Wear your helmets, please

18 thoughts on Wear your helmets, please

1. Eric is much missed, and thanks for posting this. There will be a memorial ride, details tba. Everyone should come.

   I would like to see drivers not drive drunk from chelsea to the east village by way of a bike path closed to car traffic at high speed. I’m pretty sure a helmet wouldnt have helped there.

2. Definitely Kate. Thanks for letting me know — if you want to email the details of the memorial ride, I’d be happy to post them (jill.filipovic -at- gmail.com).

   And I didn’t mean to make it sound like the accident was in any way Eric’s fault for not wearing a helmet, or that it would have even made a difference here. I’m sorry if it came off that way. I added the helmet thing because the issue is particularly close to me, as my dad was hit by a car while riding his bike about a month ago, and probably wouldn’t have survived if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet. Apologies if the header came off as insensitive or innaccurate.

3. Helmets can help. But bike paths that don’t contain cars could help even more. Cars driven by people who knew to watch out for bikes would help still more. In the Netherlands, helmets are rarely worn and far more people bike, yet the death rate for cyclists per mile cycled is something like 10-100X lower than in the US. This is because there are more designated paths and people watch out for cyclists.

   Personally, I’d like to see private cars banned from Manhattan altogether. It’s really no faster to drive than to take the subway, cars contribute to absolutely stunningly high asthma rates seen in Harlem, and far too many people get killed crossing the street because of drivers who aren’t paying attention. It’s just too crowded for cars–save them for the suburbs or rural areas where they are useful. But I realize that this is probably a minority viewpoint.

4. Helmets can help. But bike paths that don’t contain cars could help even more. Cars driven by people who knew to watch out for bikes would help still more. In the Netherlands, helmets are rarely worn and far more people bike, yet the death rate for cyclists per mile cycled is something like 10-100X lower than in the US. This is because there are more designated paths and people watch out for cyclists.

   Personally, I’d like to see private cars banned from Manhattan altogether. It’s really no faster to drive than to take the subway, cars contribute to absolutely stunningly high asthma rates seen in Harlem, and far too many people get killed crossing the street because of drivers who aren’t paying attention. It’s just too crowded for cars–save them for the suburbs or rural areas where they are useful. But I realize that this is probably a minority viewpoint.

5. Oops. I double posted due to a computer error. Could you delete one copy. Sorry.

6. What terrified me was reading an article in the BBC recently (I can’t seem to find it) that showed us cyclists are pretty much screwed either way. There was a study done showing that drivers give cyclists who aren’t wearing helmets a wider berth, but tend to drive dangerously close to cyclists who do wear helmets. Interestingly, they tend to stay far away from visibly female cyclists, regardless.

7. And then there are the bastard drivers who try to run cyclists off the road. I’ve never been threatened that way before, but rude and/or dangerous drivers are the topic of many a forum in the cyclist/triathlete world.

   Share the road, people. It goes both ways: you be sensible and courteous, and I’ll be sensible and courteous.

   My condolences to Eric’s family and friends.

8. If you have kids make sure that they understand what a helment cannot do. When I asked my son, age 4 at the time, why he had to wear a helmet, he said that it would stop the cars from hitting him. He’s 5 1/2 now and he still needs constant reminders that the helmet only protects what it touches. This is very common. When helmet laws are introduced, head injuries go down, but deaths due to bodily injuries rise among children because of this sort of magical thinking.

9. Found it.

10. I really believe that bicyclists need to get the helmet on the heads more often. In fact, my experience makes me think bicycle helmets should be mandatory. I was in a bicycle accident recently myself in which I sustained some pretty nasty injuries I’m still recovering from (broken collarbone, dislocated finger). However, even though I smacked my head onto the pavement hard enough to do some serious damage, I came out ok on the head trauma front because I wore a helmet.

    The unfortunate truth, as I discovered, is that motorists often don’t even see cyclists because they expect cars, not bicycles on the road. That’s what happened to me: I was in the middle of my lane where I was in full view — I was the only traffic in my lane — when a car from the other direction turned through my lane in front of me. I couldn’t stop or get out of the way in time, and so I hit the car. The driver kept saying, “I never saw him” or “he came out of nowhere.” Of course I didn’t come out of nowhere. The driver just never expected a bicyclist, you know, on the road.

11. Dianne; I completely agree. I think Manhattan should be closed to private car traffic, and that it would probably turn out to be a good thing for busines. Its usually an expensive waste of time to drive your car in to manhattan rather than take the train etc, and there is really no excuse at all for driving drunk in manhattan when you could not take your car in the first place, or leave it after the party in favor of a cab, the subway, or god forbid, walking 1.5 miles to your apartment.

    Sorry if I snapped; I was probably just venting my spleen at the times coverage of this incident, where the reporter specutlated a to whether or not eric had the proper reflectors and lights. It is, of course, impossible to tell, because his bike was so mangled, and strikes me as completely irrelevant when the guy who killed him was either so drunk he mistook the bike path for the West Side Highway (!) or so entitled it didnt occur to him that the path was perhaps being used for its intended purpose rather than reserved for him to make shortcut or do a little joyriding.

    The times doesnt allow comments, but it really should. How fun would that be!

12. for anyone that knew eric or bike activists that want to take action against future bike accidents: there’s going to be a meeting at time’s up! this wednesday at 6:30 to plan. i think a main topic they’ll be discussing is how to make SURE that cars DO NOT get on the bike path, no matter how drunk the driver is. this is the second time a car has killed a biker on the westside highway bike path- and the first was by an nypd towtruck. in eric’s case, the driver just went big mound of dirt or small obstruction, then he was just driving on the bike path. for a mile. and then hit eric head on. it’s so fucked up.

    eric will definitely be missed. he was a great guy and huge activist. while he was president of students for social equality, they contributed every voices for choice event. he also had amazing parties. i can’t believe he’s gone.

13. Thanks for the comments; I’ve updated the post to clarify my thoughts a little bit, since I never meant for it to come off as critical of Eric.

14. I think Manhattan should be closed to private car traffic, and that it would probably turn out to be a good thing for busines

    It almost certainly would. Right now a major problem for Manhattan businesses is getting merchendise into stores: the trucks that bring them simply can’t find a place to park and unload. I’ve been told that the drivers routinely add $150 or so extra to the delivery fees in Manhattan to cover the parking ticket they almost inevitably get because they have to double park.

    One more anecdote on driving: I was called for jury duty a few months ago and happened to get on a panel for a civil trial in which a woman who had been hit by a car was suing the driver. One of the first questions the lawyers asked the panel was how many of us had been struck by a car or had a close relative who was. Nearly half the room answered yes to that question (including me.) If nearly half of a room full of random Manhattanites has been struck by a car, doesn’t that suggest that cars are not safe in Manhattan?

15. Coincidentally, I just heard a report on NPR that nyc business group just came to the same conclusion (about decreased private car traffic in manhattan improving the business climate) and is pressing the mayor’s office for measures like a fee for driving in midtown or something similar

16. From visualresistance.org
    http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2006/12/04/eric-ng-love-rage/

    Eric Ng: Love & Rage
    Posted December 4th, 2006 by eliot

    I wish to God I didn’t have to write this: On Friday, December 1, Eric Ng was riding his bike up the West Side bike path. He was on his way from a show to a party — that was Eric, always busy, always seeing people — when a fucking drunk driver ran him down. The driver had traveled at speed for over a mile on the bike path, ignoring dozens of exits, literally dozens of chances to return to the road. Dozens of choices. The car hit Eric with such force that his bike was crushed, he was thrown into the air, his tire and shoe landing fifty feet away. The horrific details are in the news, if you want them.

    Eric. What can I even say? If you knew him, you know. I met Eric at NYU, four years ago. He was three years younger than me. Straight outta Jersey, a beautiful punk rock kid with a constant smile on a direct line from a big heart. A staccato laugh like a snare drum in a string section. A teddy bear with muscles. I remember his guitar, taped together & with a few screws missing, the one time we played music together: “Dude. I think we should play it faster.”

    And now a phone call and a shock. Not Eric. I feel old too soon; Eric was 22 perfectly. A body full of honest energy and a face like contagious hope.

    —–

    I’ve been making ghost bikes for strangers for a year and a half. Eric’s is not the first that made me cry, but it’s the first that made me hurt. A big group of Eric’s friends spent the weekend mourning, talking, and, finally, making. We made a ghost bike for him on Saturday and sunflowers on Sunday. Eric’s memorial plaque reads “Love & Rage” — no resting in peace for this rock star.

    We are planning for a memorial ride this Saturday, December 9th, meeting at 1pm in Washington Square Park and then proceeding to the site of Eric’s death. Non-bikers can head straight to the site, on the West Side bike path near Clarkson St. Please bring flowers (especially sunflowers), sidewalk chalk, paint, whatever you want. There will be a memorial service after the ride with music and a slideshow, and a party later that night. Check back here for further details; we’ll update this post as soon as we can.

    Thank you to everyone who has been e-mailing and to those strangers who have already placed signs and flowers at the site. Thank you for your kindness and your anger both. A lot of people have been talking about pressing for physical barriers against cars on the bike path and other infrastructure improvements to help prevent future deaths. This is a great idea, and people should not hesitate to contact local elected officials, and get in touch with Time’s Up and Transportation Alternatives, who I know already are working along those lines.

    Eric’s loss is a collective one; the sheer number of people who cared deeply for him is amazing. The depth of their pain is a mirror of the joy he brought to this world. That joy remains, pushed under but still there. If you ever had it, hold it.

    —–

    I know my words are ever inadequate to express all this. Please feel free to use the comments section for memories and messages.

17. I live in the Netherlands, bike everywhere and still got hit by a car at a junction by a tosser who overshot the red light and drove off, leaving me injured in the road.

    Unfortunately, even fantastic safe bike lanes, helmets and every safety gadget known to humankind still can’t stop idiot drivers.

18. Jill;

    Thanks for writing about Eric; perhaps you could help spread the word by posting information about saturday? In any case here it is:

    Update 2:We’ve finally confirmed a full set of events for Saturday:

    SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9

    1PM: Memorial bike ride. Meet up in Washington Square Park at 1pm. We will ride together to the site of Eric’s death at 1:30 SHARP. Non-bikers can go directly to the West Side Greenway, near Clarkson St. By train: take the 1 to Houston St.

    2:30PM: Memorial service at St. Mark’s Church. Friends & family will share stories, show photos, and play music. St. Mark’s Church is at the corner of 2nd Ave and 11th St. By train: 6 to Astor Place, R/W to 8th St, or F train to Houston St.

    8PM: Memorial dance party. Do not go gently into that good night. DJs & live punk rock. At Time’s Up, 49 E. Houston St. By train: 6 or B/D/F/V to Bleecker-Lafayette.

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