Fatal Motorcycle Accidents Shuts Down Atlantic
[nggallery id=”45290″ template=galleryview] A motorcyclist was killed this morning at around 7 a.m. when he (we assume) was struck by a taxi heading east on Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Bond Streets. As of 9:30 this morning, Atlantic Avenue was shut down in both directions between Smith Street and Flatbush Avenue, causing a series of…
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A motorcyclist was killed this morning at around 7 a.m. when he (we assume) was struck by a taxi heading east on Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Bond Streets. As of 9:30 this morning, Atlantic Avenue was shut down in both directions between Smith Street and Flatbush Avenue, causing a series of reverberating traffic jams on all the major thoroughfares in the area.
Wasder and other’s naive “blame the biker” comments aside, having ridden in the city for 15 years, the hierarchy of dangerous drivers goes like this –
Access-a-Ride vans
Black cars in poor condition
Yellow cabs
Black cars
SUVs
Everyone else.
I’ve ridden motorcycles on the streets and highways of L.A. and Southern Cal for over 20 years.
I avoid riding on the streets of NYC because everyone drives like a crazed a-hole all the time. And when you’ve conditioned yourself to drive like a crazed a-hole, you make avoidable accidents harder to avoid.
I actually feel sorry for that driver. Once you run someone down, no matter how much or little it is your fault, no matter how good you are at rationalizing things – it is extremely hard to get past.
It will haunt you for a long time.
Something most NYC drivers obviously never even consider when they’re in their big rush on the road.
Quick google search unearthed this:
The average (motorcycle) rider now has about a 1-in-1,500 chance of dying annually, and for every mile of travel, a motorcycle is 26 times as dangerous as a car.
Of course, the risk is not equally divided. Inexperienced riders, especially those who have not taken training courses, are more likely to die. Sport bikes, which emergency-room doctors call “donorcycles,” as in organ donation, are more dangerous than their less powerful counterparts.
—Alex Berenson, “Born to Be Wild, but at a Cost,” The New York Times, July 6, 2003
Hmmm…26 times more dangerous than a car. Sounds a bit insane to put yourself in that position. Also, ER doctors referencing “donorcycles” doesn’t sound like I am on to urban legend terrain.
To my view, the single biggest quality of life issue I personally have in this city is aggressive drivers/motocyclists and some bicyclists. I bicycle commute about 17 miles roundtrip daily so I see plenty of it but I felt this way long before I started riding the bike.
It appears based on early reports that the cabbie was not at fault here but by and large it is the cabs, town cars, ambulettes, Borough Park buses, etc. that engage in the most egregious behaviors (followed closely by the young turks in their hot rods).
Bottom line is that until NYPD engages in consistent and aggressive enforcement of speeding, red lights, U-turns, etc. that the city’s streets will remain perilous at best.
Condolences to the family.
wasder: How about bicyclists? do you question their judgment? Probably as dangerous in NYC. chinese delivery men on scooters? do they have a death wish?
One simply can’t by the nature of the bicycle get into as many dangerous situations on one given the lack of speed and acceleration on a bicycle. Don’t get me wrong though I am super sympathetic to the victim here I just wonder about the desire to ride motorcycles which strikes me as irresponsible (to self).
dept of transportation and traffic enforcement need to look at vehicle speed on Atlantic Ave. Maybe stagger the traffic signals so they don’t encourage motorists to speed from Smith, or beyond, to 3rd and 4th ave.
Wasder – given that motorcycle fatalities are about 10% those of automobile fatalities, what you have heard about organ donation is clearly urban legend.
Yes, motorcyclists have higher fatality rates than drivers, but the biggest danger to motorcyclists is cars, not the motorcycles themselves (an estimated half of all m/c fatalities are caused by cars and their drivers). And for what its worth, on an annual basis about twice as many pedestrians are killed by automobiles than are motorcyclists.
As for Atlantic Avenue, in my experience it’s best avoided on two wheels – motorized or not.
Awful, condolences all around.
wasder: How about bicyclists? do you question their judgment? Probably as dangerous in NYC. chinese delivery men on scooters? do they have a death wish?
from drugs to drinking to unsafe sex people engage in a range of risk on a daily basis according to their comfort level. there’s really no need to piss on this guy’s decisions today, in this context. And the people inconvenienced by traffic need to get a grip.
wasder how do you feel about the oodles of affluent people puttering around brownstone bklyn on vespa’s? They may not go 0-60 in 3 seconds, but lose control of one and it could equal the same fate!