Cambridge Cop Hits Cyclist
Written by Boston Biker on Jul 22Got this in the mail, if true it seems that the Cambridge police department needs to train their officers on how to park, and when to pull out, and oh yea how not to hit cyclists. That is if this is true…I get a lot of stuff in the mail, anyone else see this? Thanks Mike for the heads up.
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So I commute down Mass. ave from Cambridge into Boston every day, all year, and I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate on all the asinine things I see. Yesterday evening though, I’m riding through Central Square and one of those 5 o’clock 500 riders blows by me. Up ahead there is a cop car pulled over to the right, blocking the bike lane. Biker goes around cop car to the left. As the biker turns to glare at me, cop car does a u-turn out of the bike lane. Smack, biker goes down, cop car is now in the midst of a u-turn blocking traffic on Mass Ave. I stayed long enough to see the biker stand up at least. I didn’t know if anyone else out there heard of this collision (it seemed above the normal mass ave 5 o’clock incident) and if there were any opinions. I mean this biker was clearly an over aggressive douche, but I’ve been hit and don’t wish it on anyone. Part of me thinks the cop to be at fault, mostly because I’m a biker and he was in a car, blocking the bike lane, doing an unnecessary u-turn into traffic. I hate to assign blame to a fellow cyclist, but if this guy weren’t so adamant about letting me know that he can get to the next light faster than I can, he’d be riding today
instead of wondering what happened. It’s one thing when you’re riding for time, or exercise, but when you’re commuting down mass. ave, everyone just needs to calm down. I’m just glad the biker was wearing his helmet, and no one was hurt.
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Editors commentary follows:
What this seems like to me is a classic case of not looking before you leap. Also how bike lanes can be dangerous if people don’t remember they are still cycling in the road. You can’t park in a bike lane, that is illegal, you also have to look behind you before pulling out in any kind of traffic (but I would think you would be extra careful on mass ave at 5pm in a freaking bike lane). At the same time when riding your bike it is best to keep your face pointing forward. I would say the blame for this incident falls 90% on the cop, and 10% on the biker.
I don’t put much blame on the cyclist because it doesn’t matter to me much why he was turning around . Instead of turning to glare at someone, he could have been doing a quick shoulder check to look for traffic on his way around the cop in the bike lane. Turns his head back to the front just in time to see the cop has decided “RIGHT NOW” is the best time to pull out BLAM! Why he was looking behind him isn’t really the issue the issue is the cop pulled out into traffic without looking for what was behind (and oh yea was also parked in a bike lane).
If anyone has more info on this situation I would love to hear about it. Leave me an email, or drop it in the comments.
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By 3.14159 on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Maybe I’m failing to grasp the finer details of the account, but why is the cyclist an “over aggressive douche”?
[i]”one of those 5 o’clock 500 riders blows by me”[/i]
What is a “5 o’clock 500 rider”? And what is the difference between “passing” and “blowing by”? Is it just speed?
[i]”As the biker turns to glare at me,…”[/i]
[i]”… but if this guy weren’t so adamant about letting me know that he can get to the next light faster than I can, he’d be riding today”[/i]
Hahaha, get a load of this egomaniac. The author sounds pretty butthurt that he got passed by a faster rider who is also apparently an “over aggressive douche”. I’m reminded of the George Carlin line:
[b]”Why when driving everybody on the road going slower than you is an idiot..and anyone going faster is a maniac?”[/b]
It was an unfortunate accident but a funny witness account. I’m guessing that the author is either a paranoid egomaniac who assumes faster riders exist solely to instill feelings of inadequacy, or he’s a fat guy on a hybrid. Or a combination of the two. If the author hangs out here and wishes to defend his “aggressive douche” remark, I’d gladly eat my words, but from this report I’d just like to say that douches who live in douche houses shouldn’t throw douche stones, if you catch my drift.
By 3.14159 on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
^^^No BBCode? Now [i]I’m[/i] the douche 🙁
^^^dammit i did it again
By Dr. Kate on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
I think he mentions it because these people aren’t just fast, they are careless and reckless about their interactions with other cyclists. They do not seem to acknowledge that they are on city streets and not country roads or a closed crit course. That alone makes them dangerous and ignorant of hazards, when they are not actually causing hazards. Example of poor cycling in the city environment: forcing their way through to pass other cyclists on the right in door zone space.
