I always where a helmet but this is the kind of accident where it wouldn't have mattered. So sad, yet not surprising: cabs and trucks clog the bike lanes all the time and the cops - who routinely park in the bike lanes - do nothing. And even when something horrible like this happens, the worst consequence is a few summonses? Outrageous.

its not a freak mishap. its dickhead motorists being careless and now someone's dead. again. make it manslaughter. recklessness resulting in death, im pretty sure is the definition of involuntary manslaughter. have you ever tried to ride in a bike lane in manhattan? trust me those white lines mean nothing to the trucks constantly parked there or the rest of the assholes that whip around the city in their cars. just start making an example of people i say.

This is one reason why you WEAR A HELMET.

Shame, but really - no helmet?

An *accident* is something someone has little or no control over. The person in the car was supposed to look out before opening the door. That's not an accident. That's a reckless mistake.

And Jen, if you get hit by a car while crossing the street one day, can we report on whether or not you were wearing a helmet? If you die in a car crash, can I ask your family or witnesses the same question?

The police view the world from the inside the fishbowl that is their police cruiser. Everything and everyone else, including pedestrians and cyclists, is an alien "other". The police are so removed from the daily life of the streets, ensconced in their motorized cocoon, that they no longer can distinguish from lawful and unlawful.

Bring back the beat cop who really knew the streets of his/her beat. That cop had a connection with and an understanding of the community. Take the cop out of the car and remove the blinders that come from the slavish devotion to car culture. Until then, these acts of recklessness will always been wrongly interpreted, and easily dismissed, as "accidents".

I think the possible absence of a helmet is newsworthy, just as it would be newsworthy to mention if someone was injured/killed while jaywalking in the middle of the street or crossing against the light. The way it would be newsworthy to mention if a driver were intoxicated or not or a car passenger were wearing a seatbelt. It explains some of the context.

I prefer the bike lanes in Amsterdam, which are separated from the road by a thin island-curb, which is approximately 24 inches wide. This provides a physical buffer from cars and the vast majority of motorists can not double park and block up the bike lane. This type of bike lane would be more more effective and efficient than the new monstrosity on 9th Avenue, which only creates more confusion, in my opinion.

but jen - jaywalking and drunk driving are *illegal*

there is no helmet law for the average joe.

anyway, i hope this tragic incident is remembered when the city is planning more bike lanes, and i hope we end up with more physically-buffered bikes lanes like the one on 9th ave.

i also hope the media learns to stop writing like the Daily News did here:

Bicyclist killed after falling in front of truck A 63-year-old man bicycling in midtown Manhattan Wednesday morning hit a car door and flipped into the street before he was run over and killed by a box truck, police said.

Who are all these wimps who need bike lanes to ride? I've been riding a bike in this city for decades and never gave a second thought about bike lanes.

"Boo hoo! It's too dangerous without a bike lane!"

"Boo hoo! Someone parked in my bike lane!"

"Boo hoo! The police don't enforce bike lanes!"

My comment is unrelated to bike safety. Why oh why when it comes to gay couples does the media (Gothamist included) have to mention the number of years they were together?

Typically you'd never read phrases like "his wife of 36 years". It would just be "his wife". But when it comes to articles about gay couples it seems as if the longevity of the relationship is vitally important, as if the number of years (wow, thirty-six!) proves to the dominant majority that we've earned our stripes as decent people and are therefore deserving of an article written about us, especially a sympathetic one. What nonsense.

As a gay man am I supposed to read into this that my relationship of 3 years is not really worth anything? That I have to be with him for a good while for it to count as something? Should I avoid getting into a fatal bike accident or saving a runaway subway train or performing any act that would get me in the media until, oh let's say, a decade of good solid relationship has passed?

It's ridiculous. Whether they were together 36 years or 36 months isn't germane to the story. Just say his "partner". We get it. They were together. They loved each other. End of story.

Thanks.

This story just haunts me. I was talking about it last night. I was thinking about the times I looked first before opening a car door, then two seconds later, a car or person or biker is suddenly there, out of nowhere. Also, do I always look? I think so, mostly because I'm also thinking of my own safety, I don't want to be hit by a car, but still, am I sure?? If I was responsible for someone's death like this, however accidental, I don't think I could live with myself, it's just so horrible.

I don't know, it's gotten out of hand in the city, from all sides. Drivers, bikers, pedestrians. We're all doing something we shouldn't be doing. How can we turn this around??

RIP, David Smith. My condolences Mr. Moody.

the passenger should have looked before opening the door into traffic just to make sure there were no cabs using the bike lane, like they usually do. i can't believe they aren't being charged with anything considering all the illegal things they did which directly resulted in someone's death.

wearing a helmet is important (i do) but you can still die while weating one.

idiots block the bike lane all the time: clicky

I think a better analogy might be not wearing your seatbelt on a plane. Should you wear it? Yeah, you should, it can prevent injuries in turbulence and it might even improve your odds in a crash. But nobody will start blaming you for your own death if your plane goes down and you're not wearing a seatbelt, just because a seatbelt might have helped you in turbulence.

Whether a helmet might have saved Mr. Smith in a totally different kind of accident is really kind of irrelevant.

I always wear a helmet, but as several people have already commented, a helmet doesn't do you a lot of good when your body is being run over by a truck.

I have been riding in this city for 9 years and cannot even begin to count how many times I have nearly been "doored" by a careless car occupant. When is my luck going to run out...? I don't even want to wonder. I just keep paying attention and assume a door could open at any moment. That's what has saved my ass so far.

Also, it bears repeating that the bike lane on 6th Ave. is on the left side, so this was a passenger illegally opening his/her door into traffic (hence the summons, but is that really enough when you take someone's life??)

babyhitler: iparkedinabikelane.org has great stickers. Unfortunately, I recently ran out of them (I can go through 5-6 on my daily commute home).

RIP David Smith.

When the cops got there, they just should have shot the driver in the bike lane. Bang. On site. Make sure everyone saw them.

Makes as much sense as letting him off with just a summons. But, hey, cops hate bikers. The guy in the bike lane KILLED this biker. KILLED him. And the police did everything but shake his hand.

Helmet or no, outrageous. Arm the cyclists.

the city is too crowded for trucks AND bicycle lanes as it is. where's Bloomberg to use this incident to promote his congestion pricing plan?

ECA: well said. Gotta keep fighting ignorance, y'know?

Chunk,

Maybe I could explain to you why cyclists sometimes don't wear helmets, but first could you tell me if you wear a helmet while walking or driving, and if you don't, could you explain that to me. Hundreds of pedestrians and car travelers get severe head injuries every year in our city, so could you please explain to me why more people don't wear helmets while walking, driving or in cabs.

Fuck the bike lanes. Im back on the walks. You old whipper snappers can raise ur canes at me all you want.

Where's the responsibility on the part of the biker? How fast was he going? Was he anticipating that perhaps the door might open?

You bikers love to throw the blame on people in cars without accepting any responsibility yourselves.

Fuck off.

And ride the subways.

WITHOUT YOUR BIKES.

was it totally his fault? probably not.

is he without liability in the accident? probably not.

did he deserve it? certainly not.

point is, though, bikers are just as responsible for what happens to them on the roads as are drivers. but for some reason, bikers don't seem to understand that.

if you're not careful and anticipating that you're going to get hit, you're probably going to get hit.

That should be "lack of compassion" not "lake of compassion". Wasn't trying to be all poetic.

so don't bike.

seems simple enough.