more dangerous at intersections than painted lanes.

Yes, cyclists have been killed in "protected" lanes. Here's an example: https://www.thevillager.com/2017/04/cyclist-struck-by-truck-on-first-ave-dies-of-her-injuries/. And a cyclist was killed on 8th Avenue and 45th St earlier this year, in a "protected" bike lane: https://gothamist.com/2019/02/04/hit_and_run_cyclist_fatality.php.

[hokoman]

At least the CPW bike lane is not blocked:
https://gothamist.com/2019/07/31/uws_bike_lane_lawsuit.php

Interesting article and yes, there are a ton of out of state plates. I have a car in Brooklyn, but I drive to and from work everyday - It would take me 32 subway stops with a transfer in the middle to make it to work - no express options so it would take 1.5 hours to make it 13 miles. Driving to work takes 30 minutes (reverse commute away from Manhattan) and about 70 minutes to get home.

I'm like a broken record, but I would love to see how city traffic would be like if they disabled all the car shares for 2 months.

[hokoman]

From the media, you'd think that all cyclists love and demand segregated lanes. But I know I'm not the only one who hates them and goes out of his way to avoid them. And I do not believe that they are safer. They just give the illusion of safety, and are more dangerous at intersections than painted lanes.

I think segregated lanes are great, but not the ones that are in between the sidewalk and the parked cars! When you get to an intersection, drivers never see you, and the number of pedestrians crossing in front of you are crazy! I would prefer if the lane was on the traffic side of the parked cars.

[nooneline]

I think segregated lanes are great, but not the ones that are in between the sidewalk and the parked cars! When you get to an intersection, drivers never see you, and the number of pedestrians crossing in front of you are crazy! I would prefer if the lane was on the traffic side of the parked cars.

I agree that there's room for improvement in the infrastructure! I think having cars drive through lanes to park is bad though. Why not just remove street parking on one side? Safe, separated lane with full sight lines at intersections.

[fiamme red]

This is very scary! The poor cyclist had no time to react. :help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0kqsUnpGlU

https://nypost.com/2019/08/11/bicyclist-killed-in-brooklyn-after-teen-runs-red-light-cops/

[johnmdesigner]

This is very scary! The poor cyclist had no time to react. :help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0kqsUnpGlU

https://nypost.com/2019/08/11/bicyclist-killed-in-brooklyn-after-teen-runs-red-light-cops/

Driver of the silver car released from police custody Sunday night - no charges filed.
I'll bet the NYPD is ticketing cyclists on this corner today "for their safety".

[yinzerniner]

Driver of the silver car released from police custody Sunday night - no charges filed.
I'll bet the NYPD is ticketing cyclists on this corner today "for their safety".

Look at this bullsh*t by the Post:
https://nypost.com/2019/08/11/horrifying-video-shows-crash-that-killed-cyclist-in-brooklyn/
Wild video shows the moment a cyclist was fatally wiped out in a grisly car crash in Brooklyn on Sunday allegedly caused by a teenage driver who allegedly blew through a red light.

They show a video which obscures the lights AND the latter part of the impact, all while attaching "allegedly" TWICE when it's clear as day that the driver blew through a solid red light that can be clearly seen to be in effect for a long time before the car reached the intersection. The driver of the silver dodge had roughly 150' to reach, and instead blew right through.

Disgusting.

[AngryScientist]

i dont understand how this could be? with the year NYC has had with cyclists, how does a guy who blows a red light and kills a cyclist get released with no charges?

it just doesnt sound right.

[tctyres]

That scene is grisly.
https://pix11.com/2019/08/11/cyclist-fatally-struck-in-brooklyn-after-driver-runs-red-light/

The Metro reported that as of Monday afternoon, the driver of the silver car has not been released or charged. I would imagine he's seeing at least manslaughter plus whatever they book him for nearly killing the other driver and the pedestrian. The police likely want a status on the other victims before a charge is laid.

https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/19th-cyclist-nyc-killed

[yinzerniner]

That scene is grisly.
https://pix11.com/2019/08/11/cyclist-fatally-struck-in-brooklyn-after-driver-runs-red-light/

The Metro reported that as of Monday afternoon, the driver of the silver car has not been released or charged. I would imagine he's seeing at least manslaughter plus whatever they book him for nearly killing the other driver and the pedestrian. The police likely want a status on the other victims before a charge is laid.

https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/19th-cyclist-nyc-killed

18 year old driver was released without charges a day after the accident. I've heard people with public urination citations being released slower.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-bicyclist-fatally-struck-brooklyn-20190811-zgyosvkeffhobauaeo2favh6pi-story.html

[rallizes]

i dont understand how this could be? with the year NYC has had with cyclists, how does a guy who blows a red light and kills a cyclist get released with no charges?

it just doesnt sound right.

