ride safe, friends!

[alonewiththemoon]

Saw--or rather heard, and then saw the aftermath--a bicyclist get hit by a minivan this morning while I was waiting for the bus.  The sound of the impact was astonishingly loud.  The cyclist was all twisted and his bike looked like it had been folded in half.  He was able to get up, but was clearly in a lot of pain.   I pulled out my cell phone only to find the battery had died, but other people called for help, so it didn't matter.  I didn't see what led up to the accident, but my guess would be that the minivan slowed to take a right turn, the cyclist drew even with the van as it slowed, and then the van turned and hit him.  No idea who might have been at fault.  At least nobody was yelling, just focusing on helping the cyclist. 

I'm still shaken a bit, from my own accident memories, from the knowledge of the accidents of friends and from worry about everyone who rides a bike in the city.  Mass Ave in Arlington is pretty orderly in the mornings, but it just takes a split second of inattention for the worst to happen.  Be careful, everyone!

Comments

*ouch*

[sanguineempathy.livejournal.com]

what a distressing way to begin your morning *hugs* Yes, people, be safe out there.

[cris.livejournal.com]

I've been bike commuting again for the first time since my own accident, which has been about a month and a half, and there's still a lot of old safety instincts that need to be retrained. It's certainly worthwhile to be cautious.

[spitcurl.livejournal.com]

There was a nasty motorcycle accident during rush hour last night on Soldiers' Field, and another bad car crash at Mem Drive/JFK St. this morning. :(

I've been watching people drive all over the road and loopy since Sept 1st, with far more out of town license plates. My guess is that the back to school traffic includes many people who are lost or unused to Boston roads, or at least rusty after a summer away. It is distressing.