Wear a helmet, every time.

The facts couldn't be more clear: 97% of those in NYC bike deaths were NOT wearing helmets:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/episrv/episrv-bike-report.pdf

I rode down Atlantic for half a block, not long after the accident. I was not 100% sure what had happened until I walked my dog past her ghost bicycle memorial on Monday and each day since.

I generally take Dean, and I hardly ever take Atlantic for more than a block, simply on my way to Franklin or some other intersecting one-way street.

I find the first comment under this article VERY VERY VERY disturbing. Why is your first inclination to ask why she rode down Atlantic? First - As cyclists, we have the right to be on any road whatsoever. Second - Way to blame to the victim. Third - Have you no respect for those who are grieving her?

THIS BLAMING THE VICTIM NONSENSE IS ALL TOO COMMON: I rode half a block down Atlantic, and then hit the "CAUTION" tape -so I got onto the median strip to prepare to cross to the other side. A police officer approached and said in as confrontational a tone as you can imagine: "Miss, what are you doing here? Go over there now." He gestured to the opposite side of the street. Between us and the other side of the street was a long line of furious traffic. I said: "

I'm waiting till there's no traffic, to cross."

"There's a dead man over there, miss."

"Do you want me to cross in front of oncoming traffic?"

Another officer approached, and chided, "you really shouldn't be biking on Atlantic, miss."

Did they ask me when the last time I biked even a block on Atlantic was, before they made their assumptions? (4 years ago).

Did they say instead: "Ma'am you should be very careful riding on Atlantic, avoid it all costs - a cyclist was just killed here."

There was little concern in their attitude - they were all about admonishment. And now that I know what happened there, I resent that they were clearly blaming this girl for being there, as if she caused her own death, rather than the typical negligence of a driver.

The media reporting this story is full of idiots and it makes my blood boil to see what's being written about this incident.

I am a cyclist. I am surrounded by dangerous boulevards and streets (Linden Blvd, Kings Highway, Ralph Avenue, Remsen Avenue). Going out to the city, I have to then also tackle Flatbush Avenue. As dangerous as these streets are I'm savvy enough to handle riding on them.

But I almost NEVER ride on Atlantic Avenue if I can help it. It's ridiculously dangerous, even in the daytime. It's not just because of the traffic. A stretch has been narrowed and blocked due to construction on the arena, so there's very little room to bike down without having cars whizzing past you within a few inches.

On top of that, as you head towards Vanderbilt Avenue the road is pockmarked with huge potholes and ridges from the bus routes. The bus routes are just one more threat piled on top of all the others.

The motorist was careless, but the victim was reckless-- period, end of story. There are just some streets you don't ride on unless you're a veteran cyclist who can handle them-- and then there are streets you never ride on regardless of how experienced you are. Atlantic Avenue is one of those streets. Pay tribute to the victim all you want but let's not be socially irresponsible in the process by painting a picture that were it not for "stupid motorists", cyclists can expect to just ride wherever they please regardless of how dangerous a street is.

I live near here and this is seriously THE MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTION I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN 12 YEARS LIVING IN BROOKLYN. It doesn't sound like this woman was killed necessarily due to the cars that regularly whip left turns or try and speed their ways up Underhill or Washington, but more and more people are going to get injured here unless the DOT does something to calm traffic there. Unfortunately all calls about this seem to be ignored.

I'm wondering how they charged the driver with driving with a suspended license if she never actually turned the car on and drove it after she doored the biker. I'm not trying to defend the unlicensed driver, I'm just curious about how the legal system is going to handle this.

I wondered about this too. Did she drive away from the scene of the crime afterwards?

Or perhaps, the fact that she was accessing the driver's door (presumably with the keys) implies that she was "in control of the vehicle."

hey NYPD. ever hear of this one, you fucking idiots?

Section 1214. Opening and closing vehicle doors. No person shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side

available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonable safe to do so, and can be done without interfering with the

movement of other traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open on the side of the vehicle available to moving traffic

for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

If you drive in New York for five minutes...no, actually if you've ever driven in ANY city, anywhere, anytime, and you don't look behind you before you open the door, you're clueless and hopeless. Get out of NY now.

