UPDATE (4:30 p.m.): Police are looking for the driver of a vehicle that struck a 22-year-old woman near 38th and Spruce Streets, leaving the victim seriously injured. The woman was riding her bike east on Spruce Street when she suddenly fell. While she was attempting to stand up, she was struck by a car going west on Spruce Street, according to police. The woman sustained severe head injuries and was taken to the hospital, where she is listed in critical condition.
Here’s the description of the vehicle provided by police:
Dark colored four (4) door sedan with a light colored plate on the front possibly out of state or a vanity plate. Vehicle may have possible damage to the left front fender and or bumper.
The police also released surveillance video of the incident where you can see the woman riding her bike on Spruce Street and then being struck by a dark-colored vehicle:
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police. You can submit a tip via telephone (dial 215.686.TIPS (8477)) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.
EARLIER: A young woman riding her bike was struck by a car Thursday evening on Spruce Street between 38th and 39th Streets, according to a West Philly Local reader report. The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. and the car drove off after striking the woman. Witnesses said that it was a black or dark convertible. A few people attended to the victim, who was “responsive but very little” while waiting for the ambulance.
We’re trying to get more information about the incident and the condition of the victim.
October 11th, 2013 at 10:50 am
Hate to hear this. I hope she’s OK.
I bike a lot, but decided against it in Philly because the bike lanes add addtional burden to drivers that scares me, and that I disagree with. This is especially bad since Philly (all east coast?) drivers are so impatient and don’t want to wait for drivers to be careful in the presence of pedestrians or bikers.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:26 pm
This won’t change until there is enforcement of bike lanes. They are new, drivers must learn to respect what is a growing number of cyclists in the city, not the other way around. We shouldn’t base policy on the fact some people do not drive correctly.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:58 pm
Except she wasn’t IN a bike lane. And it was dark, and the roads were slick… The person who struck her shouldn’t have driven off, but this is why night-time bad-weather bikers frighten me.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:02 am
It doesn’t surprise me bikes get hit considering how bikes rarely if ever stop at intersections.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:25 pm
“…bikes rarely if ever stop at intersections.” Did you bother to read the article or watch the video or did you just start slapping on your keyboard? She wasn’t running a light or a stop sign. In fact, she wasn’t at an intersection. She wasn’t even *moving* when she was hit.
October 11th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Comment was posted prior to video update
October 11th, 2013 at 10:38 pm
“I gave my opinion before I knew what I was talking about” is not much of a defense.
October 13th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Totally a defense. Opinions can be formed without knowing all the information.
For example, my opinion has been formed that Sam Adams has nothing better to do but lurk on message boards and contribute nothing to the topic. Obviously he is a biker and is attempting to justify the lack of accountability bike riders have. Follow the traffic rules. Plain and simple.
October 13th, 2013 at 8:37 pm
Boy, you really are determined to prove yourself an idiot, aren’t you? Let’s do this point by point.
1) “Opinions can be formed without knowing all the information.” True. And those opinions are worthless.
2) I’m posting under my own name, “Matt,” because I stand behind what I say. And only with this response have I posted as many times here as you. So who has nothing better to do?
3) Do you even know what “lurk” means? By posting anything here, I am by definition, not a lurker.
4) Yes, I am “a biker.” I am also a driver and a walker, and see no reason why different modes of transportation cannot coexist without people getting hurt or killed. You seem awfully concerned about bikers following the rules — including in cases like this, where the supposed infraction is something you simply made up in the absence of facts — and less so about the person who hit someone with their car and drove off without slowing down. I’m pretty sure that would also fall under “follow[ing] the traffic rules.”
October 11th, 2013 at 6:18 pm
you will notice the Penn bus dod not stop either
October 11th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
You can see the light turn yellow then red as it passes through the intersection. Then the cyclist follows through the intersection well after the light was red. This is a sad situation, but bicyclists endanger themselves when they don’t follow the traffic laws. She is clearly passing stopped cars on the left.
October 12th, 2013 at 12:12 am
Not only after it turns red, but when the opposing light is green. She is also passing on the left when there is a double yellow in the road. It’s dark, and wet. I can’t see if she is using any lights. Of course it’s horrible that she fell and then was hit, but you’re also not doing yourself any favors by riding around town like that.
