I don't want to have to be the one to say this, but after reading about this accident and witnessing some scary scenes last night I just wanna remind everyone that this could have been any of us.
Everyone please be careful, especially when you've been drinking. Just because you're not behind the wheel of a car doesn't mean you can't get fucked up bad.
kyber11.18.07 - 2:13 pm
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The Manhattan Bridge was the scariest bridge i've ever rode a rental from LES to Williamsburg. It was hard to find an open bike path, and there is one there, but it's not marked well enough from brooklyn to manhattan. You have to fight against the flatbush ave traffic and it's worse than the wilshire blvd traffic here.
In a related story, the unfortunate tragedy [
http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/10/19/details-emerge-in-brooklyn-cyclist-deaths/ ] of a man i used to talk to on williamsboard,
Craig Murphey (he was nesyouth, I'm still jarvis fox there), was killed on October when he was hit by an oil truck on his way to his apartment. He was a kind man to talk to online. He'd discuss urban bike rides and i'd give him points on autism awareness. It was sad to see him pass away. It was an absolute disgrace to know the oil truck driver who hit him walked away (I know craig does not ride his bike against the flow of traffic despite the reports).
Situations like these has to call for insurance companies to cover medical liabilities on car insurance for cyclists on top of road-sharing and bicycle advocacy. The drivers in NYC are consious, but the truck drivers are not for the sake of meeting deadlines. It's worse in LA. The drivers and truck drivers are unanimously bullying cyclists and they have lawyers on speed dial on their cell phones as if they're not distracted enough. Ride Defensively.
Noble Experiment11.18.07 - 6:17 pm
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@nobleexperiment
The way I see it, you've got asshole truckers, then you got people like myself who go to great lengths to keep our rigs from the city limits.
AFAIK, the tanker truck-driver was most likely some "know-it-all", who drove fast and was stricken with "tunnel vision".
If his logs were read correctly, he could've been nearing the end of his shift and was probably getting tired, but didn't know it.
If you don't already know, "tunnel vision" for truckers is where they begin to start staring straight ahead, as opposed to watching all areas visible on the road.
Unfortunate cyclist fell prey to the narrowed vision and trucker hit him. If anything, the trucker should've not only been fired, but also had his endorsements stripped from his license.
Only reason I posted this was after my recent accident, I take anything involving large trucks with a greater interest than I used to.
Luckily when I crashed/rolled, it was only myself and no one else.
That and an assload of Ramen all over the 70 EB.
And at the moment, I'm trying to get back into it for the sake of gaining some accident-free miles to distance myself away from it.
I didn't want to stay driving forever, but an accident is no way to end a job.
@spook
Your OP is some scary-ass shit, indeed.
Nevermind the fact that the poor dude might've had a few drinks.
Even sober, it sounds like people would have trouble spotting that shit.
Makes me a little wary to even consider travelling to that area to ride now.
Not being funny, but I'll send in the drone or the advanced team beforehand.
bentstrider11.18.07 - 6:42 pm
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