Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn had this story on the deaths of two cyclists in Brooklyn, quoting Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives: "We are stunned and outraged to learn that two cyclists were killed within the span of hours," to which I made the comment:
Since the ... cyclist was going the wrong way and, at least according to one report (streetsblog,) was trying to "beat the truck," maybe Mr. White could control part of his outrage. As a regular cyclist myself, I've seen my share of cyclists who ride too fast or too dangerously. It does no good for cycling advocates on that the vehicle is always at fault.
Since then it appears that the issue was not as clear; maybe he was not going the wrong way at all. Mea culpa on this level. Certainly one respondent to my comment did not agree with me:
in any case the point being made by transportation alternatives, that we need more protected bike lanes, remains valid. and chandru, while i agree that there are many cyclists out there who endanger themselves with their riding habits, your "no-helmet" stance will always make you vulnerable to such accusations. regardless of whether the driver or the cyclist was "at fault", one of them is dead. he was someone's son, someone's brother, many people's friend, and he was only 26 years old. that is deserving of outrage.
In defence, firstly, I did not mean to minimize the tradegy of the accident, but an objective look at the cause requires you to not assume the vehicle was automatically at fault.
As one who cycles a lot and grew up cycling in India (if you can cycle there, you can cycle anywhere,) my point, which got lost, is that if (as I often do) you travel the wrong way on a street, it's your responsibility to watch out for traffic that has the right of way. I often stop completely if I see a vehicle which, in my judgment, is not going to be respectful of my space. While my comment may seem intemperate, it was also a response to the many comments (say, on streetsblog)which suggest that any accident is always the vehicle's fault. Many cyclists commenting there also exhibit a level of entitlement (especially towards pedestrians) which I am sure makes it easier for them to see slights in every vehicular move. Many also talk about doing 15-20mph on Manhattan streets; this is close to being suicidal by anyone. Bikes just do not have the stopping power and margin of safety that makes them safe at this speed in traffic, bike lane or no.
Fostering a us-vs-them attitude does no one any good.
As for the riding without a helmet , I have written much on this issue. Basically I view cycling as a normative transport; the more I look like the rest of the road users, the less hostility I am likely to encounter. As I have noted many times before, practically nobody in the rest of the world (Australia excepted) wears helmets, and every time you see a picture of cyclists in, say, Munich, London or Amsterdam, you will see few, not even children, helmeted. Do you really think these cyclists are all so foolhardy? Or are we too risk-averse in the US?
Here we have cyclists driving up to Prospect Park on a weekend, donning their elaborate gear in order to speed around the park. I consider myself more at risk from these spandex speeders than from vehicles on the streets of Park Slope.
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