High Camp is Alive and Well and Riding a Bicycle

A "Conversation" Regarding "Crash, Not Accident" Article in The New York Times

AstoriaCentric facebook Group

May 31 to June 1, 2016

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Sometimes you just can't make logic work — like this post I made regarding New Your City non-profit organization Transportation Alternatives' campaign to change the nomenclature used to describe those unfortunate, often deadly physical meeting of motor vehicle and pedestrian and/or motor vehicle and bicycle.

Unfortunately, AstoriaCentric member Kara Bell nailed the location where I was born and grew up. Is it possible? Could she actually be a blood relative on my father's sister's side of the family?? I shiver with dread to think that this could actually be true. You'll see why.

In any case, she needs help. Again, you'll see why...

Oh... and I should define "/snark" for those who experience only a big "?" in their mind. It is [fake] HTML code, switching off SNide remARK. (I do have to admit that I've been visiting Daily Kos far too often.)

And, please note: "High Camp" (usually considered a 1970s phenomenon) is not dead.

As Harry Shearer says at the beginning of his program, Le Show: "Here it is!!"

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HALLELUIA!! About time. Transportation Alternatives is very much behind this change of nomenclature, and so am I, having had a recent CRASH (bicycle v. car and/or motorcycle... I don't remember...). There is no such thing as accidents, when it concerns vehicles and pedestrians.

[link to nytimes.com article]

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Kara Bell: That is foolish, if it is an accident that is what it is. If you spill a drink on someone, or bump into someone, are you at fault? No, it is an accident, unless you did so on purpose.

MVS:  It is certainly a crash until law enforcement determines who caused it. Still, few if any vehicles crashes or vehicle/pedestrian incidents are "accidents". There is almost always a causative factor - inattention , equipment failure, alcohol, and more. If you are not "in control of your vehicle at all times" [paraphrase from NYS Motor Vehicle Code] or if you are not actively watching where you are going, then it is not an accident. And if you are not "at fault", it is still a crash and not an accident, because someone else or something else caused it. There is always a cause - it is no accident.

If you spill your drink on someone or bump into someone, you are at fault; you were not paying attention and "in control". If a stain results from a drink, wouldn't you offer to pay to have that stain removed? I hope that you would take responsibility for your lack of attention.

Kara:   No, I disagree, this nonsense is just part of an attempt to get rid of as many car drivers as possible by people who want to have New York City to themselves so they can ride their bikes.

MVS:  Getting rid of automobile traffic is not nonsense in the majority of neighborhoods of a city — one that was only designed for this 1-ton, often dangerous, personal transportation hunk of generous portions of steel, plastic, iron, and other materials (too many of them rare or of energy-intensive manufacture or toxic to humans and animals and plants) by Robert Moses for a short period in the mid-20th Century.

I drive a car on occasion — when I can't carry what I need by foot (you forgot to dis those selfish pedestrians, too!! [/snark]) or bicycle. We got rid of dirty, s**t-producing horses by the 1920s, improving our quality of life and health, only to replace that with a vehicle more detrimental to one's health, our environment and, most importantly, to one's life. Aggressively or negligently driven 1 ton vs. bicycle/pedestrian... I think you know who "wins" hands down (or up or sideways depending on the circumstances of the CRASH ["A" word banned for good reason]).

If you can't bicycle or walk because of disability or age, I can understand you owning and driving a car; public transit is still difficult to use for those who are less able to walk and pedal. But do not accuse us who speak truth of being SELFISH ("people who want to have New York City to themselves"). Talk about nonsense...

Kara:   I am far from too old to bike, I know to do it in a park or upstate. New York is not a city for mixing bikes int the traffic at the rate they have been introduced. You state things that we all know already, but telling us that a crash betweena car and a person hurts the person--well, everyone know that. It does nto mean we have to go along with the agenda of a few who are loud most people in New York, an Astoria dont want the changes being forced on us regarding bikes.

MVS:  We are considerably more than a few — I would say that at least a hundred thousand bicyclists a day deliver, commute, run errands, and exercise and train using the roadways of New York City. We ride on bike routes (shared lane) and "usable" [c.f. NYS Motor Vehicle Code] bike lanes and bike paths, which are great safety improvements and allow ALL traffic to move much more efficiently. We've been around in significant numbers for the entire 26 years that I have lived, walked, pedaled and, yes, also driven through this cosmopolitan city — even through the reign of anti-bicycle Mayor Giuliani.

You are, however, part of a [hopefully] fast-diminishing breed of driver who holds on to the false premise that bicyclists do not belong in the city. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of us regularly can and do ride AT THE SAME SPEED as motor vehicles in whatever lane is clear and safe on many cross streets in Manhattan and most certainly on the avenues that don't have reserved lanes for bicyclists. And we have the right to do so. To bicycle is to feel a freedom from traffic jams and mass-transit snafus. Often, bicycling saves time getting from one point to another. And Queens and Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn features wide streets and avenue lanes, increasing the pleasure and safety of bicycling.

