Bklyn

Think this is somebody we might know?

https://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index...id=1&aid=60458



EDIT: Forgot to mention one salient detail. The cyclist was ON A BIKE PATH.

slvoid

NICE...

burbankbiker

Having biked in Sweden, I can agree with what that person in the article says about Denmark and Europeans in general respecting bikers more and looking for them. Of course, what also helps is that the network of bike paths in Sweden is largely completely independent from the roads so the only traffic you're likely to encounter is other bikes or pedestrians (or the stray jerk on a scooter using the path illegally).

The craziest part about this story is that the news reporter was interviewing someone at the location and while he was there someone ELSE got hit by a car at the same intersection!

Mariner Fan

I'm glad the reporter pointed out the issues from a bicyclist's point of view. So often they just write the bicyclist was hit and no tickets were issued. Almost empowers cagers to mow down a guy on a bike with impunity.

jyossarian

Of course the cyclist had to shout to the driver. The driver's windows were rolled up and he wouldn't get out of the car to see if the cyclist was ok.

I was wondering the same thing about the cyclist and the other 3 cyclists they interviewed and whether any of them were BF'ers.

timbnyc44

I like the bikepath, but it really is crossed too many times by traffic going in and out of warehouses and tourist attractions on the piers. They should consolidate those turns into one or two places, and make a lane on the other side of the bike path for cars to go up and down to their specific destination.

slvoid

The guy they interviewed with the bleeping and blurred censor around the mouth and groin area is me.

ryanparrish

I like on the website for ny1 there is an advertisement to work for the NYPD

godspiral

I'm guessing the cyclist was going very fast to be hurt so badly, by a truck that was unlikely to be going more than 5mph

jyossarian

Tow trucks make turns faster than 5 mph here, especially if they thinkt he coast is clear. Try more like 15 mph.

dalmore

doesn't matter how fast the cyclist was going if he ended up under the wheels

timmhaan

just another night out on the town.

Bklyn

Tow truck drivers tend to be real cowboys in general; plus this guy's a cop, and I've never seen a New York cop wait for the light if he's first in line. It's a bad combination. Not to blame the victim -- for all accounts seem to indicate that the driver was in the wrong -- but I wonder if the cyclist had a light....

I've been checking NY1 all day for an update; so far, nothing.

EDIT: I just watched the video on the site. The cyclist gets hit WHILE THEY'RE FILMING! They pan away from the interview, and there's a roadie in full kit, stretched out in the bike path with some Saturn or something nosing him down! Unbeliveable.

sukram

I'd really like to know what sort of follow up there will be. I'll be contacting NY1 to see if they will follow up on the story, and see if Trans Alt is doing the same.

Maybe I'm just old fashioned or something, but come on, there's got to be some kind of accountability for being the reason some fellow ends up in the hospital with head injuries. Some possible scenarios include the driver just ignoring the cyclist's right of way (I've had my own close calls with cagers who have done that), or perhaps both cyclist and tow truck driver both had reds and they both ignored it, a violation itself... We just don't know yet.

It's a hard thing to do, taking responsibility for your own actions, it has caused me some grief at times but I feel it is the only honorable thing to do.

nycm'er

I have had it out with cabbies there too, remember about the lights: they are on the same sequence as the bikes, red for cars, red for bikes, if the car or tow truck is turning, they have to yield to peds and bikes, the car is at fault. The story says the tow truck was southbound and the rider was northbound, the turning vehicle is at fault. Yet the suggestion that both had reds, and ran them, that is a very common occurrence too.

edit: for those that do not know, there is no right on red in NYC- thankfully.

oboeguy

Plus those are massive, multi-ton vehicles likely to cause serious dammage even at somewhat slower speeds.

I must admit that I am perhaps at times too catious on the Greenway. I don't trust that drivers crossing it at the too-plentiful crossings to have any clue of where they are (i.e. the middle of a busy, congested cyclepath - though the accident above apparently happened late at night... still my point holds minus the congested part).

Max

I cycled in Copenhagen, Denmark. I noticed a lot of scooters on the bike paths.

dubes

Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending.

Manhattan Doctor Hit by Tow Truck Dies

timmhaan

oh no. i heard rumors but was hoping it wasn't true. i think the doctors family should look into a wrongful death case. hell, i'd even testify at how fast and reckless those guys drive.

oboeguy

Dammit that sucks! I wonder if speed bumps at Greenway crossings would make these idiots think twice?

sukram

Transportation Alternatives is going to release this at a press conference tomorrow.
https://www.transalt.org/press/releas...stcrashes.html

3 crashes in the past week, 2 resulted in deaths.

I had a really close call about 6 weeks back, I had the right of way and a car drove and cut me off making a left turn in front of me. I was paying attention, but you know when time slows down in those situations, you know it's too close. I hunted that cager down and gave him what-for. What I didn't do was report him. I should have called the cops straight away. I try to respect the rules, all I expect is for the cagers to do the same.

slvoid

Ok... you know what everyone didn't notice... 11:30PM...

That place should've been dead empty at 11:30pm, did this guy have lights?

sukram

Excellent point. Legally, you need the light here in NYC.

So, I watched the video again. If you search NY1.com for "cyclist" and you look for the June 23rd video. Looking @ the broadband video the opening shot of the two bikes on the ground you see one of them with a blinking strobe for the front light. Can't say if that was the bike hit or not.

No, we don't know all the facts. Unfortunately the facts may not come out until after a court case, if there is one. We just don't know. Sadly, it doesn't help him at all.

bmclaughlin807

If the other bike had a light, it could well have been damaged when the bike was hit... and you wouldn't be able to see it in the video.

So yes... no way to tell without seeing a police report, or talking to the wife.

oboeguy

Yes, I was wondering about the lights. I've been out there at that hour (coming back from Bryant Park outdoor movie) with 30 Watts of halogen lights a-blazing (plus front blinkie), reflective tape, etc. It is easy, though, at that hour to think there are no cars crossing the path.