bicycle safety announcement
My apologies for interrupting this blog's regular programming, but I believe this is an important public safety announcement:
Please check the street for cars AND bikes (and pedestrians for that matter), before you open your car doors:
The former general counsel of Comcast Corp. was killed yesterday as he bicycled down Main Street in Moorestown, police said.
Stanley Wang, 67, of the 500 block of Sentinel Road, was traveling east on Main Street around 12:20 p.m. when the driver of a parked Dodge Dakota pick-up truck opened his door. Wang struck the door and was knocked him from his bike into the street.
Wang was then struck by a passing Chevrolet Cavalier driven by Kellie Gifford, 19, of the 100 block of Winthrop Avenue.
Wang, the former general counsel of Comcast, was taken to Kennedy Memorial Hospital - Cherry Hill, where he was pronounced dead at 1:08 p.m.
Police are not releasing the name of the driver of the pick-up truck.
The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Randy Pugh at 856-914-3045.
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5 comments:
It should also be noted that because bicycles are considered vehicles and thus have the same rights, they are also subject to the same traffic laws. This means obeying traffic signals and stop signs, following street direction appropriately, and not riding on the sidewalk.
As both a cyclist and a driver, it's hard to have sympathy or respect for cyclists when they expect others to watch out for them, but feel no responsibility to follow any rules.
I completely agree with you on the latter point-- though I admit to being guilty of rolling through red lights when there's no traffic around and occasional slow riding on the sidewalk.
That being said, none of my accident close calls have come as a result of my disobedience of traffic laws.... but rather situations where I was obeying traffic laws, but the driver did not notice that I was there or had the right to be there.
So yes, cyclists should not ride recklessly, but drivers should also take extra care to check for bike riders. When bike riders break traffic rules, they are most likely to endanger themselves. However, when drivers don't pay attention or break the traffic laws, they're more likely to hurt someone else.
Bikes are not cars. To expect them to behave exactly like them is impractical given entrenched car-bike culture.
For instance, I've tried stopping at 4-way intersections as a car would, but it just creates awkwardness. Cars expect you to go, or at least are afraid of going at the same time, so they generally sit and wait until you do, or floor it angrily after a while. It's often easier for everyone if you just go.
Likewise, getting a head start on the red light at an intersection can make it easier and faster for the drivers behind you.
It's true that many bikers recklessly and unnecessarily endanger themselves and others. But I think it is particularly callous to say these get what they deserve if they're killed on the road. And getting doored hardly requires irresponsible behavior.
Nicholas -- Well said.
This was a very sad day. Mr. Wang was just two weeks away from retirement. My heart goes out to his family.
My suggestion was not at all that cyclists or anyone else deserves to get injured under any circumstance. My frustration for fellow cyclists complaints is the same as drivers who complain about bad driving while they roll through stop signs.
I think it's certainly fair for drivers to have a greater onus for paying attention, as their vehicles are capable of causing more harm to more people with each action. My only point in bringing up the other side is that it's not a one-sided issue. No cyclist has the right to expect protection from laws they are not willing to follow.
That being said, it is indeed a sad day when anyone dies or is injured senslessly.
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