January 30, 2008
Cyclist Deaths Up, Pedestrian & Driver Deaths Down in '07
Although traffic fatalities decreased for pedestrians, drivers and their passengers in 2007, last year saw an uptick in motorcycle and bicycle deaths. The numbers announced yesterday by the mayor at a press conference in Brighton Beach add up, overall, to the lowest number of traffic deaths since the city began keeping track almost a century ago.
As Streetsblog notes, the number of pedestrian and cyclist injuries is unknown. Last year the DOT announced a comprehensive study of pedestrian injuries and deaths, which was supposed be completed by the end of 2007. Good studies take time? And the mayor’s announcement also glossed over the fact that those responsible for cyclist fatalities rarely incur more than a summons.
Some attribute last year’s 5 extra cyclist fatalities – which is only 1 higher than 2005 – to a steady increase in cyclists (over 75% since 2000) as the city becomes more bike-friendly. By 2009, the DOT promises 200 additional miles of “new on-street bicycle facilities (paths, lanes and routes).” That also includes the bike boxes you may have noticed at some intersections.
For pedestrians, whose average deaths dropped to one every two-and-a-half days, Bloomberg announced the “Safe Routes for Seniors” program, intended to lessen the disproportionately high percentage of senior citizens traffic fatalities. A pilot program in Brighton Beach has retimed the lights and pedestrian signals, improved pedestrian islands and moved stop bars further away from crosswalks, among other changes, which are now planned in select neighborhoods around town.
85-year-old Brighton Beach resident Anita Fruchtman told the Post: “Everyone is very frightened crossing the street. There have been many accidents. I don't know why.” How would you explain it to Ms. Fruchtman?
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Unfortunately there is a simple reason why the number has increased, and it's one that is very politically incorrect to discuss-cyclists do not obey traffic laws. Drivers and pedestrians are forced to obey them, while most cyclists ignore and often flaunt them.
How many times a day do you see a cyclist riding head on into oncoming traffic? How often do you see them run red lights or dart between lanes without signaling. Frankly I'm surprised that only 23 cyclists died last year.
Drivers take a lot of heat for being the source of street fatalities, but if people realized the laws applied to everyone the numbers would fall.
Unfortunately there is a simple reason why the number has increased, and it's one that is very politically incorrect to discuss-cyclists do not obey traffic laws. Drivers and pedestrians are forced to obey them, while most cyclists ignore and often flaunt them.
How many times a day do you see a cyclist riding head on into oncoming traffic? How often do you see them run red lights or dart between lanes without signaling. Frankly I'm surprised that only 23 cyclists died last year.
Drivers take a lot of heat for being the source of street fatalities, but if people realized the laws applied to everyone the numbers would fall.
I wonder how many cyclists died from shirking traffic laws as opposed to ones that got doored or got hit by drunk/negligent motorists. Seriously I'm curious.
I admit to breaking traffic laws, but with that said the only times I've almost been hit were by car doors being flung open and by cars pulling out of parking, never in the middle of the street.
Just cuz is correct about the flouting of traffic laws, but jibbly is right to wonder about whether the two are linked. The accidents I've witnessed and heard and read about have all been from doors being flung open suddenly, cars turning into cyclists, and clipping.
Cyclists could gain a lot more sympathy for their cause if they didn't act as though traffic laws are for cars only, but I've yet to see evidence that this is why they're getting struck.
Also, a lot of the recent accidents I've witnessed have been folks riding fixed gear bikes with no brakes, which don't give you a lot of time to react, and are consequently pretty dangerous in an emergency situation. At least put a front brake on. No one will think you're uncool.
Riding a bike in a city is dangerous. Anyone doing so assumes the risk of certain things, like car doors opening or parked cars pulling out. The fact that many cyclists don't wear protective clothing or gear to help drivers see them or to protect them in a fall certainly doesn't help matters.
