Bicyclist dead after collision with 39 bus on Huntington Avenue

Where does it say the driver was at fault? He/she wasn't; the poor guy got stuck on the tracks and ACCIDENTLY got hit by a big bus.

MA drivers? You are aware MA has THE LOWEST road fatality rates in the nation, even though we have the 3rd highest population density out of 50 states (NJ+RI have the 1st and 2nd highest pop. density).............and Boston has the 4th highest pop. density of big American cities (behind NYC,S.F., and Chi.). The average Boston suburb has a higher pop. density than inner-city Houston, Atlanta, as examples. And Boston is not laid out in a typical North American grid pattern. The problem isn't locally raised drivers,most of whom would be ticketed every day in L.A. or Indianapolis; it's the folks who're used to less density and/or better laid out street patterns who aren't fully used to the uniqueness (by North American standards) of Boston. The driving culture, and culture in general, of Boston didn't develop overnight and it's mostly a response to the environment.

I have taken it upon myself to assume and anticipate that people in cars, on bikes and on foot will do stupid and reckless things: run red lights, blow through stop signs, ignore walk signals, cut me off, etc. In a city, whether it's Boston, NYC or L.A., being alert and on the defensive is the smartest way to be able to react at a moment's notice to save your life and/or the life of someone else. If you choose not to operate this way, then that's your right, but it's not the wisest, in my opinion and experience. I am in no way blaming any victims of accidents who do not follow this way of thinking, merely advocating it. I'd rather be alive than have your attitude of 'it's not my responsibility!'

Want to see what can happen if you put your trust in a dangerous bike lane? See:
http://www.rwinters.com/docs/DanaLaird.htm
(I generally ride that stretch of Mass Ave in the left lane, to avoid getting boxed in like that).

It basically comes down to this: when you ride a bike, you can set up some designated bike space, and follow a set of rules for your designated space, and hope that everyone else follows the same rules. And if they do, you'll be OK. If they don't, you'll end up getting doored or hit or something.

Or... you can drive defensively. Maintain control of your space. Avoid getting yourself into situations where you're at the mercy of others' inattention. That's the way we're taught to drive, and that's the way I believe we should bike as well.

I tend to agree with John Allen on the bike lane front. There are many many bike lanes that are fully in the door zone. And to me, that is dangerous. I won't ride within 3 ft of a parked car, whether or not there's a bike lane painted there.

In my experience, the existence of bike lanes has encouraged drivers to act in harassing and inappropriate ways when I'm riding with traffic. They see the bike lane as a convenience for drivers, not a facility to improve bikers' lives. There are a million reasons that even a safe bike lane can be blocked, and thus a million reasons why a biker might not be riding in the bike lane --- in addition to the need to prepare for a left turn. The stretch of Mass Ave from Central Sq. to Harvard Sq. is particularly bad in this regard: there is actually NO bike lane, but many drivers believe that bikers are "supposed" to ride in the 2ft between the solid white line and the parked cars, thereby leaving "their" lane to drive however they like. The EXPECTATION of a bike lane actually makes the drivers more dangerous to bikers on that stretch.

Another poorly designed bike lane is the new on on Columbus Ave in the South End and Roxbury (Northeastern U area). The street is wider than needed for the cars, and some time ago, planners decided to build a cobblestone median with that extra width. All fine and good. But when they decided to put in bike lanes, did they REMOVE the median, move car traffic toward the center and add a bike lane on the side? No... they just painted a "bike lane" that is fully in the door zone. That is just irresponsible, and makes it harder to bike on Columbus Ave.

To its credit, the new bike lanes on North Harvard St (Allston) are wonderful. But that's because planners actually removed on-street parking to create them (as well as a left-turn lane).

What happened to you is what happens when you don't control your space and someone else takes it for you. The problem is, there was not enough space for the van to pass you safely. But you still left him enough space to pass you dangerously --- which he did.

If there is not enough space to pass safely, you should ride in the CENTER of the lane (or even left of center), thereby deterring any serious attempts to pass you at all. Every now and then, someone will get huffy about that and start honking. You can choose to either ignore it (probably the best thing). Or if he decides to tailgate, you can slow down to increase your safety, because biking at 20mph with an SUV 2 feet behind you really is not safe. If you like, you can bring him to a full stop and waste his time for a couple of minutes, although the cops don't recommend that.

In my experience, cops (even Cambridge cops) are useless in these situations. They have no idea what it's like to ride a bike, and tend to have the attitude that you should keep your "toy" off the streets before someone kills you. Don't even bother reporting this stuff to the cops, it's a waste of your time.

Once, I encountered a particularly egregious driver. First he cut in front of about 12 cars at a stop light (rush hour traffic). Then he started tailgating me and honking (I was going the same speed as traffic, this WAS rush our). I eventually stopped him and kept him there for a few minutes, long enough to let him calm down a bit. He resented that, of course, because he was in such a hurry, and he told me he was going to be late for work. But his lack of free time did not stop him from reporting me to the cops, who pulled me over to lecture me about the incident. As I said, cops are useless...

So many traffic safety problems REALLY ARE about people who are impatient, stressed and in a hurry, taking risks with their own and others' lives to get somewhere a few seconds faster.