It sounds right if he has ANY connection to a cop

[R3awak3n]

I don't have words for this ****

[johnmdesigner]

[QUOTE=yinzerniner;2578742]Look at this bullsh*t by the Post:
https://nypost.com/2019/08/11/horrifying-video-shows-crash-that-killed-cyclist-in-brooklyn/


They show a video which obscures the lights AND the latter part of the impact, all while attaching "allegedly" TWICE when it's clear as day that the driver blew through a solid red light that can be clearly seen to be in effect for a long time before the car reached the intersection. The driver of the silver dodge had roughly 150' to reach, and instead blew right through.

Disgusting.[/QUOTE

That's because the NY Post is the great defender of the NYPD and the great hater of the cyclist in NYC.

[johnmdesigner]

At least they can't say he wasn't wearing a helmet.
Oh wait, does the bike have a front brake?
Oh, I see it now. The cyclist is stopped between the solid white line and the crosswalk. Here is your ticket sir.
And the Post will say that if he had been behind the line he would still be alive.
So no harm done.

[fiamme red]

That's because the NY Post is the great defender of the NYPD and the great hater of the cyclist in NYC.I don't think that's true -- the Post recently hired David Meyer from Streetsblog.

https://nypost.com/author/david-meyer/

[johnmdesigner]

I don't think that's true -- the Post recently hired David Meyer from Streetsblog.

https://nypost.com/author/david-meyer/

I am referring to their editorial staff.
Please stop by a few times a week and read it. Know thy enemy.

[benb]

That is incredibly ridiculous that they say "Allegedly" ran the red light... I know that website is incredibly biased but it's beyond ridiculous.

They're not the court.. they don't have to try and be fair to the driver when the evidence is so overwhelming.

He had to be driving REALLY fast to send the Honda flying that far. My wife had a T-bone accident like that.. both cars doing the speed limit and neither car flew anywhere near that far.

That Odyssey flew further than me when I got T-boned on my bike by a GMC Sierra! It's not even sliding, it's airborne! Those things weigh 4300-4500lbs!

RIP for the cyclist and hopefully a full recovery for the pedestrian.

[johnmdesigner]

CBS NY also aired the same edited video last night with the same "we don't know how this happened" commentary.
They did the same thing a few days earlier when an FDNY EMS "t" boned another at an intersection because the drivers were both speeding like idiots. "The brave injured responders were taken to hospital". No comment on the reckless driving.

[benb]

I would hope an accident reconstruction expert would be able to testify in court that the guy had to be doing 80 in a 35 or something to launch a Minivan so far so they can throw the book at the driver in the car.

I'd imagine it's going to come out he's a habitual speeder or street racer or something.

I feel like the guy driving the dodge would probably be getting a greater penalty if the cyclist and pedestrian had not been there. Then he'd be getting judged for hurting another motorist and everyone would think this was worse. It's almost like the death of the cyclist makes public opinion think the transgression is less serious.

[tctyres]

^ In order for that to happen, the NYPD has to charge the driver with something. It's hard to imagine that he's not going to be charged, but it's not like the NYPD is a team of wizards. They make crap decisions all the time.

If the driver isn't charged, he's almost guaranteed to get two civil suits against him and possibly three.

The good thing is that the corner where that happened does not have a lot of bike traffic. It's between Bedford and Ocean Pkwy, which are dedicated bike routes and would have had a lot of beach traffic yesterday. Despite how bad that accident was, it could have been a lot worse.

[93KgBike]

Collect information about speeding during emergency responses, and the outcomes of the emergencies and science that sh*t.

Golf carts are speed limited for a reason.

