When the news broke last week that a cyclist had critically injured a pedestrian in Central Park, a number of things happened that you don’t normally see after a serious New York City traffic crash.
First, unlike most instances when a motorist strikes a pedestrian or cyclist, the crash received extensive and sustained coverage from just about every major media outlet in the city. Though traffic violence makes headlines all year long, thousands of pedestrian and cyclist injuries, and many deaths, go unreported. The vast majority of crashes that receive ink or airtime are forgotten with the next news cycle.
NYPD not only released the name of the victim, Jill Tarlov, but also the identity of the person accused of hitting her — Jason Marshall. NYPD normally gives out the names of deceased pedestrians and cyclists, but drivers’ identities are shielded unless summonses or charges are issued, which is extremely rare.
NYPD released no exculpatory statement in Marshall’s defense, nor did anonymous police sources blame Tarlov for the collision that eventually took her life. Police apparently did not issue the standard “no criminality suspected” line, which is usually the last word the public hears after a driver — a sober driver, at least — takes a life. On the contrary, police sources leaked details of the vehicle operator’s actions to the press.
Investigators interviewed witnesses and confiscated Marshall’s bike as evidence. When a driver kills someone, his account of the crash is often the only one police are interested in, and NYPD literally allows motorists to drive away from fatal crash scenes. In fact, while drivers injure and kill thousands of pedestrians and cyclists a year, only a handful of crashes are investigated by NYPD and city district attorneys.
http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/09/...-investigated-like-the-central-park-fatality/
Sounds like a double standard. NYPD should explain why it's singling out bicyclists.
Man says Central Park cyclist nearly ran him over, too
http://nypost.com/2014/09/23/man-says-central-park-cyclist-nearly-ran-him-over-too/
30mph+ is not from this accident, but another ride. And it's not on a calibrated police radar, but on a phone app. It's not even good enough evidence for a speeding ticket, much less any criminal charges, where the standard is beyond reasonable doubt. Using his speed from a different ride on a gps app to estimate speed he was going during this incident is not beyond reasonable doubt, it's beyond reason.
As far as all the other stuff, fine, her estate can sue him, he can sue her estate, and let civil courts figure it out based on evidence or lack there of. There is no need for the government to get involved here.
Sensational news story aside, it's fairly likely that this isn't the first time Jason Marshall had an incident considering his average speed while training in central park was 35mph.
According to Jason's Strava (GPS tracker) page, he hit *peak* speeds (not average speeds) of 35.6 mph and cycled 690 miles this month alone. A super-fit person such as himself could *easily* do 30 mph on a flat.
And since most of Central Park's West Drive is on a decline, he could easily go much faster than 30 mph. I measured a 30ft decline from West 68th to a half-block before West 63rd, or a -2.4% grade, which would allow for considerable momentum.
For doctors to give their professional opinion that Mrs. Tarlov more so resembled the victim of a car accident, the force=mass x acceleration from this cyclist had to be hellacious.
What doctors were those? I've not run across any such report in the media
What doctors were those? I've not run across any such report in the media
Doctors told police that Tarlov looked like she was hit by a car, sources said.
Per NY Post:
Whether you consider as credible either the Post or the sources I'll leave to the readers since without autopsy findings there's no way to validate the claims.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/22/this-was-an-unavoidable-accident-cyclist-who-mowed-down-woman/
I looked that up right away, apparently it is acceptable
Per NY Post:
Whether you consider as credible either the Post or the sources I'll leave to the readers since without autopsy findings there's no way to validate the claims.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/22/this-was-an-unavoidable-accident-cyclist-who-mowed-down-woman/
Yeah, what I thought.
"Doctors told police that Tarlov looked like she was hit by a car, sources said."
Bullshit intended to inflame.
BTW - what is 'speeding' on a bike? My city's laws don't spell out a specific speed (unless I missed it,..); http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/biketips.shtml
I would imagine going 30mph on a bike is speeding,.. even in a bike lane. Frankly, if you want to hit 30mph, go to a fucking velodrome,.. other wise, keep it under 30mph.
At 11mph, I've fractured ribs (fell off and hit the ground during rain).
So, I think the ideal speed limit would be 20mph, to keep everyone safe?
I would also imagine (edit) some of you would like bikes to be built with explosives, so if they DO hit whatever speed limit you want, they explode.
But, in all seriousness,.. what is speeding on a bike?
i've done 45 on a downhill on a mountain bike. the road i was on was 45 speed limit as well.
the speed limit should be whatever the posted speed limit is. after all, bicycles should be treated like cars.
Wow I totally think you're way smarter than me now!
:thumbsup: