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Bicyclist dies in collision with tractor-trailer on Comm. Ave.
By adamg on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 9:05am
Truck involved in collision. Photo by Mike Juergens.
UPDATE: BU Today reports the bicylist was Christopher Weigl, 23, of Southborough, who was pursuing a master's degree in photojournalism at BU. His Web site.
A bicyclist did not survive a collision this morning with a semi at Comm. Ave. inbound at St. Paul St..
At 8:51, Sasha tweeted from a passing trolley:
Body covered by a tarp. RIP. what a bad start to the morn.
Daniel Robert tweets the truck appeared to be making a wide right turn onto St. Paul from the left lane at the time of the collision.
Around the same time, a bicyclist was involved in a collision at North Harvard and Cambridge Street in Allson, but he suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
By coincidence, a City Council committee holds a hearing on making Boston safer for bicyclists today at noon at City Hall.
On Nov. 12, another BU student on a bicycle died in a collision with a 57 bus on Brighton Avenue at Harvard Avenue.
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Comments
The majority of the problem is truckers, though?
I'm going to have to be moderate on this one--I'm a regular bike-commuter, but I also work in the commercial driving industry, managing bus and truck drivers. The overwhelming majority of traffic scofflaws in this city--in this entire country really--are automobile drivers. Trust me--no bus driver/trucker wants to lose his/her bread-and-butter over something as ridiculous as what happened here.
And plenty of bikers need to be just a little safer out there around trucks and buses. I mean, common sense goes a long way--at least it used to. Bus and truck drivers don't have a rear view--they can't see you until you appear in their mirrors. And many cyclists, I hate to say it, are just as dumb as drivers at not understanding truck/bus blind spots. At least once a week I see some biker trying to outrun a bus or truck as its trying to take a wide right turn. Relax and wait. That one time the bus or truck driver doesn't catch you out of the corner of his/her eye at the last second and hit the brakes could be your last second on this Earth.
https://secure.flickr.com/pho
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/normanbleventhalm...
Oh look Commonwealth Avenue WASN'T exclusively designed for cars. Oh my they had dedicated spaces for pedestrians, carriages, horses, streetcars, and bicycles back in the 1880s.
Wrong street
If you look closely at this map, what's being shown is actually Beacon Street (look at the locations of Montfort and Monmouth streets). What's labelled as Brighton Ave is the current Commonwealth Avenue
Nice find but
It's dated 1880 and signed by Olmsted's office, but Comm Ave as we know it started construction in 1885 and was finished in 1895.
So maybe it's a really early sketch, or maybe it's actually Beacon Street as the other poster suggests.
You are right they designed dedicated lanes for pedestrians, carriages, horses, streetcars, and bicycles. There is, however, one type of vehicle that was not given a dedicated lane back in 1880 ;)
Yup, and there are still
Yup, and there are still dedicated spaces for all those uses (except the horse ones) today. Are you claiming that someone advocates dedicating the entire width to cars, from one building line to the other?
Maintaing facilities for horses in cities today would be interesting, but not a very efficient use of space and money. Even the Central Park bridle paths in NYC are no more. They opened them to joggers, and the cinder surface eroded due to lack of maintenance, so the trail became unusable for equestrians. That was one of the reasons why the last horseback riding facility in Manhattan closed in 2007.
It's interesting that the I, J, and K streets in the Back Bay alphabet were proposed for the Charlesgate area, but ended up in the West Fens instead.
Did Comm Ave ever have those curves at Charlesgate?
Perhaps you're new to the
Perhaps you're new to the discussion, so I'll help you out: announcing that streets were initially paved for bikes and not cars is no mind-blowing never-before-heard information on this site. That comment adds nothing to the discussion of bike safety in Boston. You are not enlightening the majority of readers here.
Everyone has responsibility for their actions on the roadway
Just this morning, probably around the same time as this accident, I watched two bikers run into each other (one was stopped, the other was going really fast, and the moving biker collided with the standing biker and fell hard). The moving biker blamed the one standing still because he was not looking out for the safety of the moving biker. I was stunned that the moving biker didn't take any measure of responsibility for his actions.
Cars, trucks, bikes, pedestrians, etc. all need to be aware of their surroundings and act defensively while driving. I've seen this time and time again in a particular western mass town where pedestrians just walk out into the road and assume cars will stop. They don't even bother to look.