[tctyres]

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a28635277/718-cyclery-cyclist-death-toll-new-york-city-sign/

[FlashUNC]

That is incredibly ridiculous that they say "Allegedly" ran the red light... I know that website is incredibly biased but it's beyond ridiculous.

They're not the court.. they don't have to try and be fair to the driver when the evidence is so overwhelming.



They do actually. Until the driver is convicted in court, what's being charged are merely allegations. Until he's convicted of the crime, he allegedly did X, Y, or Z, no matter how obvious and overwhelming the evidence may be.

So yeah, he allegedly ran the sign.

[cribbit]

They do actually. Until the driver is convicted in court, what's being charged are merely allegations. Until he's convicted of the crime, he allegedly did X, Y, or Z, no matter how obvious and overwhelming the evidence may be.

So yeah, he allegedly ran the sign.

They didn't need to edit the video tho.

You also don't need to say 'allegedly if you just reference the video.

[tctyres]

They do actually. Until the driver is convicted in court, what's being charged are merely allegations. Until he's convicted of the crime, he allegedly did X, Y, or Z, no matter how obvious and overwhelming the evidence may be.

So yeah, he allegedly ran the sign.

I think the DA would like to have an easy case, too. They want to be sure that a jury wouldn't be persuaded that the car had some mechanical problem that could absolve the alleged perpetrator of the crime.

[benb]

I think the DA would like to have an easy case, too. They want to be sure that a jury wouldn't be persuaded that the car had some mechanical problem that could absolve the alleged perpetrator of the crime.

Such a canard.. the car must be the problem in like 0.00001% of accidents so better make sure there is no chance of that when an accident this egregious happens.

With such a modern car the black box/ECU can probably rule that out.

[tctyres]

Such a canard.. the car must be the problem in like 0.00001% of accidents so better make sure there is no chance of that when an accident this egregious happens.

With such a modern car the black box/ECU can probably rule that out.

Yeah, I agree on that, but there are a lot of well-paid defense lawyers in the city.
I would bet that kid was texting, too; but they'd have to look at the phone records, which the police seem to be incapable of doing here.

[tctyres]

And when you think the case is clear, stuff like this happens: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/08/14/jorge-fretts-emily-fredricks-charges/

And here's a little insight into the application of laws in NY: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/33/all-gounardes-reckless-driver-law-2019-08-16-bk.html

It's no wonder the driver wasn't charged if they can't get a conviction on more serious negligent killings via automobile.

[Malinois]

Quick notice from The Onion yesterday...

[R3awak3n]

Onion is always on point.

[yinzerniner]

Quick notice from The Onion yesterday...

Well at least the cyclist's not accosting innocent bystanders just because he "had the light." (I hate barstool, but this vid is equal parts hilarious and depressing)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1MLNc5BXdZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[tctyres]

And when you think the case is clear, stuff like this happens: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/08/14/jorge-fretts-emily-fredricks-charges/

And here's a little insight into the application of laws in NY: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/42/33/all-gounardes-reckless-driver-law-2019-08-16-bk.html

It's no wonder the driver wasn't charged if they can't get a conviction on more serious negligent killings via automobile.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/21/driver-charged-in-coney-island-cyclist-death/

[dbnm]

https://bklyner.com/umar-mirza-baig-cyclist-death-arrest/

[fiamme red]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/24/transportation-chief-says-suv-popularity-gentrification-behind-cyclist-deaths/: "City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on Thursday pointed to an increase in SUVs and the gentrification of industrial areas to explain the alarming spike in cyclist deaths across New York this year..."

I don't know about an increase in SUV use. Any stats to back that up?

[jadedaid]

Seems like nonsense to me. Half the deaths have been large trucks (ie sanitation, cement etc.). The city has been taking a lot of flak with lots of cyclist ride-outs (i.e. protests) at the lack of city action on the issue and this seems like a way to shift the blame.. It’s a bit of a topic amongst us here in NYC.

From what my lawyer friends tell me, the NYPD doesn’t recommend drivers for criminal prosecution which is the issue. The DA cannot prosecute if there’s no NYPD recommendation and the NYPD more or less steadfastly refuses to do that. In the one or two cases where they have the DA had to ask the NYPD to investigate because the political pressure was mounting. The missus is a criminal defence attorney and she never sees cases filed against drivers on the court schedule (not sure what the technical term is).

