Bicycle accident

Can you belive this shit; I was at my job and had just read an article in this morning´s paper on bicycling and safety. I went to fetch the mail and ten minutes later there was a bicycle rider down just outside my job. Enough people were helping the unfortunate so I ran up and took this photo from my room. In a few minutes a number of ambulances and police cars showed up and took care of the situation. This was not a minor accident as the person seemed pretty banged up and was totaly still. After a long time she was stabilised and wisked away in one of the yellow vans.

I was pretty upset at the time as I had just expected something like this to happen. It is one of the worst areas for all sorts of vehicles and pedestrians alike in Town. Cars parking or stopping at the worst places imaginble. It was obviously the driver of the white car who was involved in the accident. There are cars parking or stopping all the time in the dedicated bicycle lane, just as he have done now after the accident. This means all bicycles have to turn around the obstacle and will get exposured for the traffic in the neighbouring lanes. This is a common problem as well. Check out the red cars; what will happen to a bike rider if a driver suddenly opens his door and not watching out for bikes coming from the rear? Well, you guessed right; a sudden airborne manouvre will occur.

After a while I mailed the paper I read earlier and told them what I think about things. The worst problem is not if someone fouling up; it is always the least protected person who is smashed. We don´t need more dedicated lanes, we need more common sense behind the handle bars as well as behind the steering wheel.


A few hours later I was coming back from lunch and found cars parked in just every space available, in the intersection a bit left. I grabbed my camera and started to take pictures. A taxi driver came and started to ask me what the fuck I was doing. I explained the matter to him and he got upset as he didn´t want his car, logos and all, photographed. That is your problem, I said. I told him I had to document the area as it is really bad reagrding safety. Well, if the bikers... blablabla, he went on, and almost picked a fight with me.

I don´t care who is the offender, if you have the legal right to park where ever or what ever. If it is the driver or bad planning from the traffic departments side. It is always the least protected person who is mangled. Change the environment AND attitudes, that is all I ask for. Judging from quite a few bumps, scraches and a broken left side mirror he didn´t give a flying fuck about any body else.

In the picture above there are at least four illigally parked cars; the red in a no parking zone, the yellow cab is parked in the intersection, the dark car in front of the cab is in a no stop zone, the white van on the opposite side is parked in the dedicated bicycle lane AND whithin the ten metres you have to stay clear in an intersection. There was another car parked between the dark car and the yellow cab before I had my camera ready. It is like this EVERY day in this corner... It is just a matter of time before some other bike rider or pedestrian gets hurt again.