I'd guess that most traffic deaths result from the shirking of laws by delivery riders and bike messengers. The reason is simple: it is dangerous for a driver to open his traffic-side car door without looking in the rear view mirror for oncoming traffic. This is not because drivers love cyclists but because they are interested in not having their doors taken off or being hit by a car.
The point is that the situation that gives rise to cyclists being hit by car doors is one that most drivers will avoid out of self-interest.
I'd also like to know what percentage of deaths are caused by livery and cab drivers. Again, the private motorist is the one demonized by the cycling crowd for having the audacity to want to drive in the city. But it's the commercial drivers who break traffic laws and are never held accountable. A lot of our traffic problems, from congestion to street safety would be solved if the police would apply the traffic laws to the worst offenders.
Just cuz - how do you know there is a relation between lack of obedience of traffic laws and the number of deaths. From what I can recall of every traffic death involving a cyclist in 2007, only one *possibly* involved the cyclist breaking the law (and that is in dispute - the driver said the cyclist was riding the wrong way but considering the cyclist's last known location a few minutes before and where he was going (home) that makes no sense at all).
Do you have any facts to back up your assertion about causality?
"Drivers take a lot of heat for being the source of street fatalities"
Drivers should take more heat because cars are in herently more dangerous to other road users. Cyclists should similarly take more heat than pedestrians too.
Just cuz - how do you know there is a relation between lack of obedience of traffic laws and the number of deaths. From what I can recall of every traffic death involving a cyclist in 2007, only one *possibly* involved the cyclist breaking the law (and that is in dispute - the driver said the cyclist was riding the wrong way but considering the cyclist's last known location a few minutes before and where he was going (home) that makes no sense at all).
Do you have any facts to back up your assertion about causality?
"Drivers take a lot of heat for being the source of street fatalities"
Drivers should take more heat because cars are in herently more dangerous to other road users. Cyclists should similarly take more heat than pedestrians too.
unless cyclists take even to most basic the traffic laws seriousely -such as stopping at red lights and riding with the traffic- they cannot expect to be taken seriousely themselves. So grow up already.
If you look at the chart you can see that 23 deaths is not really out of line with historical data. There were 22 bicyclist deaths in 2002 and 2005, so it's really that big a deal for there to have been 23 in 2007. It's also likely that there are just more people riding bikes now than there have been in the past.
So basically this is a NON-STORY.
Motorcycle deaths on the other hand do appear to have increased significantly in 2007 compared to past years. And pedestrian deaths had a major decline.
"Drivers and pedestrians are forced to obey them"
What a joke. This always comes up in bike threads.. anti-bikers act like they're saints on the road. I'm sure you've never jaywalked, ran a yellow light, or exceeded the speed limit, right?
"Motorcycle deaths on the other hand do appear to have increased significantly in 2007 compared to past years."
I would guess that this is due to non-experienced motorcycle riders who have chosen this mode due to gas prices.
Is it possible that bike deaths have gone up because more people in the city are riding bikes? Anecdotaly, I think they are. I know more people that ride now, and I see more cyclists every day, so that would also be a reason that more deaths occur.
I just don't have any sympathy for people driving cars in the city. You're in a several thousand pound steel box, moving at high speeds, and a cyclist is on a ten pound bike. You're that selfish you can't slow your car down for a haertbeat to not kill someone riding a bike? Probably not! That's why bikes and cars will continue to be at war.
I think it's pretty safe to say that all three groups, bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers have members who openly flaunt their indiscretion towards their own safety (and the law) while on the street.
And vice versa.
In truth, it's really the city government's fault that these numbers are as high as they are (even if some numbers fell).
No enforcement, no improvement.
Not all bicyclists flout traffic laws. Most of my near misses while cycling have happened while I'm in the bike lane. The one time I was hit, I was in the bike lane too.
