The Post identified the victim:
Chaim Joseph, 72, of the East Village was hit by a private oil truck shortly before 6 a.m. while he was riding in the bike lane near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and West 45th Street in Midtown.
The motorist then drove off, cops said.
Joseph was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center, but he could not be saved.
Per Streetsblog:
The afternoon, an NYPD spokeswoman said that the “driver and the vehicle have been identified.” She declined to give further details. No one has been arrested as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday.
This is horrific, and this can’t keep happening. We have SO MUCH MORE work to do to protect cyclists and pedestrians in our city. My heart breaks for this man and his loved ones. What a senseless loss. https://t.co/xvwHXiwux2
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) February 4, 2019
9 comments:
That's awful. Bike lanes that aren't physically separated are fiction. Before dawn oil truck. RIP Chiam Joseph.
I would not ride a bike in this city if you paid me. Condolences to his loved ones :(
There is a rally to keep the bike lanes on 12 and 13 streets, Wednesday at 10 @14 and 1st.
My condolences to his family, what an avoidable tragedy this is,
Those midtown bike lanes are dangerous and too exposed to traffic. Let this be a lesson to everyone who wants to elimiate the new bike lanes which are saving lives.
@10:17am: Or the other interpretation could be that bike lanes give riders a false sense of security, leading to accidents that perhaps *might* not otherwise have happened.
This unfortunate man is dead, and that is an absolute tragedy.
But does it mean we need something like chain-link fences to "protect" the bike lanes even further?
There was a time when riding a bike on the streets of Manhattan was recognized as the very dangerous activity it is (and continues to be). I used to ride a bike in Manhattan, but I no longer would even consider doing it, b/c in my own opinion & judgment it's not worth the enormous risk I'd be taking every time I got on the bike.
For years I biked from the EV to Penn Station on the first leg of my commute to Long Island. I did not consider it a dangerous activity, though it looked dangerous if you weren't the one riding. The traffic in Manhattan is rather slow, so it is safer than riding on roads where the cars are whizzing by you at 40, 50 or more miles per hour. The key to riding in traffic is to "take the lane," which means you ride in the middle of the lane, so you don't get killed by opening doors and passing cars. A good horn or whistle helps, as does reflective clothing. I was not a daredevil or a speedster, and that helped to keep my safe. Now I ride much less frequently, and I'm thankful for the bike lanes, which I perceive as safer that riding in traffic--particularly since my skills ain't what they used to be. If you're going to ride in the city, never put yourself in a position where a car can turn in front of you, that's the death zone. And be careful out there...
@8:39pm: " If you're going to ride in the city, never put yourself in a position where a car can turn in front of you, that's the death zone."
I agree with you, but it seems to me that if a person is riding a bike uptown or downtown on an avenue, EVERY OTHER BLOCK puts you in a position where a car can turn in front of you. As an example, if you are riding downtown on 2nd Avenue in the bike lane, a car or truck *could* make a left turn (right in front of you) at nearly any even-numbered street.
And going cross-town, if you are going (for instance) east in the 12th Street bike lane, a car or truck *could* make a left turn (right in front of you) at any uptown avenue.
So it seems to me that bike lanes offer only a certain amount of "protection" or "safety" - and I think the perception of safety is far higher than the REALITY of safety. Plus, once you're out of the bike lane and IN an intersection, you are, IMO, at enormous risk.
PS: This evening, I was on foot doing some errands. As I waited for the light to change so I could cross 2nd Avenue (the light was solidly red for at least 20 seconds after I arrived at the corner), I saw not one, not two, but FOUR Citi-bike riders (not a group, each was riding individually) BLOW right through the red light and into 2nd Avenue almost simultaneously.
All four riders were young men, none of them were wearing helmets, and prior to going into the avenue, only ONE was actually in the bike lane - the other three riders were spread out in the VEHICLE lane. It's one instance, yes - not statistically significant, but not completely atypical either! And in that single instance, 3 out of 4 bike riders were NOT using the bike lane that exists for their safety, and 4 out of 4 put themselves very much in harm's way.
It honestly makes me wonder what those riders were thinking, and I truly fear for the safety of people who seem so casual about what could happen when you disregard a solid red light on a major avenue at rush hour.
Don't ride abreast of a car in a mixing zone. Be in front or behind. That's my rule. Another rule is assume that every car is going to cut me off, and that they cannot see me, and that they do not value my life whatsoever. These are pessimistic rules I know, but they've kept me alive.
@10:04am: You are a wise bike rider, and your "pessimism" (which I would call "realism") has likely gone a long way toward keeping you alive & well.
Can you teach classes to those riders who haven't yet figured out what you know? Maybe they'd listen up (and wise up) if another bike rider told them.
Post a Comment