August 10, 2006
Bike Messenger Killed by Truck on West 29th Street
This morning, we heard reports that a bicyclist had been killed by a truck at West 29th Street and 9th Avenue. Streetsblog got an on-the-scene photograph of the accident, and analyzes the situation, which had the messenger and truck both trying to turn right:
From the photo, it looks like a classic "right hook." The drivers of these big tucks have a big blind-spot along the right side of their vehicle. They can't see anything on that side of the truck. Unfortunately, this does not prevent them from often making fast, aggressive right turns at crowded intersections. The "right hook" is a common way for pedestrians and cyclists to die on the streets of New York.Streetsblogs also reports that the messenger, who worked for Urban Express, was crushed under the truck's wheels.
It's so frustrating to hear about these accidents. Yes, bicyclists need to be defensive at all times, but drivers are absolutely insane. If it's not paying attention to people on bikes, it's slowly edging through the cross walk at a red light to be a few feet closer to the turn (yes, a car stopped two inches from us when we crossed the street - and we had the light!).
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Why do they tell Bikers to "always stay on the right" when the fucking right is the BLIND SPOT!!! It's like mass suicide
OH those slow creeping towards the edge of the crosswalk Dicks are the worst. It's like they are trying to get first dibs at blocking the box. Everyone who Drives a car in Manhattan is a ASSHOLE!
i feel so helpless when i read about another cyclist killed by a fast-moving vehicle in new york city. is there anything we can do to advocate for the mayor or the other powers that be to do actually do something about this? how many more people have to die before anything is done? would the city consider committing more money to fund traffic cops, or undercover traffic cops, across busy intersections to cite wreckless drivers? i ride my scooter everyday and see cabs and others driving wrecklessly ALL THE TIME, but i still have yet to see any of them pulled over and ticketed. new york city shouldn't be this dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists, and i feel so helpless about the situation...
liz-cj7
There are lots of things you can do.
Call your City Councilperson.
Attend a local community board meeting.
Call City Council Speaker Quinn's office.
Join Transportation Alternatives, send them some money, ask for Wiley Norvell and tell him you want to volunteer for one of their many traffic safety studies.
Take pictures, send them to Streetsblog
Remember the number of the taxi and call the Taxi Commission to complain
etc, etc
And take care on the scooter
Unbelievable. I live near the corner of Caton and Coney Island Avenue. I, seriously, fear for my life every time I cross the intersection via Coney Island Ave. Last night, I was crossing and this guy seriously accelerated to cut in front of me and, worse, a woman with two kids on bikes and two in a stroller. He came about two feet from us all. Asshole.
maybe they should take some effort out of quelling critical mass and put it into actually making the streets safer.
there has to be some accountability..
i was just in chinatown this afternoon on mercer and canal and a big black school bus totally swiped the side of a green mercedes while it hooked a big right onto canal. the right side mirror was destroyed, and there was some major damage to the door and front of the car frame...
a lot of people gawked (myself among them) but no one tried to do anything.. i was in a car myself at the time so i didn't have a chance to catch the license plate, but i feel bad for the owner of that mercedes..
God, that's horrible. Even though bike messengers are my urban nemesis--if I'm ever killed in a traffic incident, odds are it will be by a red-light-running-messenger guy on a bike--the right turn crush is a real hazard for everyone. I know this is retarded and rhetorical, but try to stay safe.
Would an airhorn helped this rider?
Any type of warning device louder than a "required bell" in the VTL.
Someone mentioned airhorns are illegal, how else to let a truck carrying drywall know you're near?
Have you heard these trucks go through their gears to slow down? I can hear it blocks away and I live in a High Rise.
Meanwhile, Gov. Pataki delivered some lip service today about reducing the state's oil dependency . Perhaps the Gov can direct NYC officials to encourage cycling? Between bicycle lanes routinely occupied by automobiles, cops strategically placed on bridges to harass cylists, and criminal charges rarely, if ever, leveled against homicidal drivers, New York City does some of its finest work in trying to discourage cycling.
Come on....get real. 'Fast moving vehicle?' It was at a stop light man. You all know that messengers cycle as reckless as possible to make another buck or two. Try considering that before making hasty comments. Or did you not realize that the article gave no details on how this actually happened, other to say that it was 'at a stop light?' There's a lot of speculation going on here, and it sure as hell isn't real journalism.
yeah, way to go blaming the driver without any evidence.
i've driven trucks in the city before and you wouldn't believe the amount of idiots that try to pass you on the right side. It's a very big blind spot and even if you're going really slow (it's kinda hard to speed in a truck in the city - every pothole is 5 times worse when in a truck and can damage your load), if someone is stupid enough to be there it's easy for them to be under the wheels in seconds.
