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Another Brookline bicyclist hit by car
By adamg on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 10:17am
Nick Bonadies tweets a bicyclist was hit by a car this morning at Beacon and Marion streets, across from the 7-Eleven, possibly by a car that cut her off in an attempt to make a right turn.
That makes at least three bicyclists hit by cars in two weeks in a town that has been busy putting in bicycle lanes. No word on his condition, but cops and EMTs were on scene when Bonadies went by.
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Comments
Update: Police say motorist cut off bicyclist
Failed to check mirrors; bicyclist was taken to St. Eliazbeth's, Wicked Local Brookline reports.
Bull.
Not checking mirrors was not the primary problem here.
Unless the biker just jumped on her bike a block up the sidewalk, then both the bike and the driver were on the road at the same time approaching that intersection from the west. There's no way that car didn't pass the bicyclist or have approached the bike waiting at the light. The car should have been WELL aware of the bike because it's not like there's a lot of previous side streets on that stretch of road for the bike to have appeared from suddenly which might have caught the driver by surprise (all on top of the fact that they should have checked their mirror ANYWAYS).
Sigh.
It is called a right hook
It happens for two reasons:
The driver had both cel phone and head up his or her ass
The driver decided to try to kill a cyclist
I'm with Kaz - bullshit on the mirror. This is a failure to pull head out, at the very least.
Three other possible reasons for crash:
Cyclist failed to anticipate that car would make right turn.
Cyclist decided to assert right of way by trying to 'beat' car through intersection.
Cyclist was listening to iPod and totally unaware of surroundings.
In other words, don't automatically assume it's ALWAYS the driver's fault when these things happen.
Nuh uh
Cyclists don't have to anticipate the right turn. Traffic laws give the cyclist the right of way.
Cyclist will always "beat" the car, because they are protected under law.
I don't care if the cyclist was putting in their contacts while wearing a hooded jacket backwards, they still get the right of way.
It's the driver's fault here. You can't come up with a scenario where a driver hits a bike in the bike lane by turning right into them or in front of them, because the new law this year has made that explicitly illegal and a ticketable offense.
read the article
"A woman was struck by a motorist on Beacon Street Wednesday, Sept. 23, after the driver made a right turn across a bike lane without signaling, according to police.
The woman was reportedly thrown from the bicycle and was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton.
Officer Ronnie McNeil said the crash took place shortly before 9 a.m., as both the motorists and bicyclists were heading eastbound. McNeil said the driver was taking a right onto Marion Street when the incident occurred. The TAB could not determine if the motorist was cited before deadline."
It's pretty hard to anticipate a driver making a right turn when they suddenly do it without signaling. Drivers forget that cyclists are basically in another lane- they have the right to pass on the right, etc. And given that cars travel faster than most bicyclists, the driver in question most likely had just passed the woman.
If you're so unaware of your surroundings, you DO NOT BELONG ON THE ROAD. Maybe an enterprising person can file a dangerous driver complaint with the RMV and have this asshat's license revoked.
My comments were in response to SwirlyGrrl's comments that
the driver was likely either on a cell phone or just felt like killing cyclists.
And I agree, it's pretty obvious in this case that the driver was at fault.
How else can you make that mistake?
Cel phones are a major cause of rectocranial impaction. Then again, Boston drivers suffer from that all around - too many people got their license for being able to parallel park and only that.
Test everybody, test thoroughly, and retest every 5 years. You want to drive? Prove that you can.
I feel bad for the biker but
I feel bad for the biker but worse for the motorist. The way bikes are driven on Beacon Street is atrocious. Bikers rarely stop for red lights. They weave in and out of traffic. It is a wonder that more bikers are not injured. Why can't they just obey the traffic laws? If they did, we could work on the issue of safety and help drivers to learn better techniques to make the roads safer for all.
Sniffle
Kanye says: "Yo, Brookline Driver, I'm really happy for you. I'm gonna let you finish but this bike rider was following all of the laws all the time. All of the laws all of the time!"
In other words, who cares how other people ride or how bad you think other bikers are on Beacon Street? This girl was in the bike lane doing the right thing and got hit. You ask, "Why can't they obey the traffic laws"?? ...She WAS!
I feel bad for the driver but
worse for the biker, who ENDED UP IN THE FUCKING HOSPITAL through no identifiable fault of her own.
