City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

More On Cycling Related Law Enforcement

With the recent vilification of cyclists by the NY Post, NY Daily News, as well as many within the NYPD and Parks Department, allow me to bring a little balance and perspective to the situation.

While it's certainly true that some cyclists break traffic laws and are a danger to others, it's also true that cyclists seem to be receiving a disproportionate amount of anger from the public, media and law enforcement.

The NYDN's four reporters who wrote the recent piece said that they witnessed eight cyclists speeding over the course of four hours. Contrast that with the observations of Transportation Alternatives who recently watched traffic during the morning rush on Jay Street between Willoughby and Johnston streets. In eight hours they found that 48 drivers per hour parked in the bike lane for longer than 10 seconds, (including an average of three per hour among police vehicles on non-emergency business). 18 drivers an hour blocked the bus stop, and 141 illegal u-turns were observed. Good luck finding a story about that in the Daily News.

Paule Herodote, the T.A. Brooklyn Volunteer Committee member who spearheaded the traffic monitoring effort said "Drivers on Jay Street display a dangerous disregard for their neighbors when they block bike lanes and bus stops and engage in potentially lethal behavior. Just as troubling is that the police officers we expect to enforce the laws are breaking them as well."

Here are a few more facts.

• More people are killed in traffic than murdered by guns in New York City. 
• A New Yorker dies in traffic on average every 35 hours.
• Half of the people killed are pedestrians.

Despite these facts, the media, law enforcement, and the public seem more concerned with the danger of a 20-pound vehicle than a 2000 pound one. 

Irresponsible & Unbalanced Writing from the New York Daily News

No doubt the issue of road sharing by cyclists, runners, walkers and cars in Prospect Park is a tricky one. And the serious cases of two pedestrians being seriously injured in collisions with cyclists are tragic regardless of who was to blame. But our friends at the New York Daily News have managed to write an almost implausibly one-sided, innacurate and irresponsible article on the topic. 

Let me state a couple of things very clearly. First, there are bonehead cyclists who make things bad for everyone. I am not defending them nor am I suggesting that they don't exist. Second, the accidents mentioned in the article were tragic. But that doesn't make the News' reporting any less slanted and irresponsible. 

First and foremost, the article is accompanied by a large photo of a cyclist in his sponsor's uniform. The photo shows a reading of 31 mph (6 mph above the legal speed limit) on the radar gun pointed at the rider. But it's clear that the rider in the photo is going at a leisurely pace up a hill, and is obviously not doing 31 mph, and not breaking the law. (Furthermore, the woman pictured walking with a stroller is in the bike lane and is in violation of Park regulations.) This is roughly akin to writing a story about a lawbreaking motor vehicle and then including a photo of a commercial van - complete with company logos - that had no involvement with the accident. It's a disservice to the rider and to his team. 

Speaking of lawbreaking motor vehicles, I'll be happy to meet one or more of the four intrepid reporters who wrote this piece in Prospect Park one day. We can use their radar gun and see how many cars exceed the speed limit. They say they witnessed eight cyclists speeding in four hours. It wouldn't take four minutes to find eight speeding cars. (And if they want to talk about dangerous, I'll happily give them a physics lesson on the forces created by a 2000+ pound car vs. those created by a 20+ bike and its rider.) They'll also find numerous drivers illegally cutting through the transverses, walkers and runners in bike lanes, and lots of other infractions that endanger park users.

The News states "two women were nearly killed in collisions with bicyclists in Prospect Park in the last six months — but that hasn't slowed down riders, the Daily News has found" but it's not until paragraph 15 that they mention that she may have been at fault and that the cyclist has countersued her. 

If the four authors are too lazy to look it up, I'll tell them how many pedstrians are killed by cars vs. how many are killed by cyclists in this city. And if they decide to take a break from making broad generalizations about cyclists, perhaps they can report on the dangers that we face and how the authorities ignore them. As brooklynspoke.com points out, "the same police force that says 'accidents happen' when explaining away its decision to not investigate the death of a cyclist killed by a hit-and-run truck driver apparently doesn’t apply that philosophy to accidents involving bicycles. Not only that, it now has the resources to station officers and vehicles in the park for hours on end to educate cyclists and enforce slower, safer riding." 

No doubt that cyclists need to do better, but that in no way excuses the News for its biased reporting. 

Parked in a Bike Lane?

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Wait Wait....Don't Kill Me

Sorry to see that Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me was hit by a car while riding his bike in Chicago yesterday. According to Mr. Sagal "I was zipping along on my racing bike (which, as it turns out, might be cursed) at about 18 miles an hour on a quiet road in a Chicago suburb, about ten miles from my house. I noted a hatchback at the stop sign coming from my right, I kept on going through the intersection,  but she didn’t see me and pulled into it. I had time to yell STOP STOP STOP! but not to brake, and she never saw me. She hit me with her left front fender, I think, not sure, but it was LOUD. I spun up in the air, came down on my back on the ground, possibly hitting the car again on the way down. I hit my head pretty hard on something, or somethings, but I was wearing my helmet and it cracked instead of me."

