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Articles Posted in Bicycle Accidents

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A 33 year old man suffered critical personal injury in a NYC bicycle accident. The bicyclist was riding north on Graham Ave when he was “doored” by  the passenger of a legally parked car. After crashing into the open door of the parked car he fell onto the street. He was then run over by another car driving by.  He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition with head trauma and torso injuries.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Brooklyn Bridge Bike LaneWith a new victim last week, the number of fatal bicycle accidents in New York City in 2016 has now reached 15. In only 8 months the number of bicyclists killed this year in New York City has reached the same number as the number of bicyclist killed during the entire year of 2015. Among these 15 bicycle accidents, 8 of them occurred in Brooklyn, 3 in the Bronx, 2 in Manhattan, 1 in Staten Island and 1 in Queens. In a recent article in the New York Time, Eli Rosenberg provides an in depth analysis of this worrisome rise of fatal bicycle accidents in Brooklyn and what is being done and could be done by the city to prevent them.

The bicycling culture in Brooklyn is the strongest of all 5 boroughs. It has the highest number of bicycle commuters of in the city. However, despite this enthusiasm for this healthy mode of transportation, Brooklyn streets are still very hazardous to bicyclists.  Despite Vision Zero efforts to make streets safer, bike lanes, especially protected bike lanes are still lacking in many areas of Brooklyn. The recent death of 35 year old Matthew Von Ohlen is proof that unprotected bike lanes are not enough to make the streets safe.   Protected bike lanes have statistically proven to reduce the number of injuries related to accidents by 20%.

As the number of people using their bikes to commute around Brooklyn continues to grow, there is an obvious need for the city to act fast in continuing to create protective bike lanes for bicycle commuters in Brooklyn. While Manhattan already has 122 miles of protected bike lanes, Brooklyn is much larger than Manhattan and yet only has 84 miles of protected bike lanes. 15 more miles are planned to be installed in 2016.  15 miles is better than nothing but still seems like very little. Large areas of South Brooklyn where 3 cyclists died this year still have no bike lanes, protected or not.  In his article Eli Rosenberg concludes that there is still a lot to do including changing the old mentality that cars rule and to protect the 18,300 Brooklyn bicyclists who commute to work daily.

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central park bikingA bicyclist suffered serious head injury in an accident in Central Park, New York City. The bicyclist was riding his bike in Central Park when, according to the police, a pedestrian stepped into the crosswalk in front of him.  The bicyclist squeezed his brakes hard and swerved to avoid the pedestrian. He flew over the front of the bike and landed on his head, on the pavement, 25 to 30 feet away from the bike. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. He was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He suffered serious body and head trauma. The police didn’t tell the NY Daily News if the pedestrian had the green light but the investigation is ongoing.

Last year in a similar scenario, a bicyclist killed a pedestrian in Central Park. The pedestrian was also in the crosswalk when the accident happened. According to witnesses, the bicyclist who was riding well over the maximum speed of 25 mph swerved to avoid other pedestrians before fatally striking 59 year old Jill Tarlov, a CBS senior VP. After the accident the minimum biking speed in the park was lowered to 20 mph instead of 25 mph.

Yesterday another bicyclist died from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident in Central Park. According to Patch.com, the victim fell of her bike a month ago. 54 year old Gloria Garcia was visiting New York from Texas. She sustained a head injury and had been hospitalized since the accident which occurred on July 17th.

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schenkman-michaelA bicyclist was fatally struck by a car in NYC. Yesterday morning, 78 year old Michael Schenkman was riding his bike on Northern Boulevard in Bayside, Queens when he was struck by a car. Michael Schenkman was an avid biker and a member of Transportation Alternatives. He was riding his bike every morning for 20 miles. The accident occurred on Northern Boulevard near 223rd Street around 6:30 am. The 25 year old driver of the car stayed at the scene of the accident and so far hasn’t been charged. A picture in the NY Daily News shows that the impact was so strong that the windshield was completely destroyed. In an article in Street Blog, Brad Aaron  suspects that the driver was speeding.

Michael Schenkman is the 16th victim who died in a bicycle accident in New York City this year. The number of bicyclists fatalities is on the rise in the city. Last year during the entire year 14 people died in bicycle accidents.

After yesterday’s accident, Transportation Alternatives released a statement asking the mayor to implement the Vision Zero Initiative to make the streets of New York City safer faster.

