Bicyclist hit by school bus - 8th and President

Not good. Hope he's OK.

Old Time Brooklyn wrote: Bus drivers are the most reckless drivers in the city.

When I'm on my bike, I've generally found them to be far more observant of my endangered ass than other vehicles, especially yellow cabs. Who seem to hold a special hate for bikers at times.

But I do find them to be aggressive, which I don't begrudge them because they are constantly in and out of traffic trying to keep a schedule while constantly getting cut off by people who don't seem to always be cognizant of the size and weight of the vehicle they are leaving mere feet to stop.

Although school buses are somewhat of a different beast than public buses, in my experience.

taxi, access a ride vans, and city bus, van drivers. are the worse in the city. in order of appearance.

only ones i find bad for yellow buses are in the Hasidic areas.

[quote=pizza]I feel safe riding my bike but stories like this always scare me. Maybe schoolbus drivers aren't the best in the world. Anyone remember this?


I don't even understand that. WTF.

edit: OK, I had to look it up.

Yesterday afternoon, a school bus driving in the middle of Park Slope caused a big crash. According to Newsday, the "bus driver, heading south on Seventh Avenue near Union Street, crossed the double yellow line and struck a parked Mercedes, the force of which damaged three other cars." Then witnesses said the bus driver "gunned it in reverse," hitting three other cars; tree was also hit and storefronts were damaged.

Gothamist, January 25, 2007

I hope the cyclist is okay. I would not automatically assume that the bus driver was at fault. I work in midtown and am frequently amazed and angered by the disregard many cyclists have for the rules of the road. I frequently want to yell "Red lights apply to you too you know!". Having said that, when I am out cycling on a Sunday, I will sometimes run a red if there is absolutely no traffic. If I am cycling in anything other than light or very light traffic though, I am a stickler for the rules, even if I look like a dork waiting for the red to change to green.

msilano wrote: Saw this as well. The road is still closed ("accident investigation") and our super is telling us it was a 14 year old boy and that he didn't make it.

Bad news, really sad to hear that. Without regard as to who is "at fault."

Ugh. That's really awful. It makes me shudder to think about it.

I hope it wasn't a kid (teenager).

Subject: Makes you think

I was at the scene while the detective was questioning the driver. I didn't hear the conversation, but people standing around were saying that it looked like the cyclist hit the bus.

In any event, as a cyclist in the neighborhood, I have seen a lot of things. A lot of brazen cyclists not heading any types of rules or seeming to have no common sense. I have seen a lot of wreckless drivers as well. We all share the roads, so we all have to be mindful of each other. I feel very vulnerable on my bike. In a car, you feel so much more protected for the obvious reasons.

I do think we need more bike lanes (i.e. on Prospect Park West)
and thorough training at the driver's ed level on how to operate around bikes and bike lanes (I see many dangerous situations with cars in bike lanes) AND some cyclist safety training in schools perhaps????

While on the topic:
Riding on the street in traffic, a helmet can be the difference between life and death. My grandfather died at 56 from a fall to the street from his horse. The doctors said he would have lived had he worn a helmet. He was a very good rider and never expected to fall off......

It's a sad day for some family.

Well, apparently it is official.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=23055

Looks like it wasn't a kid, but an 50 year old adult. Not that it diminishes anything about the incident.....

This is the saddest thing ever. Thankfully only the second cyclist to die in recent years in PS, correct? I hope they put up a ghost bike.

The accident was fatal and someone has lost a beloved family member or friend. May he or she rest in peace.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=23055
Here's the link to the brooklyn eagle story. The guys name was Jonathan Milstein. Minor note, the article states he lives on State St, near the scene of the accident but State St. doesn't come anywhere near 8th and President...
Here's the daily news link http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2008/09/10/2008-09-10_bike_crash_kills_helper_to_troubled_youn-3.html
anyone know him?

This is such a shame that somebody lost their life and a family is going through hell right now. My heart goes out to them.

But, I have to say, that bikers are annoying the crud out of me lately! what is the point of bike lanes when they aren't used? i see people riding their bikes on the sidewalk of my block all the time! And, no, the bike lane is not blocked-they are just riding the sidewalk.

I see it on 5th Avenue constantly also-just yesterday as a matter of fact, 2 women both riding down the sidewalk on opposite sides of 5th Avenue. but, i guess the biggest thing that annoys me is how bikers do not stop at red lights. Aren't bike riders supposed to obey the rules of the road also? i constantly see people just zipping right through a red light. Sorry, if bike riders want to share the road with cars, then they should obey the rules of the road just the way cars have to. It is dangerous for them and for the pedestrians.