From my own experience there was a guy from my gym who was killed by a truck driven by someone without a drivers license who ran a red light. No charges. And this happens in almost every single case. Good luck about convincing us that the city cares about cyclists in any way.

[nooneline]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/24/transportation-chief-says-suv-popularity-gentrification-behind-cyclist-deaths/: "City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on Thursday pointed to an increase in SUVs and the gentrification of industrial areas to explain the alarming spike in cyclist deaths across New York this year..."

I don't know about an increase in SUV use. Any stats to back that up?

Not NYC specific, but it's legit:

In the US, at the end of 2016, sales of SUVs and light duty trucks had surpassed traditional car sales for the year by over 3 million units. Manufacturers continued to phase out production of sedan models, replacing them with new models of SUVs. source (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle#2010s:_Increasing_popularity _of_smaller_SUVs,_mid-size_and_crossovers)

[yinzerniner]

Not NYC specific, but it's legit:

In the US, at the end of 2016, sales of SUVs and light duty trucks had surpassed traditional car sales for the year by over 3 million units. Manufacturers continued to phase out production of sedan models, replacing them with new models of SUVs. source (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_utility_vehicle#2010s:_Increasing_popularity _of_smaller_SUVs,_mid-size_and_crossovers)

Also here:
https://jalopnik.com/suvs-are-gulping-all-the-gas-fuel-efficient-cars-are-sa-1839060197
Relevant figure:
A new paper by the International Energy Agency puts this into perspective. According to the IEA, the global SUV market has doubled in the last decade. As a result, there are now more than 200 million SUVs on the world’s roads. In fact, SUVs alone account for 60 percent of the increased global car fleet since 2010, meaning about two out of every three new cars purchased in that time are SUVs (currently, about two out of every five new vehicles purchased are SUVs).

Also this:
Today, almost half of all cars sold in the United States and one-third of the cars sold in Europe are SUVs.

[benb]

Yah you have to be a New Yorker living without a car I'd guess to have not noticed what's happened to automobiles?

Ford doesn't even sell any cars in the US anymore except for Mustangs!

SUVs have crap visibility compared to sedans. Buyers seem to think sitting up high makes them safe but it's a hell of a lot harder to see a short pedestrian or cyclist from that high viewpoint. I'd feel super unsafe on a recumbent bike compared to being up high on an upright bike. Surely why recumbents use flags so often, without them SUV drivers wouldn't have a chance at seeing them up close in traffic. Modern SUVs have super high door sills which block even more of the viewing angles.

I have an Outback when I get in my wife's sedan it's crazy how much better I can see stuff lower to the ground. There's no way in the world I'd have bought the Outback if Subaru hadn't stopped selling the Legacy wagon.

All these bigger/heavier/taller vehicles take longer to stop too so more chance of hitting a pedestrian/cyclist there too. I think people are more afraid to stand on the brakes in tall softly sprung vehicles too cause the nose dives so dramatically.

[jadedaid]

The point the article makes though that it explains the deaths this year. The SUV trend has been going on for a while. As mentioned, half the deaths this year in NYC seem to be large trucks not SUVs.

The point about gentrification of former industrial areas is bogus as well. I’ve looked where the accidents happened and thete is no trend to suggest that they are happening in new developments. They’re all over the place. Places like Long Island City have been around for a couple years now and they consistently get issues on the same avenues here. Don’t tell me that a dump trucks running someone over in a development that’s been here for close to 6 years is the result of gentrification and SUVs that took place last year. What sort of nonsense is that. It’s bad intersections most of the time and a combination of the cyclist being reckless (ie not assuming the car wants to kill them) and drivers being oblivious and/or reckless.

I’m a bit jaded as I’ve been hit by a car which didn’t seem to feel the need to yield at an intersection that’s known to be terrible and having all sorts of close calls with drivers who didn’t care about cyclists.

