Bicyclist Run Over in Greenpoint

well said, byndcivil. As a regular cyclist who’s careful and self-preservational, it’s hard to read all these car drivers who claim they can’t see a cyclist. If you can’t, you should not be driving, period.

In countries like Sweden, you can be assessed a proportionate responsibility for an accident even if you had the green and the other vehicle did not stop…on the grounds that you must always drive responsibly and be aware. It’s the same thing with regard to the ‘asshole’ cyclist who appears “from nowhere”. Whether or not he is at fault, you still need to be careful. And still may be responsible, especially if you cause injury.

No disrespect Northsloperenter, but as far as the double parking excuse goes…that is a load of horse shit. One of the problems here is that there aren’t enough bike lanes, and when cars double park in one of the few bike lanes there are, it’s either out of sheer laziness, a total disregard for others or both. How hard is it really to double park on a side-street where there isn’t a bike lane. Are drivers afraid of shin splints?

As far as following rules of the road, no one follows rules here. People talk on cellphones, they swerve and cut people off, turn on a red, walk against reds, run red lights, etc. I do my best to follow the rules (i.e. ride with traffic, stay off sidewalks, stop at lights, wear the right clothing, etc.) and I still end up nearly getting sideswiped more often than I’d like.

Some of us “entitled pricks” don’t have the money to afford a car in New York and aren’t really down with forking over more and more money to the MTA.

There’s this very common refrain that “asshole bikers” that run red lights are to blame for all the traffic woes in NYC. Really? Do you people really believe that? Or is that just a way for you to shift the onus of responsible road use off of yourself. I can tell you that out of the 20 or so bikers I see in my daily commute, maybe one or two of them fit the “asshole biker” description. I would be willing to bet that the other 18 or 19 have pretty similar stories about nearly being nailed by cars.

The really sad part of all of this is that the thing that would make this all alot safer (more bike lanes) is fought tooth and nail because it encroaches on precious parking and double parking space. I have a little information for you. New York is a city. I know parking is a premium, but convenient parking is not a guarenteed right and is even less so in a dense city like New York.

As it is cars, roads and parking are heavily subsidized by the crazy taxes that “entitled pricks” like myself pay to live here. Is it too much to ask that you pay a little attention to what you’re doing when you’re operating your car.

DH – I’m one of them.

A lot of kids from Williamsburg/Greenpoint go to school on the lower east side. Most of my ride is on the bridge, which is protected, and the rest is on bike lanes (and not on Bowery, Delancey, Broadway).

As an avid cyclist, the story resonated for me, and scared me. But as a driver, I see both sides. I know the risks I take when I ride my bike, and I do the best to minimize them. The problem is that each group – cyclists, drivers and pedestrians – each think of themselves first without seeing the viewpoint of the others. But simply, each needs to minimize the risks by following the rules and by being as careful as possible. Thats why the rules exist.

I feel for the people involved; particularly her family. But she should not have been riding that Sunday afternoon – in the grey rainy weather through a busy intersection – certainly not without loud colorful protective gear (the type the road and subway workers wear so as to be noticed). Hopefully, we can at least learn from this tragedy.