While I'm sure there will be an appropriate place to put the blame in this situation, all parties need to remember their responsibility for their own actions.
what town
do tell?
It's gotta be
Northampton. The expectation that drivers are reading pedestrians' minds is really frustrating.
without naming towns...
...yes. Living there for the past several years, I've become a white knuckle driver when I go through downtown. I've become so overly cautious of the pedestrians that I'm nervous driving near the crosswalks.
Intriguing
Northampton has success at slowing down drivers around crosswalks? Tell me more.
BTW, Mass General Law states that motorists must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. No mind reading necessary. Must stop.
In Boston, crossing in a crosswalk is more of a whiteknuckle experience for the pedestrian.
no...
I'm not saying that Northampton has success in slowing down drivers. I was trying to say that regardless of pedestrian laws, many people just simply walk out into an intersection without observing their surroundings.
Yes, drivers have to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks by law. But pedestrians need to LOOK every once and awhile before walking. An experienced walker in an urban area can tell if a car will stop at a crosswalk or not.
For a driver, this is a tough situation. I may be approaching a crosswalk with absolutely no idea of what the pedestrian will do. Even if I start to slow down and come to a stop, they don't even look to see if I'm actually going to do that.
Bikers need to do the same. I'm not saying this guy was at fault, but the incident was in an intersection. Many bikers just zoom through intersections like the light isn't even there. Aren't they supposed to obey traffic laws too? Shouldn't they look to see what a car might do before executing their move?
I can't speak for everyone
But I am well versed in the art of "reading" cars to see if they will stop for me at a crosswalk, or whether they are able to.
However, everyday, I observe people huddling in the crosswalk waiting for cars to yield. They are afraid, they don't have the self-confidence to read speeds. And the cars do not stop, even though they are clearly trying to cross. The pedestrians have the legal right-of-way, but it is not respected.
Are you sure that in Northampton they are "blindly" walking out? Perhaps they see quite clearly that you are able to stop and that you should stop. I presume you haven't hit anyone yet. Their judgement must have been correct.
I don't understand why you are confused when you are approaching a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it. It doesn't matter what you think they are thinking. The law says that you stop.
As for this bicyclist, well we don't have all the info, but I have no reason to believe that he was violating any traffic laws, so I'm not sure why you brought that up. That's a kneejerk reaction that we see too often.
IIRC, what seems to have happened here -- right-hooking -- is one of (if not THE) single biggest causes of cyclist fatality. It comes from a long time assumption that "right turns are free of conflict" which is not true. I came close myself once, even though I don't ride much, when a woman in a sedan cut me off to make a turn into her street. Not sure what can be done except further education.
So, did anyone go to the
So, did anyone go to the hearing? Is it still happening? Anything of note? I really wish I could have left my desk for this one!
Bicyclist IDed: Another BU student
BU Today reports.
So sad.
This is just a terrible thing, for this young man and his family and surely for the driver of the truck too--he must be feeling awful.
At the risk of being repetitive, since I know I've said this before here--please be careful out there. Drivers, cyclists, pedestrians. Pay attention. Remember what your mom said and look both ways. Be aware of your surroundings. You young people especially...I know how much fun it is to fly down a hill on a fast bike but just take care. And wear your helmet and lights, lights, lights.
Is it my imagination?
Or do a large number of the most serious injuries seem to involve trains, trucks and buses? Everyone complains about cars - and I'm sure they do their fair share of carnage, but it seems like the fatialities involve these three modes of transporations far out of whack with their proportion of the traffic. Anybody have stats?
Bottom line folks - if you bike in the city, there is only so much that can be done to make it safe - and all of that comes at some cost. Biking on the city roadways is an inherently dangerous undertaking, apparently FAR more dangerous than driving or walking.
Prevalence versus vehicle size
In terms of sheer prevalence, bike versus automobile collisions far outweigh those with trucks and buses. However, yu're going to have more serious collisions with a truck or bus, when they happen, for three obvious reasons:
A. Trucks and buses are much longer and wider and can't stop as quickly as automobiles, especially fully-loaded.
A. Trucks and buses have more blind spots---which truck and bus drivers should be checking more, while, just the same, cyclists need to understand them and stay out of them as much as possible.
B. Trucks and buses make frequent passenger/delivery stops which means frequently crossing in and out of the bike lanes and bike traveled-ways.