You say that "upstate" and a park are where bicycles belong. Again, untrue. Have you ever been almost swiped by a vehicle going 55-65 MPH on an "upstate" road? I have. Also, many park paths are reserved for PEDESTRIANS, and bicyclists are limited to the ROADWAYS and reserved paths.

State law states that bicyclists "have the SAME rights and responsibilities" as do motor vehicle drivers. We are required to keep as far to the side of the road as is "possible"; every state in the Union follows these protocols. The NYC Bike Map states many times that if you cannot do so, "Take the whole lane"; in this manner, we remain visible to ALL traffic, including you. Be glad that you can see us. And I hope that you follow the law and leave the lane you are driving in when passing a bicycle — just like you would do passing a motor vehicle or tractor.

Some believe that bicycles do not belong on the roadway, yelling at me and many others to "Get on the sidewalk where you belong"! IT IS ILLEGAL TO RIDE ON THE SIDEWALK. Most of us follow the laws enshrined in NYState's Motor Vehicle Code, albeit sometimes pushing the limit a bit (something I see too many people operating a ton or more of metal also doing). Note that we become a pedestrian the second we dismount, so... well, look at all the pedestrians that cross against the light... o.k.?

We are not going away. You cannot force us to disappear, because the law, the State, and the City administration support our existence and growth. Accept the variety of vehicles that ply the streets of NYC and from here on in strive to CO-EXIST with them. Stop kvetching and accept bicyclists as a efficient, environmentally friendly, health-improving fact of New York City life — certainly in your and my neighborhood of Astoria.

Kara:   Your neighborhood is not Astoria, it's Michigan. I don't just drive, I also walk, and bike. But I see way too many people on bikes runnign lights, going wrong way, and swerving in and out. I know about 100 time smore people in this area than you, and we are fed up with this yupppie BS you and a few ohters are trying to force on people. If you want to ride a bike everywhere, then live out in the country.

MVS:  I grew up in the Motor City, N.W. suburban Detroit, where I learned BOTH to ride a bike AND got my driver's license at age 16. How did you know, my dear?

Is it such a terrible crime to slide through a red light or change lanes like a typical New Yorker driving in New Jersey?? (Uhh... oh... maybe it's the other way around. Are you from Jersey?) If there's such a problem with so many bicyclists, why don't you ask the NYPD 114 Precinct to take charge? Or even better, YOU stand out there with a case of thumbtacks.

How could you know more people than me?? That's illogical... and with YOUR personality...

Yuppie??? I am nearing 60 years of age. Most bicyclists I know, whether here, in Manhattan, in "outer" Queens and Brooklyn, are younger physically and more my age mentally — unlike you.

I'm sorry that I disappoint you, Ms Bell. But, as you can see, I am through and through a New Yorker.

Now go away. /snark

(up one level in this rather shallow thread...)

MVS:  NYC DOT has taken up the "crash" NOT "accident" change for Vision Zero! See the DOT poster on the bicycle parking area on the S.W. corner of 30 Ave and 31 St (before Ms. Bell destroys it and the shelter [/snark} {I'm done.}).

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Note that the poster and shelter mentioned above are barely three blocks away from my home.

What great fun that was. I not only nailed her to the wall with my logic, I thoroughly destroyed my opponent. I sharpened my arguments supporting the cause of bicyclists everywhere, not only in New York City, and reminded everyone to exercise, keep the environment in good shape, and enjoy the cleaner air minus the smell of horse poop.

Still, there are too many folks out there that try to hold on to badly perceived "good ol' days", and also try to bully their way through to get their way.

Unfortunately, one of them is running for President. Unfortunately, he's a born-and-bred native New Yorker.

What is happening to U.S.?? Will we survive? Should I high-tail it to the Canadian Consulate and try to claim the Canadian citizenship that may be waiting for me?

Stay tuned...

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Trumped Again

Daily Kos can be a cruel environment. Or... is something else at work? Have we all been Trumped?? Does The Donald have the last laugh???

Last night on Daily Kos, I riffed on the following phrase:

 

... did you mention "small hands", too? ...

The response:

          {cruel, Puritanic criticism... not worth quoting...}

So I had to say:

 

Oh well… sorry. Never mind. Gads!! My attempt at assuming a Monty Python characterization failed horrifically.

It seems that every week yet another Trump deficiency rears its ugly hea… uhh... mmm... becomes apparent.

I’m becoming too influenced by the [pornographic??] low-brow over-the-top nature of The Donald’s discourse. I even glee-fully started to write lyrics — a parody of a Frank Loesser musical, How to Succeed in Real Estate Without Really Trying At All. I’m rotting… please stomp me with a boot and put me out of my misery! (And please don’t hum The Liberty Bell March before you do it.)