And yes I both ride and drive, and have owned bicycles for many more years than I have owned or had access to cars. I just wish everyone would practice defensive riding or biking – most people do – then this sort of thing would happen less.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:12 am
“…bikes rarely if ever stop at intersections.” what other kinds of sweeping generalizations do you make about groups of people? there are all kinds of riders, just as there are all kinds of motorists and pedestrians. there are idiots amongst all parties using the street as well as hyper considerate folks and those who exist somewhere in the middle who are just trying to get to work. your broad stroke stereotype is way off base, and counter-productive, and not really sensitive to the fact that some woman just got the shit knocked out of her by a car, whether it was her fault or not.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:17 am
38th and Spruce area is bad for bicyclists AND pedestrians! I was nearly hit pushing my daughter in a stroller–we had the right of way–the car had a red light, so I have learned to assume drivers will not stop. Yes, there are plenty of cyclists who do not obey the rules, and they annoy those of us who do, but there are just as many cars who break the rules too. Share the road and stop blaming the other guy…..
October 11th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
The point is somebody hit this person and took off, sweeping generalizations about bikes have no place in the discussion.
October 14th, 2013 at 8:28 am
+1
October 11th, 2013 at 5:51 pm
Based on where she’s laying, it looks like she could have gotten caught in the trolley tracks. Also looks like it could be considered no-fault if the car didn’t drive off (assuming the driver wasn’t speeding or anything.)
It’s all just awful. Hopefully she makes a full recovery soon.
October 11th, 2013 at 5:55 pm
Terrible to see this. Looks like the intersection pictured and at the start of the video is at 39th and Spruce and the accident is halfway between 38th and 39th Streets. At a recent Spruce Hill meeting we had a speaker from the Bicycle Coalition discuss the desire for a dedicated bike lane on Chestnut Street and the recommendation was to put it on the left hand side so that it wouldn’t compete with the buses that pick up and drop off on the right. You can see in this video that the bus is in the bike lane and cyclist had to go around. Something to consider as we look to avoid collisions like this in the future. Best wishes for the injured woman.
October 11th, 2013 at 6:03 pm
This makes me very sad. Spruce is a miserable street for biking. Motor vehicles often stop in the bike lane, which forces cyclist to go around by crossing the trolley tracks. Wet trolley tracks are very slippery. Probably every cyclist in west philly has fallen at least once on them. This really could’ve happened to any law-abiding cyclist.
The Philadelphia bicycling infrastructure is a joke. Putting some paint on the road is simply not enough. Biking is inexpensive, reliable, low-impact, and surprisingly quick. The city should invest in making it a reasonably safe option for even beginner cyclists. That means physical barriers and logical lane design (e.g. putting bike lanes between parked cars and the sidewalk NOT between parked cars and a vehicle lane)
October 11th, 2013 at 8:51 pm
This is a smart idea for many reasons. Besides moving away from the death tracks and reckless drivers, the likelihood of getting doored would be reduced by riding to the right of the parked cars. Every car has a driver potentially inside & ready to open the door, far fewer have passengers. They could put up a tiny barrier without really affecting the total width for travel. But if no barrier, all it would cost is paint and a few signs.
October 12th, 2013 at 10:10 am
This is a bit off topic, and I’m new to cycling so haven’t ridden in many urban streets, but wouldn’t that make the bikes less noticeable to a driver when making right turns? I know in baltimore a few years back a cyclist was killed who I believe was riding in a lane set up as you describe and a driver was making a right turn into a parking garage and didn’t see the cyclist coming up on the other side of the parked cars, and the cyclist was killed. I think the driver was at fault for not yielding to the cyclist but I just wonder if this type of incident is common with that set up.
October 11th, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Bike lanes in Philly (or, as I call them, killing lanes) are occupied mostly by Penn buses, Drexel buses, CHOP buses, VA buses, UCD buses, USci buses, etc. This poor young woman had to yield to the buses, got caught in the trolley tracks and run over like a a dog. We live in a brutal, brutal city.
October 11th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
It does look like the Penn bus is in the bike lane, so that’s not right. But, it also appears that she is attempting to pass all the cars in the regular driving lane on the left. Had she stayed in traffic and waited her turn, she would not have been out in the trolley tracks near the center line. A tragedy that would have been prevented by practicing some patience and following the rules. But, it doesn’t excuse the driver not stopping.
October 11th, 2013 at 10:36 pm
A woman has a severe head injuries and the person who hit her with their car drove off without slowing down, so maybe peddle your moralistic hypotheticals somewhere else.
October 12th, 2013 at 6:45 pm
That’s like saying we shouldn’t bemoan the poor decision of a child running after a ball into the street. Pointing out poor decisions is a good step in preventing others from repeating them.
October 12th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Rules are created for safety. Don’t follow them then don’t be surprised when bad things happen. Accidents still happen, but the likelihood is greatly reduced by following the rules. She was not.
October 13th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Agreed. Follow the rules bikers
October 13th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
What rules can you follow when the lane you are supposed to ride on is blocked? Bike lanes in West Philly are regularly occupied by illegally parked buses and cars… What are we supposed to do? Fly?
October 17th, 2013 at 12:30 pm
Get off the bike and walk it around the obstacle on the sidewalk. I know it sounds crazy — but I value my safety over my time.
October 11th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
That intersection is a total nightmare, even during daylight hours. I avoid it when possible and encourage my fellow cyclists to do the same.
October 12th, 2013 at 6:43 pm
We should encourage Penn to do something about it, as they have the power to actually change things in this town (and I’d put a wager that it was one of their students in that video)
October 12th, 2013 at 7:21 pm
There should be at least some trainings required if they want to use their bikes on campus. Many bikers new to the area don’t know the tires would get stuck in the trolley’s tracks.
October 11th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
In civilized countries, there are bike lanes that are segregated from 4000 l.b. vehicles. This event illustrates why, in the US, I ride on the sidewalk (as any sane person should). I carefully and gently avoid conflict with pedestrians. Most American sidewalks (except in the most congested locales) are mostly devoid of pedestrians so you can go a bit faster if needed. And you walk the bike if it gets crowded. You are 40 times more likely to be injured by a vehicle than a bike.
This poor woman was influenced by the nutty urban biker philosophy that it is fine to ride in vehicular traffic and move about as though you are a car or truck. You are not a car. You are dead meat on a bike in car traffic.
October 11th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Riding on the sidewalk is illegal and unsafe.
http://www.phila.gov/philacode/html/_data/title12/CHAPTER_12_800_BICYCLE_REGULAT/12_808_Riding_on_Sidewalks_.html
October 12th, 2013 at 9:58 am
As an avid runner and cyclist I know that bikes DO NOT belong on sidewalks for obvious safety reasons..it’s illegal for good reason
October 12th, 2013 at 10:55 am
No rational biker wants to hit a pedestrian since both parties suffer. A bike doesn’t want to hit a car for the same reason. On the other hand, a car can hit a bike (as we saw) and not even notice it. This outcome of this kind of asymmetric conflict is why sane people who wish to live and let live will always ride on the sidewalk but take care to demount when needed. It is a civilized, rational response practiced worldwide and I view my behavior as a form of civil disobedience. Yes, I am the Edward Snowden of sidewalk riding.
Of course it is illegal. But running over someone in your car and putting them on the critical list is also illegal. Which behavior results in the vastly more costly impact on lives and society? I think I recall there 6 pedestrian/bike fatalities in the United States annually. Compare than with the approximatly 5,000/year deaths due to car/pedestrian conflicts.
October 12th, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Wow, I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, bike lanes in West Philly are extremely dangerous, especially during heavy traffic. Parked cars and UPS trucks block them all the time, forcing me to ride in the middle of the street, and turning cars cut me off at every damn intersection.
I can’t see what’s wrong about riding *slowly* and *paying a lot of attention* on the sidewalk, especially when it’s almost empty. If it’s illegal that only means that the law is dumb.
October 12th, 2013 at 2:42 pm
I told the cop I was paying a lot of attention when I was driving 90mph on the nearly empty I-95, I think he listened but he gave the ticket anyway. I think the law is dumb too.
October 12th, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Sidewalks are for pedestrians. Roads are for vehicles (including bikes). If you don’t feel like you can handle biking on the road with cars, don’t bike. If you still really want to bike, take an urban riding class with the Bicycle Coalition and learn to bike safely.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
This makes me very sad…I hope the young woman is able to recover
October 11th, 2013 at 11:05 pm
While the hit and run is horrible, it’s clearly her fall on the trolley tracks that caused the accident. I say rip all of the tracks up and get rid of the trolleys. They make these streets so much more dangerous for bicyclists.
October 12th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
“Let’s rip all of the tracks up and get rid of the trolleys.” You’re kidding right? If not, where is the data for “thousands of injuries”?