That said, there is a cop that needs to pull his head out, too. You don’t pull out without checking your mirrors, even if that means you have to take your eyes off the 27 other distractions you have going in a typical cruiser.
By 100psi on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
yeah, what 3.14 wrote
i’m no time trialist on my commute, but i seem to constantly be riding further out in the lane and out of the bike lanes to pass slower cyclists. its especially treacherous on the comm. ave. lanes.
pick up the pace, mike. slow riders are more dangerous than fast riders.
By Dr. Kate on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Oh, and 3.14159 – why are you so defensive? Do you really think a cyclist has a “right” to treat other cyclists like crap because they are “in the way of being fast”? To violate numerous traffic and safety laws and endanger other cyclists and enrage the public at large because you are soooooo fast? Do tell?
By Dr. Kate on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
100psi, if you want to go fast get your ass out to the suburbs at 5am. City = traffic mix = deal with it.
By Dr. Kate on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Note also that that section of Mass Ave has a speed limit consistent with the speed that my husband averaged on three consecutive days of a 60 mile a day charity ride. In other words, get in the lane with the cars.
By 3.14159 on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Dr. Kate – I’m only being “defensive” in that I’m defending the victim of this crash from being insulted based on NOTHING. I think the author’s just an angry man who’s blaming the victim based solely on a *perceived* dirty look because he thinks HIS speed is the CORRECT speed, and anyone who goes faster than that is obviously reckless.
Is there any evidence that the victim treated other cyclists “like crap”, as you say, aside from the (most likely) make-believe dirty look? Was the cyclist exceeding the posted speed limit? What speed is appropriate for bicycling in the city? When are you going “too fast” and thus treating other cyclists “like crap”?
Let me guess: riding faster than Dr. Kate is riding too fast.
By patrick on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
I’m also a little fuzzy about what makes the cyclist hit by the car an ‘over aggressive douche,’ though obviously I didn’t see the glare. There’s also no reason to berate Mike for not riding fast.
If I’m driving a vehicle on the road and you are in front of me driving slower, I will change lanes and pass on your left. I’ll do this whether I’m in a car or on a bike (though it’s much more likely that I will be breaking the law while in the car because I do have a tendency to speed). We’ve all been rubbed the wrong way by people passing us (whether it’s the ‘glare’ of a passing rider or the sound of an engine kicking it into high RPMs), but I don’t think it’s fair to give these sorts of subjective judgments too much weight when analyzing a collision.
This reminds me a bit of Doug Most’s (that’s his name right?) infamous ‘What cyclists neglect article’: people blame cyclists who weren’t riding defensively instead of motorists who weren’t driving legally. It’s important to ride/drive defensively, but legality is more important. As far as I can tell, in this scenario the cyclists didn’t do anything illegal while the officer managed to violate the rules of the Commonwealth and common sense. You can’t park in a bike lane, and when going from being parked to moving, you check and yield to oncoming traffic. The description above makes it sound like the cop started moving after the cyclist was next to his car – and there’s really nothing you can do in that situation even if your eyes are forward; you’re gonna get hit.
The whole ‘he blew by me’ argument is distracting. The real issues here are, I think:
a)Motorists not looking for cyclists and not falling the rules of the road
b)Police officers in particular not following the rules of the road.
Best,
patrick
By mike laurin on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
hello, I am the orig emailer of the incident I witnessed on Mass. Ave yesterday. I’m a roadie, fairly quick,a nd can hold my own when need be. I’m also a commuter and know that commuting and road riding are very different. In a race, I would have taken the other rider. It was not a race, and all I know is that I am riding today, and this other guy is not. It is one thing to be faster than someone else, it is another to be unnecessarily aggressive.
Let’s not lose sight of the other issue here: no matter what, no one should have been hit last night. that cop should have looked, then pulled out. blame is shared, but both sides could have avoided it.
By h4ckw0r7h on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Fast cycling doesn’t need to be dangerous cycling. The occasional cyclist who passes me has typically been riding a light, fast road bike, and far too frequently doesn’t take the complete car lane but instead passes very closely as if they’re racing. I once stretched my arm left to signal and nearly hit someone who was doing this. I chalk this behavior up to their possible racing experience or knowledge compared to their probable inexperience and ignorance with bicycle commuting.
