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The death of Anita Kurmann reexamined
By adamg on Wed, 01/24/2018 - 10:52am
MassBike takes another look at the the 2015 crash at Massachusetts Avenue and Beacon Street that killed Dr. Anita Kurmann. The driver of the truck was not charged; the Globe reports authorities stand by their conclusion he did nothing wrong.
Ed. note: The video includes footage of Kurmann's death.
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Comments
Where does one get that Boston Police Accident report?
The Globe article says that they received a copy. I would like to know about the truck size, especially considering that the load was much smaller than the truck and could have been put on a smaller truck. And when I spent time with Google Street way back machine, I learned that there never was a "bus lane" there. In fact it used to be a bicycle/right turn only lane.
This was an accident
As a bicyclist, I don't see any marking of Anita's lane as "bus only." In fact, directly in front of her is a continuation of her specific lane into the intersection with a bike lane marking on it. The sharrow in the next lane is a reminder that bikes can use traffic lanes at that intersection also. Her lane looks like a bike lane, but technically it isn't marked.
While the truck had its right turn signal on, it was in the far left lane. In hindsight you can see what he planned to do, but from a bicyclist's perspective, the trucker could have been changing lanes to the right traffic lane. It didn't look like the truck was about to make the sharp right turn until it was too late. But any time you're at an intersection next to a large vehicle, it can be better to follow behind than to pass on the right.
The trucker had a lot to take in, needing to take the left lane and then the right turn in this most dangerous and congested area. The bicyclist was staying out of traffic's way, heeding the lights, and planning to follow the clearly marked bike lane through the intersection toward the bridge. I'd urge police to remove any blame from the bicyclist, but I wouldn't urge them to lodge any charges against the trucker. This was a tragic accident that would be very difficult to prevent with the current road configuration.
What is needed here is a separate, barrier-protected bike lane. Cambridge has somewhat better bike protection on the other side of the bridge. The markings at this intersection are confusing, wearing out, and illogical. The bike lane in the other direction is not much better. It's ridiculously skinny and almost less safe than no bike lane at all. My verdict: neither the trucker nor the bicyclist was at fault. It was an accident.
No
It was incompetent driving that took the life of a human being.
Stop excusing and waving off incompetent driving. Stop making excuses for the company cheaping out on the proper way to bring a truck this large into the city. Stop enabling police incompetence in investigating incidents.
Barrier-protected bike lanes
Barrier-protected bike lanes do not prevent right-hooks, since the barrier must end at every intersection.
In fact, they probably make right-hooks more common, since they make it impossible to position yourself correctly, and can impede visibility if done badly (bikes popping out from behind parked cars -- hello "protected" bike lane in Central Square).
I really don't understand why
I really don't understand why the City had marked the intersection this way during this period of time. Clearly, even now, no one really understands what each lane is supposed to be for.
When the Mass Ave bike lanes were first striped in 2012, the right-most lane was marked as right turn only/shared for bikes (and also it was a bus stop), as seen here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3507793,-71.0894752,3a,75y,319.73h,72.79t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFa6bDnT_-97u8lrfzTwa2w!2e0!5s20121001T000000!7i13312!8i6656
The markings faded, and at one point the pavement was patched in this location, leaving no markings, in 2014:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3507966,-71.0894668,3a,75y,319.73h,72.79t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOPn2l6miiEcUYsG7rEqoQA!2e0!5s20140501T000000!7i13312!8i6656
Then, when the City repaved that part of the intersection in 2015, they restriped with the right lane unmarked, and the middle lane as shared with bikes:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.350764,-71.0894632,3a,75y,319.73h,72.79t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1skKd6Prd1IpA9EeNIaumqag!2e0!5s20150701T000000!7i13312!8i6656
This is how it was when Anita was killed. I always wondered why they marked it this way rather that how it was prior. It was very confusing. Drivers would often turn right from the middle lane rather than the right lane, both cars and trucks. There were many near-misses with bikes getting right-hooked by drivers turning from the "wrong" lane.
Thank you for researching
Thank you for researching this!
It boggles my mind how bad BTD is at repainting road markings, even in the most critical places. Tracking some of them on Street View, they've gone unfixed for 7-8 years or more.
Downhill
I’ve read all the comments on this story.
I bike to work everyday...thousands upon thousands of miles all over the Boston area.
This is a tragic accident.
No one has mentioned that the road from the bridge to this intersection is downhill. I know because I have hauled ass down this spot on my bike countless times over the past decade. It’s super fun to carry speed downhill on a bike especially when there is an upcoming uphill on the far side.
When I drive in the city I find, on some roads, that it’s nearly impossible to drive safe and also be out of the way of all bikers...and I bike everyday! When I bike I create space. When I pick up speed on bike or car I create more space.
You want to dismiss this ....
... as a “tragic accident”. Clueless.
Maybe you’re just too busy getting thrills speeding to think much.
There is relatively little
There is relatively little grade at that stretch of road. That is a bizarre comment. That intersection is so congested, it would be crazy to speed.
It's enough of a grade that
It's enough of a grade that when you're on a bike, once you get to the end of the bridge, you will pick up speed as you head towards Beacon St even without pedaling. Whenever I bike through there, I always brake to slow myself down approaching Beacon St, since drivers will often either underestimate my speed or not see me at all, and turn in front of me when they don't really have time, so I need to be able to slow way down or stop for them.
Such a horrible accident but
Such a horrible accident but that truck would have crushed a car, would have killed a pedestrian and while it was an accident still doesn’t absolve that driver of his fault/ negligence. That truck was going way too fast for that turn and the biker was in the lane riding behind then parallel to the cyclist. Who cares if it wasn’t a bike lane.
Many accidents happen at NorthWest corner MassAv & Beacon!
Many driving accidents happen at the NorthWest corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Beacon Street !
Records of driving accidents sorted by location would demonstrate the need for even more, even better engineering design for accident prevention.
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