Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Caps Thankful for Varly in 2-0 Win
Thanks to This Week's Advertisers
Photo of the mangled bicycle of Alice Swanson, who was killed when she was struck by a garbage truck just north of Dupont Circle this morning, courtesy Washington Area Bicyclist Association
D.C. Police this afternoon identified the cyclist who was killed just north of Dupont Circle as 22-year-old District resident Alice Swanson. Scant other details are available yet about the accident, but WTOP says that at this point, no charges have been filed against the driver.
Washington Area Bicyclist Association's Eric Gilliand released the haunting photo above earlier, and promised to send around a statement from the cycling organization on the tragic death of Swanson. We'll update when we get it.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
This makes me feel like I should send WABA a donation. It is nice to know that if I get hit by a bus or a garbage truck or whatever, they will be out in front of the story on my behalf. But then I'd be in heaven and wouldn't be able to thank them monetarily. You know, because you can't take it with you.
fixedgearrider, please be careful about assuming which Alice Swanson we're talking about. The police have not yet released any other details about who she was. I can't confirm that this is the same person.
I have no idea who is at fault here, but sad truth is that most vehicles just don't see bicycles. I ride a recumbent trike, which makes me even more difficult to see.
I swear, sometimes when i get to work I have an "OMG, I actually made it to work alive" feeling.
Safe travels everyone!
I hope that my comment [2] didn't sound like I was making light of the incident. My point of making a donation was sincere.
Bicycling is so dangerous in the city. I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Dangerous compared to what... Driving a car on the Beltway during rush hour?
I live on this corner. It's a sobering reminder to be careful - for drivers and cyclists. Do people do ghost bike memorials in DC? Someone should: http://www.ghostbikes.org/
a ghost bike memorial is being planned for tomorrow evening after a press conference by WABA.
"Bicycling is so dangerous in the city. I couldn't bring myself to do it."
George Bush would be proud.
Personally I am afraid to leave the house as the terrorists might get me.
sommer: who's fixedgearrider? are you talking to a deleted comment, because i don't see anything by that person.
i hate to sound crass, but that bike doesn't look as mangled as i assumed it would be. that just looks like a bent wheel.
either way, i still feel terrible that a fellow biker lost their life today in an accident that could and should have been prevented.
A life ended at age 22 is a tragedy no matter who is at fault.
I can't believe this. I worked with Alice Swanson's sister for two years as a lifeguard at Cochituate State Park in Massachusetts.
My thoughts and prayers are with her family.
As a avid D.C. cyclist, Alice's death strikes too close to home.
We need to have a memorial ride.
But for now, I almost wish I didn't have to bicycle down to Dupont for class in an hour.
The ability of cyclists and cars to safely coexist on streets is a serious safety problem for both cars and cyclists. By law (D.C. Municipal Regs.), cyclists riding in a traffic lane are obligated to ride in the center of the lane, same as cars, and cars can not share the lane to pass the moving cyclist any more than they could (legally) pass a moving car. When there is a bike lane, I believe, cyclists must ride there.
In reality, this arrangement does not work safely. Separate bike lanes are great, but not if they always put cyclists in drivers' blind spots. As a cyclist myself, I always look out for cyclists when driving, but with a bike lane on the right, the chances of a cyclist being in my worst blind spot are pretty good. The current bike lane locations are really bad for any cyclist who is around a car that is about to make a right turn. Throw in the fact that an awful lot of drivers forget they have turn signals, and the cyclist doesn't even get fair warning before being hit by a right-turning car (or garbage truck). Throw in the drivers that use bike lanes as personal parking lanes, and any cyclist is lucky to make it to his destination safely.
To make matters worse, most drivers, especially at rush hour (a time when biking should be encouraged), don't follow the traffic regs. (whether they know them or not). Indeed, many drivers will gladly attempt to pass a cyclist in the same lane, whether there is space or not. Hence, many cyclists ride far to the right as a means of self-preservation and courtesy, not because it's required.
Plus, not even MPD, much less other drivers, are aware of the traffic regs. governing the interaction of bicycles and cars. the 2 times I have been hit (once by a car door opening into traffic and once by a driver who ripped a hole in my sweater because he apparently thought his big truck could fit through the eye of a needle), and the 3 times I observed cyclists get hit, MPD has looked for a reason to ticket the downed cyclist for failure to wear a helmet. MPD had no interest in issuing tickets to the drivers for the traffic laws they violated. Both times I was hit, I had to instruct the responding officers about the bicycle's rights as stated in the traffic regs. While bleeding, of course.
One solution might be separate bike and car lanes that are placed better. For example, some European cities put the bike lanes in the middle of the road (instead of at the edges as in DC). That has its own inconveniences, but at least then the cyclist is highly visible and a good distance from any car doors that are likely to open.
According to the office that handles bicycling for DC, though, there is no agreement even among bike organizations about whether cyclists should be part of the traffic and be treated with the priority that comes with that, or separated from traffic. I am sure if you put the decision makers on a bicycle on K Street in rush hour traffic, though, there would be a sudden moment of clarity. Bikes and cars don't mix well, so keep them separate but as visible as possible to each other.
DC has come a long way in recognizing bicycles as modes of transportation. As this cyclists death highlights, sadly, we have a long way to go.
"A life ended at age 22 is a tragedy no matter who is at fault."
Bingo, meanwhile Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms had nearly 200 years on earth combined?
Whenever someone young dies, I always think of the elegy Martial wrote for the daughter of one of his slaves. Apparently he doted on this child and when she died at age six he wrote, "Lay lightly on her earth and dew, she put so little weight on you." Well, that's the loose English translation. At any rate 22 is an awfully short time to be on this earth. I cannot imagine what her family must be going through and I don't really want to because it makes me think of something happening to my brother or sister or hell even me (I bike daily). It's dreadful.