All that being said, it is extremely rare to see cyclists going faster than the speed limit, which is 25 mph everywhere on my commute. 25 mph is very fast on a bicycle, and it certainly isn’t breaking any laws. However, if you’re a strong, quick rider, it’s important to communicate your intentions, pass safely, take the car lane and leave plenty of room for the passee to maneuver around obstructions. There’s nothing wrong with cycling quickly per se, it’s unsafe maneuvers and lack of predictability and communication that cause problems.
By yikesbikes on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
“On your left!”
By cris on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
I think that there can be a little less stereotyping in this comments thread. I don’t think there’s a ‘typical’ 5:00 douche. In the 10+ years that I’ve commuted through Boston and Cambridge, I’ve had racing gauntlets throw down by roadies, fixies, mountain bikers, and retro grouches who are all eager to prove to total strangers that they can outpace me on their particular steed.
I agree that the cop bears the burden of the incident for not checking before moving, and the cyclist had right of way, but having right of way doesn’t mean that you get to suspend common sense.
By Marianna on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
I still don’t understand how passing a slower bicycle and an illegally parked car on the left is aggressive. But I’m sorry this thread turned into such wank.
And Mike, if you’re going to pop in to clarify your account, you might add information beyond how fast you are.
By 100psi on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
wank, ha.
thanks for the advice dr. kate. my ass and i do ride the suburbs, although 5am is too early and too dark for me.
if i could pedal my fixed gear commuter bike 25mph, like you’re apparent PRO husband, i would. but i can’t, so i ride in bike lanes when available.
i’m no doctor, so i don’t comprehend “City = traffic mix = deal with it”
but i do know: rush hour traffic + slow cyclists in the bike lanes = me riding in car lanes.
By KT on Jul 22, 2010 | Reply
Dr. Kate,
I’m not sure why you’re bringing up the speed limit of that section of Mass Ave. At that time of day, the speed limit is pretty irrelevant. The cars consistently average under 4mph (you can easily outpace them on foot without breaking a sweat). Threading your way between the unpredictable taxis, cops, and potentially-right-turning cars in the travel lane faster than 10 mph or so is pretty risky, as this guy discovered the hard way.
By Herzog on Jul 23, 2010 | Reply
I’m getting a kick out of reading these comments. It sounds like many people hear haven’t cycled through Central Square lately.
100psi’s suggestion that slow cycling is more dangerous than fast cycling is so extravagantly assinine that I would buy him a beer for brightening my day with it. Anyway, I’m one of those cyclists, and I go especially slow through Central Square, where there are hazards every few feet (crosswalks, jaywalkers, right turning cars, left turning cars, taxi stands, double parked cars, potholes, MBTA buses pulling over, trucks turning).
Anyway, the point is that despite going so slowly, I usually get through the Square faster than the cars. That means that you can’t actually gain any speed with aggressive VC — you *have to* squeeze in between cars, blow through crosswalks and red lights, etc. So yeah, in Central Square, at 5:00 fast pretty much equals reckless.
Most cyclists I see in the area seem to get this, though I do see a few douches who ride rudely and aggressively and blow through crosswalks a few inches in front of pregnant women, strollers, old people, etc.
By Herzog on Jul 23, 2010 | Reply
More concisely, despite what many people here suggest, it’s very easy to identify the “over aggressive douches” when you’re in Central Square at 5:00.
By slowpoke on Jul 29, 2010 | Reply
I’m with the person who said “on your left”–I am usually riding more slowly than everyone else, and I don’t mind people passing me, but geez, can’t people call out an “on your left” when passing? It really does make a difference to the cyclist being passed.
And that said, could people stop passing on the right? I mean, seriously, WTF?
I bike commute 12 months a year, and I am consistently amazed by the other cyclists who just ignore basic things like stop signs, red lights, and indicating when about to turn.
By slowpoke on Jul 29, 2010 | Reply
Cambridge police do bicycle-unfriendly things all the time. They are frequently parked in bike lanes, I’ve been almost cut off by squad cars turning across the bike lane several times, and they do not-awesome stuff like just *standing* in the bike lane, looking right at oncoming cyclists, and don’t move.
By matt on Aug 30, 2010 | Reply
I’m glad too that the cyclist had his helmet on.
that is all