Most drivers in this city do not respect cyclists, nor give them the space we need on the road. Drivers are supposed to give us 3-5 feet space when passing, but never do, and a good number of drivers use our new bike lanes as a 2nd car lane. The city needs to do more to enforce bike lane laws and other laws that protect cyclists, and drivers (and commenters here) need to change their attitudes.
Bicyclists In the City deserve no sympathy.
New York City has the greatest Public Transportation system in the nation.
No one should use a bike to commute - the millions of people that take public transportation are just as environmentally friendly as you the cyclist - the only difference is that those millions aren't dumb enough to ride a bike on streets that contain some of the most aggressive drivers in the country.
Bikes should only be used for recreation or short distance delivery in New York City.
Any other use - one reaps what they sow.
You are not special if you ride your bike to work.
You are just a moron.
You what to actually be part of a "Cause" and not just be trendy.
Work at a soup kitchen.
Also if those numbers also had the figure of percentage of people who have been killed bike riding out of all bike riders, the % probably has gone down with the increase in biking population in the city.
I agree with 7 and 12. The bottom line is, if a cyclist hits a car, not much happens, whereas if a car hits a cyclist...bad things happen. So while of course everyone should obey traffic laws, I'd say the driver should know that if they want to drive in the city they can expect a lot of cyclists/pedestrians around, and it is their responsibility to drive cautiously.
I quote from a favorite cyclist blog:
As a cyclist, should I obey all traffic signals?
Absolutely not. The surest way to disaster is mindless adherence to rules, routine, and procedure, because they do not account for the unexpected—or, as I prefer to call it, the stupidity factor. Take pedestrians, for example. When you have the green, pedestrians will not think twice about crossing against the light, right in front of you. They will also usually look near you but not at you, as though they’re following Jerry Seinfeld’s procedure for admiring a woman’s breasts without being caught. Conversely, when they do have the light and you have a red, they’ll generally stop dead and look at you as though you’re about to run them down. When you’re dealing with this sort of stupidity, all bets are off. If you don’t believe me, go outside right now and stand at a busy corner. Wait until a large vehicle is approaching, and then run across the street. I guarantee at least five people will follow you to almost certain death. These bovine are simply too stupid to live, and if you blindly follow traffic rules they will take you right down with them.
More aggressively stupid are drivers. If you wait at a red light and then proceed when it turns green, you’re virtually assured death by yellow-miscalculating idiot.
Rules are not designed to protect you. They are designed to trap and kill you. Rely only on your wits, because that’s the only thing that will keep you alive.
(Should anybody get bent out of shape, it's satirical!)
Emilydickinson: And cars will continue to win that war.
Look - all of us, pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, need to be more accountable for our actions and obedient of not only the traffic laws but basic courtesies to one another.
The answer to the whole issue is MORE cyclists reclaiming the streets, not babies too afraid to venture out the front door (spiritross).
spiritross: Let me get this straight.. bicyclists deserve no sympathy.. unless they're riding for recreation or deliveries?
You're that selfish you can't slow your car down for a haertbeat to not kill someone riding a bike? Probably not! That's why bikes and cars will continue to be at war.
I highly doubt that drivers are out to get cyclists. No one wants to be involved in an accident that hurts or kills someone. The problem is that many times cyclists just aren't visible to drivers. They take up less room, manuever around traffic in a less predictable fashion than other cars, and DO engage in dangerous behavior, like running lights, turning without signalling, etc. I drive, walk and bike. I see so many cyclists flouting the rules of the road, and doing stupid things like cycling at night without reflectors or lights wearing dark clothing...
I say it again, cycling in the city is dangerous. Anyone who rides a bike on our busy city streets is aware of that.
It does no good for cyclists to pretend that bikers are saints, any more than it does for anti-bikers to pretend it's all the cyclists' fault. There are jerks in any group you care to examine. Most people are immersed in their own little worlds; cyclists want to bike legally and safely; drivers want to drive without worrying about running someone over.
