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Yesterday we mentioned the big Times Up memorial rally that was going on yesterday-- JibbaJabba already has some pictures up on Flickr. BikeBlog wrote:
We ride to HONOR those who have been injured or killed. We ride to RAISE AWARENESS that we are here. We ride to ask that we all SHARE THE ROAD.In the US, cars kill more children and young adults than anything else.
10 cyclists per day are reported hit and injured by cars in NYC.
In NYC, on average one cyclist is killed every three weeks.
In NYC, on average sixteen cyclists are killed every year.New York has no stated safety improvement goal.
Twenty-one bikers died in the last year in New York City. Some of these are preventable deaths. Many could be prevented if motorists just used some common sense-- staying out of bike lanes, checking before they change lanes, and watching it when they open traffic-side doors. The city government could help by enforcing traffic laws: ticketing cars that block bike lanes, creating more bike lanes, and keeping a database of all bike accidents so dangerous spots could be identified and fixed. Finally, bikers themselves should take responsibility for their own safety-- respect traffic laws and red lights, wear a helmet, stay out of dangerous areas and off crowded streets, and learn to signal so cars know what they're doing. Let's do something about this!
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Rest in peace, Brandie Bailey.
"off crowded streets" -- umm, what is a non-crowded street in mid-town or downtown Manhattan? How can one ride any distance in NYC and not go on crowded streets?
Jake, a good and sensible post. I wonder, though, if you see any contradiction between this (" bikers themselves should take responsibility for their own safety-- respect traffic laws and red lights, wear a helmet, stay out of dangerous areas and off crowded streets, and learn to signal so cars know what they're doing") and the bike messenger jackass video you posted yesterday.
Safety, like respect, is a two-way street. I hope the bicycle activists get that.
i'd bet that nearly all dead cyclists are the fault of motorists - not the cyclists.
just take into account the far greater sense of reality one finds when there is no metal box to sit in.
What about the pedestrians hit and injured by crazy cyclists who think they don't have to stop on red, or weave their ways on and off the sidewalks? Some of these maniacs are just asking to be hit.
I really think making drivers aware of the laws with regard to bikes is needed. I have had on more than one occasion some asshole yell at me to "get on the sidewalk" which we all know is verboten.
Make it a towable offense for parked cars blocking bike lanes, and a moving violation with points to drive in the bike lane.
Also, I think a mandatory helmet law is needed for everyone. I personally love the morons who ride against traffic, sans helmet, with earphones on. They have a death wish. Although, it would be natural selection at work if they did become a victim of their own stupidity.
Toby, great idea about the mandatory helmets. Helmets for people in cars and buses would save several dozen or maybe more lives in New York City each year, so that makes a lot of sense.
I grew up in bike-friendly Seattle, and I recall numerous public awareness ads as a kid urging drivers to share the road. A little education directed at drivers about what to do when passing a cyclist, reminding them about the purpose of bike lanes, etc, goes a long way. For some reason, many drivers feel hostile when they see cyclists. I also would like to see drivers who kill or seriously injure cyclists GET TICKETED. In several of the instances of cyclist injuries that have occurred over the last few years, the driver was potentially criminally liable, and yet got away with murder.
BTW, Gothamist, it's really nice to see your continuing advocacy of cycling. Thanks.
jake, thanks for the support. my group puts up the ghost bikes -- in the 13 deaths in 2005 that we were able to find information on, the wide majority seemed to indicate a driver at fault. the only arrest was of the drunk driver who killed angel quizphi. andrew morgan was killed by a turning truck that cut him off. brandie bailey was killed by a trucker who claimed not to see her. liz padilla was 'doored' and knocked into traffic. there were several hit and runs. none of the drivers received as much as a ticket.
of course some bikers ride unsafely, but blaming the victims at their own memorials is just wrong.
and fellow bikers, please do get safe, be defensive out there, don't let cars run you off the road, and help lobby for better infrastructure to keep us all safe.