And I don’t even have a television! Internet radio streams — and an overactive mind’s eye — and overexposure — and those increasingly annoying ever-present NPR talking heads… dancing around in my dreams… circling around me... Oh God!! Never thought that I’d ever come to call NPR presenters and commentators annoying, but there it is. And, now, I can't get to sleep. Is death by political campaign my fate??

Next, you know: Pigs will fly. It’s a cruel world. Uggh. Blehch! Phffhtth!!

Such a unique political year. Unfortunately, a whole string of unique, back-to-back, one after another — endlessly strung out into the infinite future?? AAAGGHH!!

So — What's next? (henh, henh, {snort} hee, hee, hee!!)

What a woild.

My Christmas Present — Hit By a Motor Vehicle while Bicycling

This past year for me has featured several significant events. And it ended with yet another one.

I got hit by a motor vehicle while riding my bicycle on Christmas Eve. One moment I was riding south around St. Nicholas and 122^nd Street and the next moment — seven hours later — I was in Harlem Hospital's Emergency Room, with two cops standing in front of me asking me to describe my bicycle. Scrambled brains from a concussion don't do well in such a situation, and they left without giving me any information, even their Precinct location.

Fortunately, all scans were negative — multiple CTs, multiple X-rays, and an ultrasound; they were quite thorough. I received exemplary care from hospital staff during my one-day-of-observation stay (the food, too, was quite good!), and I was discharged on Boxing Day. And, if MetroPlus doesn't kick about not getting an NYPD incident report (see below), I'm fully covered for my healthcare.

To this day, I don't know exactly what happened. My discharge papers state my "All Treated Diagnosis" as "Assault by being hit or run over by motor vehicle..." and under "Hospital Course" states in part "...hit from the side by a low velocity SUV." My brain has blocked or has had erased any memory of the incident and the seven hours after it. My belief is that I may have been a victim of "hit and snatch". Whoever hit me probably wanted my bike or its head and tail lamps. But without proof of an investigation and the help of memory, I can't prove that.

I don't believe that an Incident Report was ever filed by the cops which, one of my friends says, is not unusual for bicycling/motor vehicle encounters. Nor was I in good enough condition to quickly follow up on my own once discharged. Also, it doesn't help that it was the Christmas/New Year's holiday period. However, a representative from Harlem Hospital's Patient Financial Services needs an accident report in order to file a no-fault claim, so I need to do some digging. Although the report (if it exists) costs nothing for me to obtain, apparently it is not automatically sent to me. Also, apparently the EMTs did not leave a report at the hospital, which they are supposed to do.

My prized road bike is gone, and I need to replace it, but I don't think I'll be able to retrieve it. But I've pulled out my receipt of purchase from 20 years ago, just in case it has been stored for me to retrieve. However, I'm alive, and thankful that I received good medical care. The only scars I have seem to be a few scratches, a bit of a sore right ear and, unfortunately, another realization that the NYPD needs an upgrade.

There are lots of bicyclists in New York City, most densely in Brooklyn. Queens presents more problems than Manhattan or Brooklyn. I think here (mostly east of me, away from Manhattan) and on Staten Island (the "forgotten borough"!), too many motorists still don't want to share the road. But they are going to have to get used to it — a lot more bike paths, lanes, and routes are planned, and there are more bicyclists doing their bit for the environment, their health, and to save time — really! Bicycling rather than taking transit, bus, or driving often gets you to your destination faster, especially when you're in shape.

New York has been praised as a "bike-friendly" city, comparable to many European cities. It's better than London, believe it or not, which embraced the automobile with a vengeance when North Sea Brent crude oil was discovered. That evaluation, however, does not take into account motor vehicle drivers' attitudes toward two-wheeled vehicles. Bicycles have a right to use the road in much the same way as motor vehicles, with some relatively minor exceptions. Enforcement of traffic laws needs to bear that in mind, accept that, and fight the perception that every bicycle/motor vehicle incident is always the fault of the bicyclist. It is not, period.

During the December holidays, stress seems to get to more motorists who act out on seemingly anything smaller or slower than they want to go. Rather more than a few are from out of town and don't know our bicycle-respecting customs (Tourist drivers! New Jersey drivers! Yuk!!). But that does not exonerate NYC residents who drive; they can be just as bad.

I'm out again, riding my "street bike", commuting and doing errands. It's a heavier, straight-handlebar mongrel, pieced together by a local bike shop so that I could have something that isn't terribly enticing to thieves and which can well take the abuse thrown at it sometimes by the streets of New York City. I won't stop riding a bicycle — still the most energy efficient form of transportation invented. It remains my main source of exercise and well-being — after making music, of course!