Trains--c'mon. I'll say the same thing I say for automobile drivers. Trains run on tracks, period. It's not like trains are jumping tracks and running wild around the city.
Train stampede!
"It's not like trains are jumping tracks and running wild around the city."
The escaped train was captured by Train Control, sedated, and brought back to the train yard for observation.
Horns
Why don't bikes have horns? Like cars do.
Lights already too much burden
Getting cyclists to meet legal requirements of both front and rear lights is too much burden for many. Those who value their safety already go beyond the minimum with visible clothing, multiple lights, and often whistles or horns. Air horns seemed more affordable and longer lasting prior to Freon bans.
Good reasons to register bicycle include having bike inspections for working brakes, reflectors, lights, and general safety; anti-theft protection; law enforcement.
somebody loves big
somebody loves big government! we'll remember this post
When you actually start riding a bike....
...maybe I'll give your input some consideration. Until then, you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
I have a loud bell, but...
sometimes I wonder about a horn. It would be great to have some outsized mofo that I can hit during one of the frequent situations when a driver is looking at the their cell phone or the bag of donuts in the passenger seat and not at me. Ideally I'd like a horn bell with two options--a light ding-ding I can use for, say, alerting pedestrians on a mixed-use path and a crazy-loud steamship-type horn I can use in traffic.
I read about the
Young man who died. What a talented person and what a terrible loss. My heart goes out to his family and friends. I am also thinking of the truck driver involved in this accident who, I am sure, did not plan to collide with a cyclist today. Please stop the vilification of drivers. A lot of us drivers are out there, stopping for red lights, watching for pedestrians and cyclists, and trying like hell to drive safely.
Reports indicate
That the young man crashed into the side of the truck.
Thank you
Most of us on bikes spend time driving cars too--I don't vilify drivers as some kind of alien race, I just wish of them were more aware. Of course there are aggressive jerks out there in cars AND on bikes but it's the "I just didn't see him!" drivers who are really oblivious to people on foot and on bikes that make me more nervous.
Next bike vs man thread comes up
I'd throw $25.00 Paypal to the person who correctly guesses the amount of comments on that particular subject say.....8 hours after first post.
Any takers?
I'll throw an extra ten to anyone who guesses how many Swirly comments come into the mix.
What's wrong with you?
What's wrong with you?
Plenty!
What's wrong with you?
Pool or freeroll?
If you're freerolling us, put me in for 122/11.
Freeroll!
And I'm 100% serious on this offer!
The Ultimate Bike Lane
In order to improve my safety when using Commonwealth Ave I am going to buy one of these and just use the trolley tracks.
http://www.namsosinfo.no/?tema_id=&tema_art_id=295...
blind spots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzL0Kyk4m-8
Can we all just walk?
Can we all just walk?
Am I the only biker who
Am I the only biker who doesn't complain constantly or blindly defend cyclists who were clearly in the wrong? I lived in Allston and went to BU for three years and worked in Back Bay afterwards. Depending on the weather I would walk, bike, take the T or drive (when I could borrow a car). Biking was by far the best and fastest way to travel unless I had a lot to carry or it was pouring rain/snowing. I never got doored, hit, or even had a close call. Ever. I didn't get unreasonably angry at people driving cars... I understood they were all oblivious and on their phones so I made sure to never put myself in a position to be harmed by their negligence. I never wore a helmet but I did have a front and rear light with reflective pedals and would wear a reflective coat in the rain.
I don't understand you people who vilify car drivers. The train in Boston is god awful and unreliable, and the green line is by far the worst (specifically the B). Some people live too far away or have to bring too much back and forth to work or have to travel too far while at work or can't show up to work sweaty or simply don't like riding a bicycle. Maybe the roads were originally designed with bikes in mind but today they are indisputably designed for vehicles and the majority of people on these roads are in cars. I have never felt like more concessions need to be made for me as a cyclist, and whenever I read people's complaints on this site I can't help but think they are just whiny, self-important, over-entitled white people (except swirly girl who is confronted with racism and sexism 24/7 as a mother of a mixed race child). I will agree mass ave is terrible, but it is also terrible for cars
Who won DVDoff's contest
Did anyone win DVDoff's contest?
No...I said next time there's a posting of man vs bike
And to the morbid ones, that doesn't mean when someone dies either.
+ 1000
Yes!
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