I write in response to Brian McGrory’s Dec. 7 Metro column “A bright life, a needless end,” which included the self-penned obituary that Christopher Weigl wrote for a journalism class.
Tragic is not a word I use lightly. There are tragedies large and complicated happening in faraway places as I write, but today I will use the word tragedy to describe Weigl’s story. His young life, brimming with promise, was ended, abruptly, on his commute to school because Boston does not yet have the understanding that cyclists, automobiles, and pedestrians all share our urban streets. Unlike pedestrians, cyclists have no barriers or protection from distracted drivers and enormous trucks.
Comments
The police blocked the intersection for hours, standing around staring at the ground and playing at their version of CSI, but surely must have come to some conclusions about who was at fault. Did they? Apparently not. In this case, the bicyclist would appear to have been going too fast and not paying attention to potential hazards. The fact that he failed to notice a huge truck making a turn would tend to support this theory. This not a matter of blaming the victim; as much as the loss of this life is tragic, the blame does not necessarily fall upon the truck driver. Careless bikers need to remember that while they can see cars, trucks and buses, those drivers can’t always see you. This whole section of Comm ave. is one to be avoided for a number of reasons. These include B.U. students jaywalking, bicyclists flouting the traffic laws, and drivers trying to make sense of the traffic patterns and lights.
This comment has been removed.
You know what makes me angry? Recently in Cambidge, a biker tried to pass a car which was signalling a right turn, on the right. When the driver let the biker know that this was a bad idea, the biker followed the motorist, grabbed his bike lock and broke the guy's windshield. That makes ME angry. Very angry. Every time I see a bike-nazi run a a red light, or blast through a crosswalk full of pedestrians, or knock down a jogger, I get VERY ANGRY. The assumption that a motorist is always wrong and the self-righteous bikers are always right makes me angry. OK?
Lines and lanes, painted on the pavement, cannot prevent a wide-turning truck from striking a cyclist.
It appears that the cyclist struck the truck, not the other way around.
I ride a lot and I also have spent a fair amount of time on that part of Commonwealth Ave. I doubt the truck made an abrupt turn from the LEFT lane. Instead he took over the road to make a sweeping right turn as he must do if he makes such a turn. His turn had to be telegraphed and an experienced driver knows when a truck swings wide like that, it is in preparation of turning right and an experienced driver will never try to pass such a truck in that situation. Once the driver swings left to make his right turn, his right mirror is no longer looking down the bike lane and anything to his right along the line of parked cars is invisible. The bicyclist thinks he is perfectly safe barreling along in the bike lane towards a green light. Perhaps his view of the truck was blocked by vehicles to his left. If he does not appreciate that the truck, which is making a legitimate turn, is going to cross his path, he is in severe danger. I think based on facts this was an unfortunate combination of factors and a tragic accident, but not a crime. Neither person is really at fault, but as bicyclists we must be aware of the danger in such situations.
In the Wellesley case, again, I believe the driver in a very large truck came to a dangerous, complex intersection and never saw the cyclist as he hit that squeeze point at Weston St. and Linden Road. The cyclist was relatively inexperienced as a rider (not in age) and did not fully appreciate (if at all) the extreme hazard of that location if a bicycle and a vehicle try to negotiate it simultaneously. At that point, which I have passed through often, I look over my shoulder to make sure no car is in position trying to pass me at the squeeze point. Again, I think this was a tragic accident and the driver will not be charged. The lesson of both cases is that whether or not the bicyclist is following the rules if he is not seen or does not see a hazard he is in severe danger and must recognize the situation. Similarly, drivers must recognize when a cyclist is in a dangerous position and adjust their driving accordingly. However, if the driver does not see the rider and the rider is oblivious to the hazards presented by these situations tragedies will continue to happen.
This comment has been removed.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/05/20/136462246/when-bikes-and-cars-collide-whos-more-likely-to-be-at-fault
Cars do seem the more likely culprit since they're bigger, more powerful, and sometimes at a disadvantage spotting the spindly cyclists who dart around city streets, where most accidents happen. But when we looked at data from the few states where it's available, cyclists seem almost as likely to cause an accident as motorists.
Ed Beighe, who mans the Arizona bike blog Azbikelaw, crunched some numbers on fault from his state and found that 44 percent of fatalities from bike-car crashes in 2009 were determined to be the fault of the cyclist, while 56 percent were the fault of a motor vehicle driver. The most common collision was when a driver struck a cyclist from behind.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety published data on contributing factors in bike-car crashes. It found that in 2009, cyclists were at fault in 49 percent of crashes, while drivers were at fault in 51 percent. Failing to yield to right of way was the most frequent cause of the snarls.
And the Washington Post recently mentioned a 2004 report from DC showing cyclists more likely than motorists to be at fault in a crash.
Yes I agree that there should be a safe zone for bicyclists. How about the bicyclists making a safe zone for pedestrians and staying off the side walks. Many a time in, I have had a bicycle zoom past me with inches to spare, while walking on a sidewalk. As a pedestrian, I have no barrier or protection from them.
This comment has been removed.