Sagal expects to be released from the hospital today or tomorrow.

No. Sleep. Til Brooklyn!

Last night was the 5th edition of our annual No Sleep Til Brooklyn Century, held every year in Prospect Park on the Summer Solstice. Due to the nice weather, our increased popularity, and looser regulations at mental hospitals, last night was the biggest ride yet. We had 19 starters for the 30 fun-filled laps.There was a mixture of grizzled NSTB veterans including Leanne Elisha (the only other 5x finisher), Ari Maisonave, Tom Buffolano, Michael Borden, Scott Towle, plus some new blood - NSQ, Jene Shaw, Helene Roth and Andy, Agnes Zbylut, Kevin (Brickwell) and Kenny Schmitt, Pete Kocher (Ride Brooklyn), Charles Olson, Raul Martinez Jr., Francis Laros, Dan Gallagher, plus Robert Watson who was a couple of minutes late and chased us for 2+ hours. We were also joined by half of Brooklyn's helmetless cyclists at some point in the evening, though they scattered as the evening progressed. Apparently immune to social cues such as "this is a team ride" and "if you're here you'd better plan to ride 100 miles", they stuck to us like gum on the bottom of our shoes, happily along for the free ride that our engines provided. Though the organ donors were less than welcome, some visitors were welcome. Our friends Danny Artiga, Mordecai Zibkoff and Kevin McNeill each jump in briefly.

Total time was 5:13:27 for the 102 miles. That's an average speed of 19.52 mph, and average lap time of 10:26.9. Our fastest lap was 9:41 (when the group smelled the finish) and the slowest was 11:08 (when the group tasted their food).  We also took a food stop that took 8:25. Despite the size of the group, the interlopers, and the masses in the park, the group stayed pretty much in tact throughout. Some wanted to go faster, some wanted to go slower, but overall we found the happy medium.

Special thanks to Green Light and Killary for delivering our supplies during the ride. 

Why I Take This Stuff Seriously

For those of you who wonder why I get my Lycra shorts all in a bunch over miscreants who park in bike lanes or those like Tony Kornheiser, clowns like this Facebook group, or this message board who joke about hurting cyclists, look no further than the case of professional triathlete Jordan Rapp who was nearly killed in a hit-and-run incident last week.  Thankfully, a good Samaritan likely saved his life.   

Cyclist Gets Doored, Calls Cops, Gets Tickets

When Seymour told cops at the scene that he wanted an accident report—which Seymour's attorney says is necessary in order to get the motorist to pay a victim's medical bills under New York's no-fault law—the unidentified officers were irritated. "He got very upset because I was insisting on having a police report," said Seymour, who claims one officer asked him, "You want a report? You want a report? I'll give you a report!" :

via gothamist.com

Let's Kill Tony Kornheiser

OK, let's not kill him.  We'll just tap him.

ESPN's Tony Kornheiser stepped in it again last week when, referring to cyclists, he said, "And they all, my God, with their water bottles in the back, and their stupid hats, and their shiny shorts, they're the same kind of disgusting posers that in a snowstorm come out with cross-country skis on your block. Run them down." After Lance Armstrong and others slammed him, Kornheiser backed off and said, "So you tap them. I'm not saying kill them."  

Yesterday Lance called into Kornheiser's radio show and the two made nice.  Still, after last month's rant against Hannah Storm's appearance, it's clear that Kornheiser (whom I generally like) has (understandable) issues with his own body, and resents those who are fitter and who respect their own appearance.  

Cops to Paris Hilton: Bike Lane is Not for Cars | TMZ.com

Paris Hilton was bitch-slapped by the long arm of the law yesterday -- after cops say the heiress was trying to pass several cars on Santa Monica Blvd. by using the bike lane. Paris was pulled over Tuesday afternoon when L.A. County sheriff's deputies claim they observed Hilton's black SUV entering the bike lane in an attempt to get around slower cars on the road. Hilton was cited for "unsafe passing" -- and sent along her merry way.

via www.tmz.com

You Don't Know Jack

From CNN's Jack Cafferty:

"Dan Rather was summarily shown the door by CBS when it was revealed he made a mistake in a report about President George W. Bush. No tolerance at the network of Edward R Murrow — even for the man who inherited the mantle of anchorman for the CBS Evening News from the most trusted man in America — Walter Cronkite."  

via caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com

I know this isn't exactly triathlon related but since Mr. Cafferty was involved in a hit and run with a bicycle a few years ago, I figured it counts. Plus it's my blog. And since it's my blog, I'll take a page out of Alec Baldwin's playbook.

I'll make a deal with you Jack. You don't suggest that an entertainer having an extramarital affair somehow disqualifies him from hosting a talk show, and "I won't say publicly that your being convicted of leaving the scene of an accident in which you struck a cyclist and then ran two red lights while you were pursued by the police and were subsequently ordered to serve 70 hours of community service back in May of 2003 disqualifies you from posing as a 'Man of the People' on a major cable news network."