October 13th, 2013 at 12:25 am
I’m not kidding. Road-level trolley tracks and cyclists simply do not mix. I’ve been in accidents due to tracks in Philadelphia and San Francisco — the two cities I’ve lived in with tracks in the streets. Nearly every cyclist I know in Philadelphia has been in at least one minor accident involving tracks, and several have real horror stories. A friend broke several bones in her face due to a slip on the tracks just a few weeks ago.
But you’re right. I may be overestimating in my “thousands of injuries” claim. Unfortunately, we don’t have solid data around this issue to reason from. No one keeps track of the number of bicycle accidents caused by trolley tracks, and cycling accidents in general are sorely under-reported. According to the 2012 PennDot Crash Facts & Statistics [1], there were 1,369 total bicycle accidents in Pennsylvania. Considering the estimated 36,000 bike commuters and 300,000 occasional riders in Philadelphia alone [2], we must be a blessedly accident-free bunch.
I know “rip up the tracks” sounds a bit extreme, but rather than catch another wheel in a metal groove on Baltimore Ave, I’d prefer public transportation that doesn’t set traps in the street. Maybe that transportation could also be handicap accessible, provide a spot for bikes on board, and not get hung up whenever someone double parks.
[1] http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdBHSTE.nsf/InfoFb12
[2] http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/files/Philadelphia%20Bike%20Facts%202008_Final_8_05_08.pdf (Their most recent public report is from 2008, sadly.)
October 14th, 2013 at 10:01 pm
There are ways to avoid getting caught in the tracks. This is what to do in order to avoid wiping out. Cross the tracks at as much of a perpendicular (90 degree) angle as possible. I live in West Philadelphia and deal with Spruce street on my commute on a daily basis and the last time I had an accident due to tracks was 2007.
One interesting historical fact, trolleys and the modern “safety” bicycle both made their appearance in major American cities in the 1890’s. In fact there was rather a craze for bikes around that time. This means that trolley tracks and bikes have been coexisting for over 100 years. In short, do stop whining about the tracks, doing so just makes you look like you have the inability to deal with an infrastructure that predates you, your parents and most likely your grandparents.
October 15th, 2013 at 10:57 am
If the road you’re biking on has trolley tracks, it’s basically impossible to turn 90 degrees without going into oncoming traffic. You should definitely cross the tracks at as much of an angle as you can, but in slippery conditions (as there were at the time of this accident), you can still have your wheel pop into the tracks.
Yes, there are ways to bike safely around trolley tracks, but just getting caught in one doesn’t make you an incompetent biker. I think people “complain” a lot because even if it just happens once, getting caught in the tracks can be terrifying.
October 12th, 2013 at 10:43 am
Among the rider’s made many tragic errors, one unmentioned is being unaware of of the deplorable condition roadway on Spruce St in that vicinity. I am a very experienced biker and that section of pavement has asphalt ripples and holes and all manner of deformities….I avoid it altogether because it is so dangerous. I suspect she hit the bumps and then went into the trolley track in an attempt to avoid them. Poor kid.
October 12th, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Absolutely right. It is tempting to try to get around the many, many buses that get backed up at that intersection, but it is an incredibly dangerous thing to undertake. Poor kid, indeed. She was wearing dark clothes, which makes me think this was an accident on the driver’s part, but no question he/she noticed that they hit something and then drove on. It’s a very sad situation.
October 12th, 2013 at 5:27 pm
Perhaps if we’re going to rag on this poor girl for trying to pass cars that were backed up in the bike lane, we should be AT LEAST as critical of those cars. Just sayin’.
October 12th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
She wasnt passing cars backed up in the bike lane – she was passing cars stopped in the driving lane. On the left. Cyclist who pull stunts like that give all cyclists a bad reputation.
October 15th, 2013 at 11:05 am
Oftentimes when I bike down Spruce, the line of cars that are stopped in the driving lane snakes its way down to 38th and blocks the bike lane there. I’ll admit that it is hard to see if that is the case here, though. I also agree that she still shouldn’t have passed cars on the left so close to the yellow line… mostly just reiterating everyone else’s complaints that people who stop in the bike lane are jerks.