I am a longtime NYC biker. I ride with critical mass and without it. Yesterday I rode in the memorial ride. The police supervisor who was following us repeatedly told us that he understood our purpose and was therefore "giving us a break" by allowing us to ride. We don't need his break. We can ride where we want, when we want. It is precisely this idea - that bikers have less of a right to the road than drivers - that we need to fight against.
In my experience, the greatest danger comes from cars that fail to signal. Being so close to the street, and surrounded by so many cars, bikers tend to pay very close attention to their surroundings. I watch for signals. If you don't signal, I assume that you are not turning.
Cars kill people often. Bikes don't. The NYPD should be cracking down on cars that don't strictly conform to the law - instead of arresting bikers for not having a bell.
I am a longtime NYC biker. I ride with critical mass and without it. Yesterday I rode in the memorial ride. The police supervisor who was following us repeatedly told us that he understood our purpose and was therefore "giving us a break" by allowing us to ride. We don't need his break. We can ride where we want, when we want. It is precisely this idea - that bikers have less of a right to the road than drivers - that we need to fight against.
And on the biker messenger "jackass" video - those videos are rad. Those people are crazy. No one is going to blame a car if they go down. And everyone will blame them if they hit a ped.
In my experience, the greatest danger comes from cars that fail to signal. Being so close to the street, and surrounded by so many cars, bikers tend to pay very close attention to their surroundings. I watch for signals. If you don't signal, I assume that you are not turning.
Cars kill people often. Bikes don't. The NYPD should be cracking down on cars that don't strictly conform to the law - instead of arresting bikers for not having a bell.
agree with evan -- the biggest threat on my daily commute is cars who don't use their turn signals. i was almost hit this morning by a driver who came the wrong way down a one-way, realized his error, and tried to make a rushed u-turn. he slammed on the brakes close enough to me that i rested my foot on his front bumper.
>>>Cars kill people often. Bikes don't.
Bikes can kill. Messengers have mowed down pedestrians, who should always have the right of way from cyclists even when they are jaywalking, not that they should jaywalk (if they must, check for traffic when jaywalking!)
That said: as a cyclist (who stays on the right side of the street and stops for lights when there's traffic coming) I can say that the greatest danger to me is the doorer (people who open their doors without looking). I can't tell you how many arguments, some heated, I have had with motorists who believe it's apparently incumbent on the cyclist to avoid the door as it opens, not on the motorist to check the mirror or look to see if a cyclist is approaching.
www.forgotten-ny.com
often. emphasis on the "often". a ped killed by a bike is a freak occurence. The one that received the most publicity (and started the first big bike crackdown under Giuliani) involved a delivery person with one of those big metal boxes on the front of his bike. cars hit people regularly.
i've hit a ped. he stepped into the street without looking. there was no time for me to stop. he was lucky i wasn't a car. if i was a car, i still would have hit him.
JT - If you can have mandatory helmet laws for motorcycles, why not bicycles?
As someone who was saved more than once from serious injury or death by a bike helmet I strongly advocate them. It is easier to go out and buy a new helmet than a new head.
Anyway, I have to agree with those who think motorists shold be cracked down on instead of cyclists. I think tickets for those who turn on red or don't use turn signals would yield greater fines and an overall safer environment for bikes and pedestrians.
"Cars kill people often. Bikes don't."
Perhaps I'm just a little cynical because the last funeral I went to was for my elderly neighbor who was - wait for it - killed by a cyclist outside his home. And because, as a pedestrian, I look at the jackasses in that video and can't help remembering all the times some jackass on a bike has plunged through a crowd of pedestrians and yelled self-righteously at anyone who complained.
I really am sympathetic to the bike as a mode of transportation, and I agree with the notion that bad drivers should be cracked down on - in fact, drivers are worse. But if cyclists want to change the paradigm, the burden is on them to make the case. And you don't make the case by encouraging irresponsibility or riding irresponsibly and getting all self-righteous when someone calls you on it.
As for "those videos are rad"... So, if I make a "rad" video of me speeding my car (assuming I had a car) at breakneck speeds through the streets of Manhattan, terrorizing pedestrians and bikers, it would be okay because "everyone will blame me" if I, say, hit someone.
Man, hipster logic sucks.
"If you can have mandatory helmet laws for motorcycles, why not bicycles?"