BikeDC101, you have made several key misstatements here with respect to DC's bicycle laws. I've noted the correct rules as indicated on the WABA website at http://www.waba.org/areabiking/bikelaws.php
You said: "By law (D.C. Municipal Regs.), cyclists riding in a traffic lane are obligated to ride in the center of the lane, same as cars ..."
DC Says: "Ride with the flow of traffic as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of roadway. ... Full lane use allowed when traveling at the normal speed of traffic, passing, preparing for a turn, avoiding hazards, traveling in a lane 11 feet wide or less, avoiding a mandatory turn lane and when necessary for the bicyclist's safety."
You said: "... cars can not share the lane to pass the moving cyclist any more than they could (legally) pass a moving car. "
DC says: "Allowed to pass on left or right, in the same lane or changing lanes, or pass off road."
You said: "When there is a bike lane, I believe, cyclists must ride there."
DC says: "Mandatory Use of Bike Lanes and Paths: Not required."
Please do not spread misinformation. As a cyclist it is incredibly frustrating to hear people state incorrect things about DC bike laws, and it often serves to damage drivers' opinions of bikers when in fact those bikers are acting legally and appropriately.
@ thefreefood:
This is exactly the reason that so much bad blood exists between motorists and cyclists as there is a serious lack of publicity for the bike & traffic laws in DC. With the exception of having the facts straight while debating on the comments board of a blog, no one's going to just look up the rules for themselves. They have to be told.
And judging from BikeDC101's experience with the cops, they don't seem to know the law either. Quite disheartening.
Alice was a sweet girl who worked on the same floor as me and will be missed by all those that knew her or just passed her in the hall.
Just as an update and to clarify an earlier comment, WABA intends to hold a press coference to highlight the need to for better bicyclist and driver education efforts, but we are waiting to hear back from the victim's family before proceeding. Details will be posted at www.waba.org when they are available.
Please ride safely.
Eric
WABA
Re: DC Bike laws - someone stated in the previous comment section that you can get a handy little pocket guide of DC bike laws from DC Dept. of Transportation or the Washington Area Bicycle Association
As far as DC police ignoring or not knowing these laws - it got so bad that this booklet had to be ok'd by DC Police command and have the MPD logo/badge printed on the back cover because MPD officers were ignoring the booklet saying it wasn't legit.
some European cities put the bike lanes in the middle of the road (instead of at the edges as in DC)
9th St NW between I and D is like this, and every morning when I ride down it, I have to keep an eye out for drivers too busy talking on their phones to notice the striping is different. I imagine it's the sort of thing that simply does not work when it's introduced piecemeal like this.
I work less than a block away and I bike to work. This shakes me to the core. It's a truly shocking and sobering thing, and will make me think twice biking around from now on.
As for the discussion at hand, biking around this city is not an easy task. There are the "rules" and the rules. You're supposed to keep to your own lane, but I haven't seen many cars that will let you nor bikes that actually follow it. A whole lot would have to change before anything actually does. Be careful out there, all.
The new,
I certainly agree that 9th St NW is lame (I've blogged about it on several occasions), but there are significant differences between European bike networks and the poor excuse of a bike line on 9th St.
A lot of the bike lines in Europe aren't just lanes but rather separate bike paths. There are entire bike networks with their own signage and light signals. These networks are often raised with brick or pavement different than those that cars drive on or they are separated by significant curbs.
However, not all streets have the bike routes completely separate from cars but the cyclists clearly always have the right of way. It seems to me that if we want to model our system after any European city's network, we'll have to do it one block at a time. I have many ideas on where to start and how--just lacking a degree to get it done!
I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE TO VISIT THE NETHERLANDS AND/OR BELGIUM. CITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS HAVE AMAZING BIKE PATHS, ROUTES, LANES, ETC. BELGIUM HAS A GREAT MAPPING SYSTEM WITH SIGNED BIKE ROUTES AND MANY OF THEM OFF ROAD TRAILS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT FOLLOW CANALS.
Everyone would benefit from reading the WABA's "Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area" booklet. It's 33 pages and is VERY informative.
I highly recommend that both cyclists and motorists pick one up or review it here:
http://www.waba.org/areabiking/safecycling/
It's a SHARED responsibility and we all need to do our best to keep each other alive and safe.
I was just doored riding north through the new 14th St shopping area two weeks ago. We have a cyclist awareness problem in DC.
People open doors into cars too kiddo. People don't look sometimes when they open doors, it has nothing to do with bicyclists.
Anyone who thinks that when they are on a bike they should be treated like a car is looking for trouble. Regardless of the laws, stay of the way of anything bigger than you, always give way to cars, and be polite to the police.
We have lost several bicyclist already this year in Chicago. Very tragic. I pedal everywhere, trading my SUV for a Bicycle recently and pledging to live car free for a year. The things I see are frightening, almost on a daily basis. I just ordered a tiny AIR HORN to somehow attach to my handlebars to jolt the people who constantly open their doors or try to turn right in front of me without signaling or warning!
Hell, cops can't even get cars to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks anymore.
I have found that you cannot proceed through ANY intersection without checking next to you and behind you for vehicles that may try and turn right (into you). Even if the vehicle is in the left lane or looks like it is going to proceed straight. Those are the dangerous ones. They cut right at the last second, only to find you in their path.
Keep that in mind when we are cycling.
We don't want any more tragedies here or there.
stay safe and condolences to her family and friends.