There's no stopping this from happening again...

Because people are always going to be stupid.

How hard is it to peek at your mirror?

You're already looking at you door handle..

Just look up about 5 inches you jackass...

It sickens me. I've never been doored, but this

still pisses me off because it's easly avoidable.

It happens all the time. Just like people

making a right turn. Looking at the oncoming traffic and nothing else. Killing someone with their stupidiy. Why are you people all worried

about his helmet? A helmet MIGHT have saved him,

but the problem still remains. Think before you act FFS.

Says dev:

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.

It is absurd to think that bicyclists are equal or more of a threat to others than motorists are to others, so I hope you weren't trying to make that claim.

Regarding safety for one's self, indeed bicyclists must take care. If you spend any amount of time bicycling in a city, you will either die (highly unlikely, but as we see, this indeed happens) or you will be careful about how you interact with your surroundings -- there is essentially no other choice with this. Experienced bicyclists are careful enough regarding their own safety or they wouldn't be seen alive anymore (, which is not to say that a bicyclist won't get hit anyway).

Dev, or anyone else, if you can dispute using substantial counterarguments what I claim above, I and billions of other bicyclists could benefit from what you have learned.

My understanding is that David Smith had been bicycling for years in an urban setting.

------

From what I have read, of the people involved in the death of Mr. Smith, only the driver and passenger of the parked vehicle were cited/charged. No report claims that Mr. Smith was in violation of the law. The driver of the truck that drove over Mr. Smith, is likely not culpable since Mr. Smith and his bicycle entered the moving truck's path without adequate space/time for an emergency stop, but I have not seen any detailed analysis of this point.

Had the driver and passenger of the parked vehicle not violated the law, then Mr. Smith would not have died there and then.

------

m3brooklyn,

Thanks for the airplane seat belt analogy.

Likewise for others giving some perspective on the minimal protection offered by bicycle helmets, which pedestrians and motorists are welcome use so that they can set an example for the helmetless bicyclists.

Dev:

I could get witty, but screw it. You're a fucking idiot.

so don't bike.

seems simple enough.

Yes, us bikers are just as responsible as drivers. Ask anyone who bikes and they'll tell you their methods for not getting hit. The fact is that even if we follow all laws, we'll still get cut-off, side-swiped, and doored. When we get hit, we get hurt...badly. Cars and drivers don't.

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

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

Yes, how dare he expect that a car door not open into him while riding in the bike lane.

Jesus.

Fuck off.

Right back at ya, ace.

And no, I'm not a biker, but your idiocy and lake of compassion is just galling.

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.

"Was he anticipating that perhaps the door might open?"

Are you kidding? Now it's the bicyclist's fault for not reading the mind of the passenger?

The passenger committed manslaughter. The cyclist committed to using less carbon and getting exercise. Whom are we blaming again? Sheesh. Poor guy, and his poor partner.

I wish something good would come out of this tragedy, but I have no confidence that it will. Most of my friends who bike have gotten hit by a door--I'm just wondering when I'll run out of luck.

Also, I agree about bike lanes so frequently being blocked, and it being scary to veer in and out of traffic. This is also a problem when bike lanes end with nowhere else to go, lilke when you come off the Brooklyn Bridge onto Adams St/Boerum Place (or maybe i'm thinking of Cadman Plaza West--whichever has the nice green lanes for about 1/2 a mile and then crazy cars and buses all of a sudden).

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.

In Hong Kong (years ago, at least,don't know

if the law was changed) the passenger

would be in jail for murder.

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

Can't tell you how many screaming matches I have had with doorers. Looks like they finally claimed one.

Koch tried concrete barriers in the late 70s but for reasons I forget now, they were found unworkable...

www.forgotten-ny.com

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.

To those who say bike lanes are worthless and don't bother using them :

Not everyone is young, fit, and fast. For many people, the bike lane is the safest place on the road, and when people park in them and are careless, things like this happen.

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

Larry,

Thousands of people ride their bikes around Manhattan every day and the overwhelming majority do not get in serious accidents (let alone killed), so it is definitely not suicidal. Ironically, I find that there is nothing more annoying than cars cutting me off or blowing their horns and passing me only for me to catch up with them at the next light change. You may not like cyclists but the idea that bikes are clogging up the city streets is laughable. I'll remember that tomorrow while I ride through standstill traffic.

p.s.

I would never ride without a helmet. But, if any part of you gets run over by a truck, you are not likely to survive, helmet or not.

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?

a helmet isn't going to help you much when your body is being crushed by a truck!

dispassionate assholes.

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.