The way cars are driven on Beacon Street is atrocious. Cars rarely stop for red lights. They weave in and out of lanes. It is a wonder that more bikers are not injured. Why can't drivers just obey the traffic laws? If they did, we wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place.
of bikes and beacon
This is one of the intersections that I think has been made worse (for everyone - bikers, pedestrians and vehicles) by the Beacon reconstruction.
This is a particularly difficult intersection on a bike, which is why I avoid the area when I am on mine, notwithstanding the bike lane. A particular problem is that a biker will often find herself proceeding easterly down the hill at a pretty good clip, and approaching the light at Marion, where cars are stopped at a red light. The 2nd, 3rd, or 4th car in line intends to go right onto Marion (no signal), and has been sitting at the light for a bit. The operator of that vehicle will often neglect to look right (or in the mirror) and the cyclist, who is now moving substantially faster than the traffic, will suddenly have a car directly in front of her and absolutely nowhere to go.
I am a driver and a cyclist. Doing a lot of both has sensitized me to the potential problems, which I think is part of the reason why I have been able to avoid them. Another reason is that that I proceed under the presumption that everyone is an imbecile, and will do something stupid that will put me and others at risk. Unfortunately, this often is the case. But the final, and most important one is that regardless of whether I am right, I am always prepared to yield my right of way because it is not worth sitting in a hospital bed or standing in a courtroom for.
bike lanes
issacg, you've provided a very good illustration of one of the major problems with the Beacon Street bike lanes. Customary traffic principles say that any vehicle turning right should be to the right of traffic that's going straight. The bike lanes put straight-ahead cyclists to the right of right-turning traffic -- a very dangerous position. If you're going to have bike lanes (which in my opinion cause more problems than they solve - right hooks, door zone, etc), then they should be set up so that those cars that are lining up for a right turn are all the way on the right side of the street, and cyclists going straight be directed to the left of those right-turning cars.
I have similar problems going westbound on Beacon at the intersection with Corey. There used to be a right-turn-only lane, so if I was on my bike going straight, I'd know to merge to the left, to be in the straight-ahead lane. Now they have the bike lane to the right of right-turning traffic, and hardly anyone, drivers or cyclists, seems to know how to go through there safely.
re. bike lanes
Please note: My comment above should NOT be interpreted as exonerating the driver, who was most likely at fault in this collision.
Right turning cars
JonT makes a very good point. As an avid cyclist, I'm really careful when there is a line of cars either stopped or going slowly enough that I can pass them on the right. I don't zip up the right side going 20 mph because I really don't expect a car to look in his right mirror for a bike coming up on him. As a car driver, I don't do it because it's just not natural. The cyclist has be careful in this situation. Now, this is on roads without a bike lane.
When in the city in a bike lane, the situation is different because of the dedicated lane, but the question is, are drivers even aware of the bike lane? Will they look in their right mirror before turning right? I don't think a cyclist should expect it, and should ride cautiously when zipping up on the right. Face it, when you're in a bike lane, you're in No Man's land with parked cars (with their doors) on one side, moving cars on the other, and pedestrians all over the place. Lots o' stuff going on, and fast.
The right hook is a whole different matter. The way this usually happens is that a car has recently passed a cyclist and is aware (or should be aware) of his/her presence, but decides to cut in front of the cyclist anyway. This is unacceptable, and the driver should be shot on site. ;-)
I'm not judging what happened in this specific incident, because I simply don't know. I'm trying to point out that there are different situations out there and cyclists have to be aware of them. Drivers also have to get used to bike lanes and respect them.
Does anyone know if the biker is OK?
I hope that the biker is OK.
I also hope that the driver was charged with failure to yield.
Bike lanes are great, but unfortunately the magic white lines don't protect you against stupid drivers in multi-ton vehicles. My general rule is never to pass a moving car on the right, even if I have the legal right of way. It's just too hard to predict when some idjit is going to suddenly lurch to the right. They might not even be turning right- they might just be deciding to appropriate the bike lane as a double parking space, or be turning around to yell at their kids and swerving.
My hope is that the increase in bike lanes will lead to an increase in bikers, and that as bikers become more common people will actually start to SEE them. Over on this side of the river in the People's Republic where bike traffic is a lot heavier and bike lanes more common, I have noted an increased incidence of people actually looking to make sure they're clear of me before turning and even (gasp) yielding the right of way before they turn across the bike lane. Although I won't trust my life on it, I'm glad to see it and hope that it spreads across the river.