We can have lots of things, but that doesn't mean we should have them. In the case of mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, there are several reasons why they are bad ideas:
1. Helmets that can protect the head from otherwise deadly accidents are way too heavy to use on a bike, esp in hot weather. Such helmets -- which would be similar to motorcycle would be hard for most people to wear.
2. There is, at best, spotty evidence that the lightweight helmets people wear nowadays can protect people from serious head injuries. I have to ask how you can speculate that you would have died without a bicycle helment in your own accident -- the fact that many millions of people around the world ride bikes w/o them and hit their head w/o dying suggests that you're mistaken, or your own experience was exceptional. They can help in some freaky accidents, as could body armor to protect the chest, back supports to protect the spine, etc.
But these are rare occasions -- the most important thing for bike safety is not to get hit and for cars not to hit cyclists.
3. Mandatory helmet use has, in several places where such laws have been put into effect, tended to discourage cycling and there is evidence that were there are fewer cyclists on the street, the greater the danger per cyclist. So forcing people to use helmets will probably increase the risk to those people who continure to ride.
Toby, one other thing -- the next time you hear of a car driver or passenger being injured in a car accident, ask yourself "were they wearing a helmet?" And the next time you hear of a pedestrian being hit by a car ask the same question. Go ahead.
It's even better if you can ask the injured person him/herself. See what kind of response you get.
all i'm saying is, you can like the videos without defending the underlying behavior.
people are so snippy.
JT - A few things.
You are getting into several what-ifs get in the way of something that can save lives or prevent serious injury. I was saved from some head trauma by a helmet, once after taking a nasty fall backwards, and once when assaulted by a little juvenile delinquent. True there are some freak accidents and there aren't safety devices that can deal with them all, but why not have something that will help in many accidents?
Now would you complain that mandatory seat belt usage in motor vehicles is a bad idea as it may wrinke your clothes?
Sure, helmets can be hot in the summer, but I rather sweat more and be safer than cooler and be at more risk of injury.
Last time I checked, people in cars are in these large vehicles surrounded by metal, something that the cyclist does not have the advantage of.
JT,
Your argument is highly specious. Lightweight helmets have been proven to prevent death and injury for cyclists. Your first point is so presumptuous and off the mark that it's not even worth arguing. As for your second, please produce these wonderful statistics that show "millions" of riders have hit their heads without being killed or sustaining injury to the brain. You're probably too young to remember the old, useless leather "hairnets" that some racers wore in the 1970s. As for the "decreasing use" argument, the people the laws dissuade from riding are the least interested in bicycling and the least skillful riders, who actually should be better off on foot rather than breaking traffic laws that they either are ignorant of or simply don't care to follow.
I, for one, always ride with a helmet. But maybe I just don't know anything, right? Maybe the 6,000+ miles I rode last year, including five centuries, don't mean anything. I have had a couple of accidents over the years where my helmets saved me. Neither of which involved cars or pedestrians, BTW, so stop trying to blame cars and pedestrians for everything. Anybody who's a cyclist and not a "biker" knows there are only two kinds of riders, those who have crashed and those who will crash.
Speaking as an RN--one who did some time in a big Manhattan ER--a helmet is *ALWAYS* a good thing. And just because most people don't die from the head injuries they sustain in bike accidents doesn't mean helmets are a bad idea. There is a huge range of disability between dead and perfectly healthy. Spending six weeks in a neuro ICU recovering from a traumatic brain injury may not be death, but it ain't no picnic.
Speaking as an RN--one who did some time in a big Manhattan ER--a helmet is *ALWAYS* a good thing. Even though most bike accidents aren't fatal, helmets are still a great protection. There is a huge range of disability between dead and perfectly healthy. Spending six weeks in a neuro ICU recovering from a traumatic brain injury may not be death, but it ain't no picnic. A helmet can be the thing that stands between walking away from the scene of an accident or winding up hospitalized, or with long-term disability. The long-term pain and suffering, not to mention the drain on health-care resources, can be greatly minimized by using what is a very simple device. And it is much less uncomfortable than a stay at the hospital!