If the city put some more serious effort into creating and enforcing true, separated bike lanes, more bikers would use them, resulting in fewer bikes on sidewalks, etc. Having spent a fair amount of time in Amsterdam, I can tell you that the system works very well there, making equal, enforced, and protected room for bikes, cars, and pedestrians.
The idea that drivers in NYC are "forced" to obey traffic laws is absurd. The speed limit on all local roads in NYC is 30mph (except school zones, where it's slower). The dude who hit that woman in DUMBO last Thursday night was going, what, 60?
Drivers never make right turns on red? Push the boundaries of a green light at both ends? (Including speeding to try to make the end of a green.) Try to make right turns from the left lane or vice versa? Try to turn through pedestrians who are crossing on a walk signal? Make illegal U-turns? Drive while talking on a cell phone? Again - absurd.
The difference is that if I run a red on my bike, I'm only putting myself at risk of severe injury, nobody else is going to get killed because of my actions.
Every time I'm out driving I am looking for bicyclist to hit. I want to mow 'em down. Those dispicable 2 wheelers. Yeah. And you know why?
'Cause I want to get taken downtown to the precint to be force to make a statement to the police, breathelized, and have someone's death on my conscience. I also prefer to have a sky high insurance and have that dent on my car as a permanent reminder of how much fun it is to play horde of the road.
Think about this next time, dear cyclist, when you want to beat that truck on its right side while it's making a blind right turn.
If only grannies rode bicycles in the city... That a 2 for 1 deal of pure mayhem.
as a cyclist, pedestrian and some-times motorist in the city, i've got beef with other drivers, other cyclists and other pedestrians.
as a cyclist, i have beef with both poor drivers and pedestrians who can't wait on the sidewalk for a light to change and feel the need to stand in my direct path. (chinatown is the worst and yes, i'm super-racist).
as a motorist, i came very close to hitting two cyclists in one day. one was riding down delancey (towards the bridge, one-handed) talking and laughing on his phone weaving in and out of my lane. i was forced to go 7 mph for about 6 blocks (not the end of the world) and told him to get off his phone, as it was dangerous. he very impolitely told me what he thought of my opinion.
the next near-collision occurred as i was driving down a one-way street, proceeded to pull away from a stop-sign at an intersection of another one-way street, only to slam on my breaks and nearly miss a cyclist going the wrong way down the street. she then turned back while riding with her phone still to her ear to glare at me.
just as drivers shouldn't use phones while driving, cyclists shouldn't either and there should be more regulation of this behavior.
i also think there are assholes in all three categories that are bound to piss off everyone else at some point in time. i used to ride in critical mass until i got tired of people who felt the need to do nothing but antagonize drivers.
if you make more bike lanes, you'll have that many more instances of double parking. i can't remember a time i've ever been able to ride down a bikelane unimpeded by double-parked cars. anyhow, i hate you all at some point.
'Cause I want to get taken downtown to the precint to be force to make a statement to the police, breathelized, and have someone's death on my conscience. I also prefer to have a sky high insurance and have that dent on my car as a permanent reminder of how much fun it is to play horde of the road.
Shirley, you jest. The easiest way to kill someone in this town is to run them over with your automobile. As long as you are sober, and remain at the scene of the accident, you will not be charged with a crime. It happens all the time. Simply tell the authorities that you "did not see anyone".
"The difference is that if I run a red on my bike, I'm only putting myself at risk of severe injury, nobody else is going to get killed because of my actions."
This is not quite true. There have been pedestrians killed by bikes, though it's not a common occurance. There have also been people injured in car accidents when drivers have swerved to avoid bikes -- which yes, is generally what they do because they really don't want to kill anyone, don't want to be investigated by the cops, don't want to be liable in a civil action and don't want to be relegated to NY State's high-risk driver insurance pool for the next ten years.
Some cyclists think the driver should always be looking out for them. Cyclists should be following the same rules as other vehicles on the road.