I was hit on Saturday as well, although in the NJ suburbs, and by an old lady who broadsided me making a left turn because she simply didn't see me. Went over the hood, bounced off, hit the ground. Fortunately, I had let traffic clear so there were no SUVs rumbling down at 50 mph to finish the job. No serious injuries, and in fact the woman was so shocked EMS had to make sure she wasn't going to have a coronary. Couldn't really be mad at her, although in hindsight it was a tad scary.

As for this accident, I would've ripped this driver's head off, especially as she tried to deny her involvement and run off to her previous engagement. Ironically, if her negligence had resulted in her having her door ripped off by the bus, as opposed to merely bouncing a cyclist to her death, she'd be only blaming herself, instead of everybody else.

My money says she would blame the bus.

From all the kind comments I would have to say she just rode her bike to Heaven.

The fact that she was an unlicenced driver makes it completely her fault. She should have never been on the road. I agree with charging her with some type of manslaughter charge. Unlicensed drivers dont have insurance and are a danger for everybody. An example needs to be set so we can cut down on unlicensed driving.

As a licensed driver, i have to say it is sometime very difficult to see a bike coming. I usually take a quick glance in the mirror when i open my door and i dont swing it open hard, just gradually. I can always see cars coming as they are big but a bike riding close to the parked cars is hard to see, especially at night when it doesnt have any lights. Both parties just need to be careful but accidents are going to happen that arent really anyones fault. Everyone needs to take their own precautions and for those who are daring enough to ride on dangerous roads its their risk. You have to protect yourself. The govt cant protect you from everything.

Precisely. She was unlicensed and therefore should not have been operating a car AT ALL. Now someone is dead because Krystal Francis is a selfish piece of shit.

Here I go again. Does anyone in the mayor's office or DOT read these comments?? It's great that the city created more bike lanes and is promoting cycling. It sucks that an incident like this happens at least twice a month.

In addition to creating more bike lanes, the DMV needs to liason with the mayor's cycling advocates and transform the motor vehicle licensing exam. People shouldn't be able to drive until they pass a test (as we must now) that includes safety and awareness for cyclists. Give it about ten years, and I bet there'll be a noticeable decrease in drivers causing fatal cycling accidents.

Too bad DMV is a state agency, as similar agencies are everywhere else in the country, meaning the city has no say in how licenses are issued.

Ok, I don't want to sound like I'm blaming the rider, but why do people ride their bikes so close to parked vehicles? Regardless of whether the driver has a legal responsibility to check the mirrors before opening the door, if I was a biker, for my own preservation I would not ride within 1 - 1.5 meters of a parked car to prevent this from happening. If this means cars behind me honking their horns at me, then so be it.

NYC should really have its very own DMV, seperate from the state. The DMV test is ridiculously easy. It may be appropriate for someone who plans to drive in some upstate rural village all the time. But in NYC it is hopelessly inadequate.

Also, the multi-choice test is ridiculous - when I took it, one of the questions was "Under what circumstances are violent assaults on another driver appropriate?" It doesn't take Albert Einstein to work out that the answer they're looking for was "Under no circumstances is a violent assault appropriate". And I'm not kidding or exaggerating at all about this anecdote.

Secondly, AFTER doing the multi-choice test, but before doing the road test, you are supposed to sit a 5-hr "road safety course" that involves watching videos and receiving a certificate at the end of it. These courses are administered by private businesses (i.e. those dodgy tax accountants, abogados and notary publics you find in areas like Roosevelt Ave), rather than the DMV itself. No surprise then, that no one actually TAKES the course - you just offer the administrator an extra $10 and he simply GIVES you the completion certificate, saving 5 hrs of everyone's time.

2 seconds is all it takes to look back. It's so easy. Even if you don't give a shit about cyclists, for the sake of your own self preservation (and repair costs, and insurance rates, and lawsuits, and months/years of aggravation) take 2 seconds out of your life to turn your head and check before flinging open your door.

I saw someone exiting a parked car nearly get killed yesterday. The new bike lane on Columbus means that cars parked between the bike lane and traffic lanes are now literally inches away from moving traffic, to the point where anyone trying to get out of the passenger side of a parked car is stepping directly into traffic. And yesterday some old lady almost bought it that way.

And why do we have this situation? For a bike lane that during daylight in nice weather is probably used by around 5 bikes an hour. If that much.

The amount of space for someone getting out on the passenger side with the old style curb-parking vs. the new style bike-lane-parking hasn't changed. You're still opening your car door directly into traffic, no matter how close you parked to the curb with the old style.