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A NYC bicyclist struck by a car driven by a murderer says he is lucky to be alive. David Hunter, a Brooklyn Fashion designer, was injured in a scary bicycle accident a few blocs away from his house last Saturday afternoon. He was waiting at a light to cross Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park. A man in a car was also waiting at the intersection and Hunter looked at him a brief second crossng the street in front of him.  As he was crossing the man in the car turned around and started to follow him. He looked very angry and kept saying “f—er, f—er, motherf—er”. He started to speed and intentionally struck the bicyclist who couldn’t pedal fast enough to escape. The bicyclist was thrown on a parked car. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet as his head hit the bumper of the car. Hunter lost consciousness as the crazed car driver continued to yell and curse by the window before taking off. Later on as witnesses took the plate number of the crazy driver, police discovered that the he was a cold blooded assassin. Oscar Morel, the driver, was indeed the man accused of killing Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, 55, and his assistant Thara Uddin, 64. He was fleeing the murder scene when he struck David Hunter.

Read more in DNA Info

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57 pedestrians, 21 bicyclists and 289 motor vehicle occupants were injured in a car accident between 2010 and 2014 at the intersection of Atlantic Ave and Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York City. 5 people also died in crashes at this same location between 2008 and 2016. This busy intersection is one of the most dangerous in New York City and the Department of Transportation wants to make it safer. Last week the DOT presented  a study of the actual traffic conditions at this intersection and proposals to make it safer. As of now, pedestrian crossings are extremely long, the traffic is heavy and often conflicting with pedestrians while turning. Bike lanes do no connect, taxi and buses block the traffic while dropping passengers and the sidewalk design is not appropriate. The intersection is very dangerous. The DOT proposes not only to redesign the intersection of of Flatbush Ave and Atlantic Ave but also the Flatbush Ave intersections near Hanson Place and Ashland place. Among the changes, the plan includes the addition of pedestrian islands and curb extensions to reduce the crossing distances as well some blocks being converted to pedestrian areas and new signalization. The complete study can be downloaded here

Dangerous Intersection NYC

Picture courtesy of Google Map

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left turn crashes study DOT NYCIn New York City, left turn accidents account for 19% of the crashes that kill or severely injure (KSI) pedestrians and bicyclists compared to 6% for right turns.

At most New York intersections drivers are permitted to tun left while pedestrians are in the crosswalk. While pedestrians have a false sense of security because they are in a crosswalk, left turn drivers often concentrate  on on coming traffic while turning and fail to look for pedestrians. Additionally because they can be taken at a wider angle, motorists tend to take left turns at a higher speed than right turns.

From 2010 to 2014, 108 pedestrians and bicyclists were killed by drivers turning left in New York City, that’s more than 20 people every year and almost two people every month.

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car obstructing bike laneBicyclists riding in New York City have an increased risk of being injured or dying in a bike accident when a car or a truck is blocking their bike lane. The cyclists have to merge into traffic to pass the vehicle blocking the bike lane therefore  increasing their risk of being struck by another vehicle.  People who are commuting by bike in New York City are facing this problem on a daily basis. Bicyclist advocates have been voicing their complaints about this dangerous matter on regular basis and the NYPD listened to them.  This spring the “Bicycle Safe Passage” enforcement initiative was launched. The idea of the initiative is that over several periods of one week during the year the NYPD would focus on ticketing all vehicles blocking the bike lanes or not yielding to bicyclists. This week marks the third week of the operation for this year. During the previous operation last month, the police ticketed 1,757 motorists blocking the bike lane and 810 who didn’t yield to bicyclists. However according to Streetblog, police were also ticketing bicyclists rather than focusing their effort on protecting them.

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22nd Street and 6th Av, GreewoodA man was critically injured in a bike accident in New York City last night.  The accident occurred at the intersection of Sixth Ave and 22nd Street in Greenwood Brooklyn, NYC (see Google map picture on the left) . According to the driver of the car who was interviewed by the NY Daily News, the bicyclist was coming very fast and blew the stop sign before hitting the driver’s side rear section of the car. The bicyclist suffered head trauma and was transported to the hospital. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident.

More and more bicyclists are injured or die in bicycle accidents in New York City. According to recent statistics published in Vision Zero View, 12 people died and 1,896 were injured in bicycle accidents during the first six months of 2016 compared to respectively 5 and 1,648 during the same period of 2015.  Therefore the number of NYC fatal bicycle accidents during the first six months of the year increased by 140% and the number of NYC bicycle accident injuries went up 14% compared to the first sixth months of 2015.

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bicycle accident locationA bicyclist died after being hit by a suspected drunk driver in NYC. 17 year old Sean Ryan was riding his bike at Gerritsen and Gotham Aves., near Marine Park in Gerritsen Beach when he was hit by a car driving South on Gerritsen. 3 other people were injured in the accident including one severely according to the NY Daily News. The 24 year old driver, Thomas Groarke was arrested. He was suspected of drunk driving and may be charged with manslaughter.

Picture of the accident location: courtesy of Google Map

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