October 12th, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Bikes shouldn’t be allowed in the street anyway, then want somebody to feel sorry when they get hit, point blank stay out the street, bikes don’t obey to the same rules as a motor vehicle so they shouldn’t be in the street, I don’t feel sorry
October 13th, 2013 at 5:49 pm
While I agree that bikes aren’t motor vehicles and therefore should not have to compete for space with motor vehicles, your implication that the fact she was on a bicycle makes it somehow acceptable that she was run over and left for dead is absolutely disgusting. This infantile “bikes vs. cars” adversarial mentality has got to stop. This could have just as easily happened to someone trying to cross the street on foot… oh wait, it happens all the time! People get run over by cars on such a regular basis in this city that it is completely normalized and accepted as a fact of living here. Why has this discussion been about unsafe bicycling habits and not the fact that hit-and-runs are a near daily occurrence in this city?
October 13th, 2013 at 10:17 am
There has been a lot of criticism of this woman’s unsafe biking. While I agree she was not practicing good defensive biking I want to point out a few things about this intersection that some may not realize, and just say that sometimes trying to navigate tricky circumstances leads to poor decisions and unfortunately dangerous situations.
1) The red light she ran is not a cross street. The only cars that come through that intersection are those turning out of the vet school.
2) I believe this is the location where the West Penn bus stops and waits (upwards of 10 minutes) to restart its loop.
3) Cars often form two lanes approaching this intersection at 38th. Cars turning left move to the double line and cars going straight or turning right move to the right, often into the bike lane.
4) A moving bicycle needs a lot of space to cross trolley tracks at a safe angle. Once forced between tracks to pass something blocking the bike lane, a cyclist’s decision about when to cross back over is sometimes difficult, especially when more cars are blocking the bike lane ahead.
October 13th, 2013 at 1:05 pm
So, is it okay for cars to run that light, too, since it is not a cross street and only has cars turning out if the vet school? If it’s not okay for cars to disregard traffic lights, why is it okay for bikes? what about the pedestrians who need to cross there, too. Should we all just selectively decide when rules are convenient for us to follow and when they are not?
October 13th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
you’re right, it’s still illegal to run go through that light on a bike, however I would liken it more to jaywalking than running a red light in a car. I doubt many pedestrians stop for that light either if there are no cars coming. I just wanted to point out that at that particular intersection it’s not the worst biking infraction one could make so I wouldn’t use it to classify this woman as an unsafe biker who got what she had coming.
October 13th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
I have never seen the Penn bus sitting there for any length of time. But if that is true and their bus sits and blocks the bike lane for 10 minutes at a time then someone needs to contact Penn and get that fixed.
October 13th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
I haven’t actually seen it there either. My info comes from seeing the bus stopped on that block on Penn transit’s GPS tracking app on while I’m waiting for it to pick me up. I do wonder if it blocks the bike line. I will send an inquiry to Penn transit services.
October 14th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
The Penn bus does sit there between loops but it is in the parking lane, not the bike lane, which is between the trolley tracks/car traffic lane and the parking lane. Looks like the Penn Bus may have been about to pull into the traffic lane so the cyclist tried to pass it but had to drive over the tracks to do so, and that’s when she fell. It’s tragic but this was bad judgment on her part; she was in a hurry to see her kid in the hospital and didn’t take the necessary precaution to wait until the bike lane was clear so she wouldn’t have to drive over the tracks – especially important when roads and tracks are slick, and it’s dark. That doesn’t mean trolley tracks should be eliminated and it doesn’t forgive any driver from not stopping after either hitting someone or witnessing it. I hope the victim and the baby she’s carrying will be OK.
October 15th, 2013 at 11:29 am
It’s usually safer for everyone involved if a biker passes a stopped bus on the left in this kind of situation. When there’s constant movement of a bus into and out of a bike lane, letting passengers off into the bike lane, if the biker can get ahead of the bus that eliminates the constant danger caused by the need for both vehicles to occupy the lane.
This conflict is why the Walnut Street bike lane on the left west of Center City is such a brilliant idea.
It’s easy to say that if cyclists just followed the rules all of the time then there would never be any problem, but in reality the rules have not been designed with cyclists or their safety in mind. The city streets are a complex ecosystem and various modes of transit need to do what they do (such as buses pulling into a bike lane to let off passengers,
or delivery trucks doing the same) in order to make it work. It would be great if the streets and associated laws could continue to be designed
and improved in light of this ecosystem, rather than continuing to insist that rules designed only for passenger cars should be sufficient.
