By Charles Komanoff and Michael J. Smith

The full report, with complete methodology and analysis, is available at www.rightofway.org. Jump directly to a copy of the full report by clicking here.

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T.A. is pleased to bring our readers this excerpt from The Only Good Cyclist, an important new report by the advocacy group Right of Way. Good Cyclist was painstakingly researched and assembled by the same dedicated team of volunteers that published the groundbreaking Killed by Automobile in 1999 (T.A. M/J 1999). That report thoroughly demonstrated that motorists are culpable in the vast majority of pedestrian deaths. Good Cyclist applies the same methodical investigation to fatal bicycle accidents. The conclusion of both reports, that motorists — not their victims — are to blame, lays the groundwork for a new debate on the laws and street designs required to keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe.

The Only Good Cyclist is an analysis of fatal bicycle crashes with motor vehicles in New York City. It refutes police officials’ claim that bicyclists, not drivers, are responsible for most cyclist deaths.

Bicycle fatalities in New York City doubled last year to an all-time high of 35. When this news hit the media, Mayor Giuliani reacted with a promise to protect cyclists (and pedestrians) from dangerous drivers. This promise has proven empty.

Police officials justify their inaction with the unsupported claim that “cyclist error” has been the “primary contributing factor” in three-fourths of recent fatal bicycle crashes with motor vehicles.

To test this claim, and to better understand how cyclists are being struck and killed on our streets, Right Of Way obtained and analyzed police accident reports for 71 fatal bicycle crashes during 1995-1998 (data for 1999 were not available). Here are our key findings.

1. Traffic-law violations by motorists are the main cause of fatal bicyclist accidents in New York City. We were able to assign responsibility in 53 of the 71 fatal bicycle crashes during 1995-1998 for which we obtained police crash reports. We determined that drivers were highly culpable in 30 cases, partly culpable in 11 cases, and not culpable in 12 cases. Driver misconduct was thus the principal cause in 57% (30 out of 53) of the cases and a contributory factor in 78% (30 plus 11, or 41, out of 53).

Thus, although police blame cyclist error for three-fourths (75%) of cyclist fatalities, in fact, driver error was the principal cause in 57% of recent fatal bicycle crashes and at least a contributing cause in 78%.

2. Leading driver violations causing bicyclist fatalities:

• driver passing cyclist unsafely or aggressively (23% of the 53 cases; becomes 28% if “dooring” fatalities are included here, as they could be, since fear of being struck from behind is what makes cyclists ride in the “door zone”)
• driver turned into cyclist’s path (15%)
• driver speeding (14%)
• driver ran red light or stop sign (10%)

3. Bicyclist error caused far fewer fatal cyclist crashes than did driver misconduct. Of the 53 fatal accidents for which crash responsibility could clearly be assigned, cyclist error was the primary cause in at most 23%, rather than the 75% share that the police blame on cyclists.

4. Leading cyclist violations causing bicyclist fatalities:

• cyclist ran red light or stop sign (8%)
• cyclist traveling wrong way (9%)

We hope the city will protect cyclists (and pedestrians!) from the assaults and frequently murderous behavior of drivers.

But as long as there is an unstated social consensus that a dead cyclist probably “brought it on himself,” official inaction is cost-free. Thus, we also seek to address the larger public.

These dead cyclists were not some kind of alien beings; they might have been your neighbors, co-workers or family. They were cycling in the streets of New York for all kinds of ordinary human reasons: to get exercise, to get a carton of milk, to get their living or get to it. They did not, for the most part, kill themselves by lawless and reckless behavior.

Perhaps if we stop blaming the victims, and ignoring what their deaths are telling us, we will gain a clearer picture of the real problem.

There Is A Law— excerpts from NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law

§1231 Traffic laws apply to persons riding bicycles. Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle.

§1122 Overtaking a vehicle. The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.

§1129 Following too closely. The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway.

§1146 Drivers to exercise due care. Every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any bicyclist, pedestrian or domestic animal upon any roadway.

NYPD to Cyclists: Drop Dead

Of all the factors that determine cyclists’ safety on city streets, none is more important than how police enforce traffic laws that establish cyclists’ right of way. In this respect, the Police Department’s dereliction of duty has been nothing short of scandalous:

• The NYPD failed to inform cycling representatives and the public that the rate of cyclists killed in traffic was accelerating during 1999.
• After the record rise in cyclist fatalities was uncovered by Right Of Way and T.A., the NYPD blamed the deaths on the cyclists while ignoring driver misconduct and police indifference.
• The NYPD disregarded Mayor Giuliani’s promise to deter reckless drivers from endangering cyclists and pedestrians, and instead targeted only dangerous highway driving — a tactic of no benefit to walkers and bike-riders.

The Big Lie

Inspector Vincent Kennedy, supervisor of the NYPD’s Accident Investigation Squad: “Most of the cyclists killed last year played a major role in their deaths. Cyclist error — running a light, going the wrong way down a one-way street, turning in front of a car — was the primary contributing factor in 74 percent of the fatal accidents, about the same proportion as in 1998.” New York Times, January 8, 2000

First Deputy Commissioner Patrick E. Kelleher: “Investigation indicated that 76% of bicyclist fatalities in 1999 were the result of unsafe bicycle operation.” Letter to Right Of Way, March 14, 2000.

NYPD spokesman Detective Walter Burnes: “Our analysis isn’t done yet. . . We’re not going to get into trying to interpret [Right Of Way’s] data. . . Do we really need to figure out where the blame goes?” New York Times, May 22, 2000.

Remembering Eight Who Died

Jesus Ordones, 31, killed 4-29-95 when an unlicensed 17-year-old driver crashed into two other cars and went across the center line into his path on 65th St. at 18th Ave. in Brooklyn.

Chrystal Gilmore, 10, killed 8-27-95 when a BMW driver turned left into her path on Springfield Blvd. at Carson St. in Queens.

Wei Chen, 15, killed 8-1-96 when a driver ran a red light and struck him in the crosswalk on Queens Blvd. at 53rd St.

Clyde Moss, 52, a bike commuter for 3 decades, doored by a passenger in a double-parked cab then struck by truck on 10-16-96 on Church St. near Franklin St. in lower Manhattan.

Jill Solomon, 30, killed 4-2-97 when a tractor-trailer turned in front of her on 2nd Ave. near the Queensboro Bridge.

Rachel Fruchter, 57, hit from behind and killed 7-12-97 by a speeding van on a “car-free” Saturday in Prospect Park.

James Mimnagh, 63, and a lifelong cyclist, killed 10-18-98 when an S.U.V. plowed into him from behind and tossed him 150 feet along an embankment on Shore Rd. in the Bronx.

Quinntaun Burns, 7, killed 11-3-98 by a tractor-trailer turning from Clinton St. onto Greene St., off designated truck route, in Brooklyn.

Right Of Way

Right Of Way is a NYC-based advocacy group founded in 1996. Millions of New Yorkers have seen our “street memorials” marking some 250 sites where pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by motor vehicles. Our 1999 book Killed by an Automobile (posted at www.rightofway.org) analyzed the nearly 1,000 pedestrian fatalities here during 1994-1997.

The Only Good Cyclist is the first installment of a larger study documenting misconduct that harms bicyclists in New York City, and commemorating those who have died.

You can contribute to our work by sharing your knowledge of any of these individuals, or with financial support. Checks made out to Right Of Way should be sent to: 305 Broadway, Room 402, New York, NY 10007. Contributions of $100 or more are tax-deductible provided they are written to the A.J. Muste Foundation, with Right Of Way written in the memo line.

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