hhusted

Cyclist Accidents a Cause For Concern

According to NY1, a 57-year-old cyclist died after colliding with a city bus this morning in the Bronx. The woman was traveling southbound on Crotona Avenue near East Tremont Avenue at 8:30 a.m. While traveling, someone opened the driver's side door of a parked car causing the woman to serve. When she did, she ended up riding her bike into a traffic lane where she got hit by a bus and was killed instantly.

This brings to mind something that should be discussed. Manhattan has developed bike lanes for those who ride bikes, but places like the Bronx don't have them. I read that Bronx Borough is planning to install bike lanes so this type of thing won't happen again.

Do you live in an area where is or is not a bike lane?

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JenMac Mar 19, 2010

A pretty popular Brooklyn DJ was killed a few months ago in Willyburg. She was riding her bike and a garbage truck side swiped her. You don't really hear a lot about how many people get killed when biking but it seems pretty out of control. The crazy thing to me is that Manhattan is so much more congested and it seems like I always hear these awful stories in Brooklyn. I also can't believe how little you hear about biking accidents on the Willyburg and Brooklyn bridges. People fly down those on their bikes. I've almost been hit a number of times.

hhusted Mar 19, 2010

Interesting. I think the reason Manhattan has less bike accidents is because of the bike lanes, unless of course they are not reported.

NeverSleeps Mar 20, 2010

Apparently the NY Post called the death of that woman in the Bronx a "freak accident." Does anyone else find that description a little off, especially if there are no bike lanes in the entire borough?

NeverSleeps Mar 20, 2010

Here's the story: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/biker_bus_death_crash_Yc6e5WZhtbqLXX6KW1VpHP

hhusted Mar 20, 2010

@NeverSleeps, I really don't understand why she would ride her bike in heavy traffic like that. Come on. All she had to do was look forward and see she was entering a heavily congested area and not chance it. If she had a store to go to, either ride the bike on the sidewalk, or walk it to the place she had to be.

ajadedidealist Mar 20, 2010

Heavily congested isn't so bad - as people/cars are moving slowly, and in a straight/grid line. It's the side streets that are more dangerous - people drive more quickly/less carefully, and often open the doors of their parked cars into bicyclists (the number one cause of accidents). Traffic in and of itself isn't the problem.

Uraniumfish Mar 20, 2010

I've seen a couple of bicyclists collide with vehicles and get real damaged by it, so I wouldn't call it a "freak accident" at all. Actually, I think it happens a lot!

JenMac Mar 20, 2010

This sounds bad, but I'm kind of surprised there aren't more bike accidents in the city. Cabs and buses really push the limits of what is legal and safe driving and a lot of the bikers I see are quite ballsy. Seems like a recipe for disaster.

NeverSleeps Mar 21, 2010

It seems like the problem is that motorists just aren't looking for bicyclists. I think drivers should be more aware - especially in a city that is full of pedestrians and bikers....

hhusted Mar 23, 2010

@Uraniumfish: I agree with you that it wouldn't be called a freak accident, since there plenty of accidents that occur with bikes each day.

ajadedidealist Mar 24, 2010

It's a pity that NYC doesn't have a better system of bike lanes. They are a few, but they are fee and far between, and certainly not conveniently linked to each other.

hhusted Mar 24, 2010

@Ajadedidealist: I hear ya. I think even in the city bike riders cause problems. I don't think they mean to, but they often do. They are just trying to deliver foodstuff quickly before the food gets cold. And sometimes they have to ride several blocks before they get to the delivery location. On the other side of the coin, there are bikers who just ride around for the sake of exercise and to enjoy the warmth of the sun and temps. Even these bikers need to be careful how and where they ride their bikes.