[johnmdesigner]

I think the NYCDOT has to take some responsibility for the way the bike lanes have been implemented.
I may be a little off of the current discussion but here is an example:
This summer the DOT put in a bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue above 110 street.
Amsterdam has terrible traffic below 125th and originally was 2-lane in both directions. For sure the there was double parking but at least the traffic had a chance of movement.
Now the DOT has taken a lane away and painted in an unprotected bike lane. Horrendous traffic has now become unbearable. The Bike lane is useless to cyclists but great for the Pols who don't get bitched at by the NY Post for taking space away from cars. If you're going to ruin the flow of vehicular traffic and put in a bike lane why didn't you put in a protected one?
The double parking has increased tremendously along this stretch of road and as I found out the other day it is a great place for the Uber drivers to zoom up to the light and beat the traffic.
What was the point of all of this excerpt to make the community at large hate cyclists even more?

[OldCrank]

I've read that pedestrians and cyclists are much more likely to die from a SUV/pickup impact than a sedan.
Makes sense.

Imagine a Corvette smacking you; your shins and knees may pay dearly but the torso may slide up the hood, break the windshield then over the top. A cement truck will hit your entire self with a cube of non-forgiving metal. Then roll over the top of what remains.

Guess we need more Lambos, Vettes, Ferraris... RX-7s and 8s... Miatas...

[jtbadge]

I've read that pedestrians and cyclists are much more likely to die from a SUV/pickup impact than a sedan.
Makes sense.

Imagine a Corvette smacking you; your shins and knees may pay dearly but the torso may slide up the hood, break the windshield then over the top. A cement truck will hit your entire self with a cube of non-forgiving metal. Then roll over the top of what remains.

Guess we need more Lambos, Vettes, Ferraris... RX-7s and 8s... Miatas...

On top of that, driving a big vehicle with soft suspension isolates you from the road. Many people are paying less attention because they aren't connected to the road they are driving on and the car doesn't need very much input. Most newer cars have less visibility than ever before, so people can't see who or what is around them. And cars have better noise dampening than every before, so people can't hear who or what is around them.

More 90s Civics and Corollas, I think would help. Less infotainment. Less living room interiors.

[benb]

The thing about gentrification might be some kind of backhanded criticism of cycling as some kind of gentrification activity even though it costs tons less than cars. Anti-bike people love to play the card that everyone riding a bike is an idle rich person and hardworking people stick to cars.

As for the bike lanes.. the studies keep showing they are way more dangerous at intersections.. but they make new cyclists feel safer, so they increase travel on bikes... so it'd make sense you're going to see an uptick in collisions at intersections in particular.

We keep seeing absolutely spectactularly odd bike lanes getting created here. Stuff like making a 2-way bike lane in the middle of a one-way street that has car parking on the other side of the bike lane. Or bike lanes that make people ride down highway ramps and then cross the ramp at a 90 degree angle so they don't have to signal and take the lane. These are brand new road changes.. not ancient bike lanes from when no one had a clue.

[benb]

Only thing with getting hit by a Vette vs an SUV or truck that I can see is the short pointy sports car is going to hit you in the knees mostly and knock you up onto the hood/roof of the car.

The SUV is more going to just launch you.

I was hit by a pickup truck about 8 years ago. It was not going very fast and hit me from the side. I was not really injured at all... it hit me evenly across most of my body (knees/hips/legs/arms/torso). I got launched a decent distance.

I have always wondered if it'd have been worse to get hit by a low car and have had all the force delivered to my knee area.. my guess is I'd have been hurt worse.

This is why European road standards forced the front end of cars to be more blocky/less pointy some years ago IIRC... we don't even notice it now but it was really noticeable when it first happened.

[oldpotatoe]

The thing about gentrification might be some kind of backhanded criticism of cycling as some kind of gentrification activity even though it costs tons less than cars. Anti-bike people love to play the card that everyone riding a bike is an idle rich person and hardworking people stick to cars.

As for the bike lanes.. the studies keep showing they are way more dangerous at intersections.. but they make new cyclists feel safer, so they increase travel on bikes... so it'd make sense you're going to see an uptick in collisions at intersections in particular.

We keep seeing absolutely spectactularly odd bike lanes getting created here. Stuff like making a 2-way bike lane in the middle of a one-way street that has car parking on the other side of the bike lane. Or bike lanes that make people ride down highway ramps and then cross the ramp at a 90 degree angle so they don't have to signal and take the lane. These are brand new road changes.. not ancient bike lanes from when no one had a clue.


