A "Conversation" Regarding "Crash, Not Accident" Article in
The New York Times
AstoriaCentric facebook Group
May 31 to June 1, 2016
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!!"
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]
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.}).
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...