That’s not to say that irresponsible behavior does not plague drivers, bikers, and pedestrians of all stripes in the city.
October 15th, 2013 at 2:26 pm
I’ve had to pass the parked Penn bus in this spot many times during my morning commute, and even in the parking lane, the width of the bus forces a cyclist to cross over at least the first trolley track to get safely past. The other option is to bike on the sidewalk to pass the parked bus. Waiting until the bike lane is clear is not an option for someone riding a bicycle as transportation.
October 13th, 2013 at 1:54 pm
CBS 3 has a video interview with the victim’s husband. She was biking to CHOP to see her 1 year old who is in the hospital. She is also pregnant. No one deserves to be hit by a car. Let’s hope and pray for her swift recovery and that the person who was driving does the right thing and turns themselves into the police.
Interview is in the videos section at the top: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/category/news/
October 14th, 2013 at 6:50 am
The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on this today. The bicyclist was not wearing a helmet. Not sure how much it would have helped in this situation. http://www.thedp.com/article/2013/10/car-hits-bicyclist-at-39th-and-spruce-streets
October 14th, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Oh, the inevitable “not wearing a helmet” comment. This is completely irrelevant to this situation as bike helmets are not designed to withstand a direct impact from a car going 40mph.
October 15th, 2013 at 8:51 am
Hayduke, you’re either being disingenuous or demonstrating astonishing ignorance. Based on the video, a helmet could easily be the difference between a few broken bones and a lifetime of complications due to brain trauma. We (i.e., the US and Canada) were supposed to have won this battle against the false perception that bike helmets are ineffective and uncool, but young adults in Philly have decided in their collective wisdom to ignore decades of medical evidence. Let’s not even talk about the fact that the driver might well have seen her had she been riding with lights or had she worn reflective clothing.
Don’t get me wrong – the driver is absolutely in the wrong for having left the scene and should be barred for life from driving. But I would like to see more bikers avoiding some of the bad choices that this poor woman made in her biking practices.
October 15th, 2013 at 3:18 pm
I have nothing against bike helmets, I wear one myself, and I agree that maybe would have been spared the more serious head injuries.. But what I’m trying to say here is that the whole “shoulda been wearing a helmet” argument is trotted out every time a cyclist gets hit by a car, regardless of the type of injuries sustained, as a way of transferring the blame to the cyclist. Bike helmets are designed to protect your head from the impact of a stationary object/ground if you crash at an average speed attainable by a bike, they don’t do a whole lot to protect against a speeding car. Again, people keep steering this discussion into being about bike safety, notice that she didn’t get injured falling off her bike, she got injured when someone drove their car into her without even slowing down! This could have happened just as easily if she tripped on a trolley track crossing the street on foot. Are we supposed to wear helmets, blinking lights and reflective clothing every time we cross the street?
Everyone keeps saying ‘oh that driver should be punished for this, but the girl on the bike deserved this for not being more careful.’ Well, guess what, that driver is probably long gone and will most likely get away with this just like the dozens of other hit and run offenders who slip away into the night and over state lines after running someone over, and this women has already been punished a thousandfold for the “bad choices she made in her biking practices”.
October 15th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
No one’s saying she deserved to be hit by a car. That’s ridiculous. Her accident does highlight a bunch of the issues with biking (for bikers and cars alike) in this city. Like it was said earlier in this discussion — pointing out errors is the only way to fix them.
October 14th, 2013 at 8:31 am
1) The driver needs to be brought to justice. Regardless of circumstance, any driver who makes a hit & run like that needs to be in jail.
2) The entire intersection needs to be re-designed and re-paved. There’s no reason to have such poor pavement quality and so many conflicting traffic movements shoved into one high volume intersection.
October 17th, 2013 at 9:05 am
Efficient biking relies on momentum. Too many bikers act as if anything that causes them to slow down or even stop (heaven forbid) is an unreasonable burden. There are lots of annoying and frustrating things about driving in the city, sometimes you miss a light because of pedestrians who have the right of way or because you are behind someone making a turn. You deal with it. Why should bikers be exempt?
I am biased and hostile toward any biker who feels that they are above following the rules of the road. I stepped into a crosswalk with the walk light and got hit by a biker who ran a red light and made an illegal turn on red without stopping. Then the a-hole had the balls to blame me for not looking behind me and over my shoulder before stepping out. I wasn’t seriously injured – just bruised, scraped up.