Cuz vast majority of 'transportation engineers' don't ride a bike..:eek:

[oldpotatoe]

Only thing with getting hit by a Vette vs an SUV or truck that I can see is the short pointy sports car is going to hit you in the knees mostly and knock you up onto the hood/roof of the car.

The SUV is more going to just launch you.

I was hit by a pickup truck about 8 years ago. It was not going very fast and hit me from the side. I was not really injured at all... it hit me evenly across most of my body (knees/hips/legs/arms/torso). I got launched a decent distance.

I have always wondered if it'd have been worse to get hit by a low car and have had all the force delivered to my knee area.. my guess is I'd have been hurt worse.

This is why European road standards forced the front end of cars to be more blocky/less pointy some years ago IIRC... we don't even notice it now but it was really noticeable when it first happened.

Depends..I got hit from behind by a Dodge Dakota..like one below and I got launched up and over, hit my face on her windshield..She hit me square in the arse(had the grill mark on my butt)..and ended up on her hood, that woke her up(yup, asleep at 10:30 on a Sat morning)...

Friend took a look at her truck(I never saw it)..said it looked like it hit a tree..totaled it..:eek:

[zap]

Cuz vast majority of 'transportation engineers' don't ride a bike..:eek:

Last year I invited two dot traffic engineers to ride with me so they could experience first hand certain design failures.

Guess how that went.

[oldpotatoe]

Last year I invited two dot traffic engineers to ride with me so they could experience first hand certain design failures.

Guess how that went.

I can imagine, was this the guy?:)

[tctyres]

I can imagine, was this the guy?:)

Prolly.:rolleyes:

New York City has a lengthy review process for bike lanes. They go through the community boards and there are multiple public hearings. Now, it *is* possible that no one in any of those situations rides a bike. BUT, cyclists are always welcome to attend. Transportation Alternatives keeps tabs on which community boards have meetings when for bike lanes.

In addition, city planners visit other cities and countries to figure out what works. They are starting to put a Danish styled "green wave" in Brooklyn. https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/10/23/nyc-department-of-transportation-green-wave-bike-safety-plan/

The process is byzantine, but not opaque.

The out of city drivers in NY are a problem as are delivery trucks. The laws change as soon as you drive into the city (No right on red, 25mph max on non-highways), so getting from A to B requires paying attention, which a lot of people don't do.

[fiamme red]

A man on a Citi Bike was hit by an NYU bus this past weekend on the new 14th St busway. He was in bad shape.

Is it even legal to ride on 14th St? The DOT plan doesn't say anything about bikes, which is odd.

[tctyres]

According to the NYC bikemap, https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bikemaps.shtml
14th has a conventional bike lane for part of it and is otherwise sharrow-ed in the westbound direction.

With buses, cyclists always have to be very careful as they have large blind spots and are slow to stop.

[yinzerniner]

Since it's pro wrestler Matt Travis:

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/11/10/tributes-pour-in-for-matt-travis-pro-wrestler-who-became-28th-cyclist-killed-this-year/

This isn't some "hipster" messenger, or some clueless Citi Biker, or any other range of denizens the NYPD seems to regard as lesser beings because they ride on two wheels. This is a guy who was making a name for himself in as hazardous a sport that exists on earth, who without a doubt had many fans amongst the boys in blue, and who was struck by a hit and run dump truck that made an illegal turn.

[tctyres]

What happened to the 27th? The 26th was 10 days ago on the 2nd.
This is nuts.

[johnmdesigner]

My favorite entertainment while on the morning dumper. The New York Post.

https://nypost.com/2019/11/11/nypd-bodycam-shows-cop-ogling-a-total-stripper-court-papers/

And this:

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/11/12/cops-hunting-the-hit-and-run-toyota-sienna-that-slammed-into-cyclist/

[tctyres]

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/11/11/nypd-shamed-into-doing-bare-minimum-after-scofflaw-driver-tries-to-run-over-cyclist

Another one

[fiamme red]

https://gothamist.com/news/video-after-getting-doored-cops-tell-cyclist-lying-street-expect-summons

NYPD officers in Chelsea had one question for a cyclist who had just been doored and was lying injured and unresponsive on the pavement: "Sir, were you in the bike lane?"

The brutal footage was captured on Monday afternoon by a cyclist who works in the neighborhood. A Domino's delivery worker is seen pedaling west in the bike lane on West 21st Street. The delivery cyclist then leaves the bike lane, and is struck by a driver opening the door of his van.Lesson for cyclists: never ride fast if you're in the door zone.

[tctyres]

https://gothamist.com/news/video-after-getting-doored-cops-tell-cyclist-lying-street-expect-summons

Lesson for cyclists: never ride fast if you're in the door zone.

Sorry, victim blaming doesn't work.
Cars drive and park in the bike lane all the time in NYC, but rarely get ticketed. Then a delivery guy gets doored, and he gets a ticket. Also notice that by the time he's going down, he's in a sharrowed part of the lane, so he is allowed full use of the lane.

I was expecting an e-bike but it looks like a regular hybrid. That parking spot is for commercial vehicles only. https://www.google.com/maps/@40.742162,-73.9950479,3a,15y,329.24h,91.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFX3ER783MwIV9y3BqQBZDQ!2e0!7i1 6384!8i8192

The cops should have ticketed the driver for illegal parking. One of the reason the bike lane exists is to eliminate cyclists impeding traffic. There is very little traffic in those images.

[Aaron O]

A lot of the deaths in my town seem to happen with trucks/blind spots. Frankly I don't understand why insurance companies aren't demanding relatively cheap, readily available mirror cameras, and using rates as the stick/carrot. The technology has been available for a long time...and those without it should be paying higher premiums that reflect the risk.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

A lot of the deaths in my town seem to happen with trucks/blind spots. Frankly I don't understand why insurance companies aren't demanding relatively cheap, readily available mirror cameras, and using rates as the stick/carrot. The technology has been available for a long time...and those without it should be paying higher premiums that reflect the risk.

Doesn't mean drivers will use or know how to use them or they will help when a cyclist or ped darts out in front of you. I'm in Brooklyn every day making deliveries in a not so small 10 wheeled 40 foot truck, with a rear camera, passenger side blind spot camera and FOUR mirrors on the passenger side, three on the driver's side and a mirror to see directly in front of the truck. I can see almost everything. And after 24 years doing this job I have never hit a cyclist or anyone else for that matter. Maybe attribute that to experience, luck or whatever. The issue is cabs, cop cars, ride hail/black cars etc. parked in truck loading and unloading spaces and dbl parked in bike lanes. I see near misses easily a dozen times a day, most times it is Uber/Lyft/yellow cabs and NYPD cruisers. And the epidemic of distracted drivers.

[Black Dog]

This from one of the posted articles sums it up almost everywhere. Sad but true.

“Our City’s unofficial policy for too long has been that no matter how reckless, dangerous and harmful a person’s driving, there will never be consequences and oftentimes the driver will remain on the road,”

[Aaron O]

Doesn't mean drivers will use or know how to use them or they will help when a cyclist or ped darts out in front of you. I'm in Brooklyn every day making deliveries in this not so small 10 wheeled 40 foot truck, with a rear camera, passenger side blind spot camera and FOUR mirrors on the passenger side, three on the driver's side and a mirror to see directly in front of the truck. I can see almost everything. And after 24 years doing this job I have never hit a cyclist or anyone else for that matter. Maybe attribute that to experience, luck or whatever. The issue is cabs, cop cars, ride hail/black cars etc. parked in truck loading and unloading spaces and dbl parked in bike lanes. I see near misses easily a dozen times a day, most times it is Uber/Lyft/yellow cabs and NYPD cruisers. And the epidemic of distracted drivers.

I’m sorry - I didn’t realize that perfection was the standard for implementing risk management.

The issue in Philadelphia is often trucks turning, and to me, if you don’t have a camera when you know blind spots are an issue, that should constitute negligence.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

I’m sorry - I didn’t realize that perfection was the standard for implementing risk management.

The issue in Philadelphia is often trucks turning, and to me, if you don’t have a camera when you know blind spots are an issue, that should constitute negligence.

No one is perfect, just isn't possible, too many variables. I agree on the negligence, and as you said, to install cameras on even just 10 trucks is not expensive, and insurance discounts nullify the initial cost. I work for a company that obviously invests in equipment and safety, but not all do. Cameras don't help stop a driver who is a menace, whether in a car or truck.