If cyclists want to commit suicide, they shoudn't involve anyone else. i'm sure that truck driver is a psychological mess now.
I suggest maybe ya'all go rent a truck for a day so you can really see where the problem lies. Be as careful as you can and someone, somehow, will find a way to get themselves almost killed by your truck by the end of the day.
This is not blaming the victim--definitely not--but Faiser has a point. In all my years in NYC, I have never ever EVER seen a bike messenger stop at a red light. While blind-spot right turns are especially dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians, it wouldn't be surprising if an errant cyclist got crushed while doing some daredevil maneuver. Not to say that NYC doesn't need enhanced vehicular enforcement that protects non-motorized vehicles, but my personal experience is that cyclists pose as much a threat to themselves as they do to others. Just my anecdotal experiences.
"Yes, bicyclists need to be defensive at all times, but drivers are absolutely insane."
Yes just blame the driver. Always blame the driver. Jen you are a fucking moron!
"Everyone who Drives a car in Manhattan is a ASSHOLE!"
Where does your food come from? How does your Amazon orders get delivered? Jolwy you are a fucking moron!
"they should take some effort out of quelling critical mass and put it into actually making the streets safer."
They are making it safer by cracking down on critical massers. Too bad this truck didn't take out all of the critical massers! Jeremy you are a fucking moron!
Faiser,
Streetsblog does real journalism. Witnesses say the bike and the truck were both moving when the truck turned into the cyclist. That detail didn't get translated quite correctly in this Gothamist post.
Dave H,
Unless you are a very unlucky elderly woman in the path of a Chinese food delivery guy riding on an Upper West Side sidewalk on a slippery winter evening, the odds are not very high you will be killed by a cyclist on the streets of NYC. In the last 15 years New York City drivers have killed over 4,000 pedestrians and 400 bicyclists. Meanwhile, fewer than a dozen pedestrians have died from bike crashes.
The "air horns are illegal" line is an urban legend, just something else mentioned as "well, I heard somewhere" and then repeated over and over as fact. Delta Cycles has been selling the Air Zound for many years and never gave any warning that it may be illegal in any localities. If it was illegal, NYCEwheels on the UES wouldn't be selling it.
If you're truly convinced the Air Zound is illegal, there's always the Megalert, which I actually prefer to the Air Zound because it's battery-operated, doesn't take up a water bottle cage and doesn't need constant refilling with air.
Faiser,
It's very ironic that you take the others to task for speculating, then let loose with all sorts of generalized assumptions that this messenger must have been reckless and responsible for his own demise. You don't see the irony there? Physician, heal thyself.
wow is that bike new york add right under the biker killed post on purpose?
(rolling eyes) and I'm sure the biker was obeying ALL the traffic rules, because we all know, bike messengers are always on their best behavior and as safe as they can possibly be.
Many bicyclists in NYC-especially messengers- tend to be very crazy. They go through red lights and often right into crowds of people crossing who have the right of way. They often scream or whistle, as if that gurantees everyone's safety as they fly through red lights. Many of them think they are above traffic laws. More than once I have stepped off the curb when I have the green light to have a bicyclist zip inches from me... If anything needs to be done, it's to teach bicyclists to use more caution, slow down and obey traffic laws. I bet there would be a lot less deaths.
did you seriously just say that? maybe you would like to elaborate on other fantasies involving people getting run over.
"They are making it safer by cracking down on critical massers. Too bad this truck didn't take out all of the critical massers! Jeremy you are a fucking moron!"
Nice talk. Pot, you're black.
Yes, Jeremy, he/she did just write that. But I have a feeling he/she isn't online any longer. I get the feeling he/she might currently be too busy sticking pins in pork products to come and share any more fantasies with us.
Yeah, bikers are crazy.
SO LET'S JUST HIT THEM WITH TRUCKS!!!
Who do you think you are, Ray Kelly?
or maybe steve dunleavy.
Mihow, sorry to disppoint you but I'm right here and I'm not black. Two strikes!! Your ASSumptions are just ... ASS!
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