Cyclist Identified

Police have released the name of the cyclist killed this morning.

D.C. Police this afternoon identified the cyclist as District resident Alice Swanson, although no other details about her were released.

This is the first fatal bike crash of 2008. Last year there were two bikers killed on city streets, police said.

Someone wrote to tell me she was an Amherst graduate who worked at the Middle East Institute, but I can't verify that. Video here.

Comments

[AR]

Such a tragedy. My heart goes out to her family. As a cyclist in DC for 10+ years, I know that cycling is a fairly safe form of transportation, but it doesn't detract from the horror of incidents like this. Drivers need to be more careful. Depending on the outcome, I certainly hope that the driver is prosecuted for reckless driving if this young woman was, as reported, in a pedestrian crosswalk. There is far too many instances in DC in which motorists blatantly fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. It needs to stop.

[old guy]

This was excellent coverage today.

Folks please learn from this tragedy -- don't ever assume motorists will grant you the right of way.

If you have any doubt about going through an intersection, wait until you're sure it's safe.

And my corrollary (which is illegal and with which many disagree) -- I compensate for the many times I cede the right of way by going through stop signs and red lights when I am certain it is safe to do so.

[Ian]

I am saddened by this tragic event as a fellow biker, and my condolences go out to her family.

We should take the time to remind our local transportation officials that there is a safer way to operate walk signals. Pedestrians should not get a 'walk' signal at the same time traffic gets a green light to pass through the cross walk. In the UK when you get the green man all traffic is at a stop which is far safer than the confusing mixed signals that are common in the US. My letter to local officials is at my website if you need an example.

[JeffB]

News reports suggest she was riding on the sidewalk. Lesson I've learned is that your are completely invisible to cars on the sidewalk. Drivers are taught to only look for other cars. So you are safest riding as if you are a car. On the road and in the center of the lane.

I wonder if the origin of this accident couldn't be traced to the total lack of enforcement for crosswalk safety in DC. As a pedestrian here I too often have to fight may way around cars and trucks violating my right to cross. After a while we all get used to "sharing" the crosswalk with encroaching vehicles. Maybe this girl was used to that and her instincts were dulled. Maybe she expected the vehicle to yield at the last moment like they do for all us dozens of times everyday.

If we had stricter adherence to crosswalk right of way then maybe she would have realized in time that the truck encroaching upon her was not "normal" and she could have avoided it.

[washcycle]

Hmm. But she wasn't riding in the road. I think one can safely cycle on the sidewalk. It just involves not riding through the intersection like a car. You have to slow down and act like a pedestrian. Which she did. This would have happened had she been a pedestrian. I know that some people want to think that there is something they can do to avoid collisions and that people who get hit were somehow culpable, but sometimes you can do everything right and still have bad things happen to you. And for this young girl, I think that's what happened.

[JeffB]

Washcycle,

I think sidewalk cycling has a lot of problems. But I am against VC dogma and can agree that in some situations it is the least worst option. In fact my daily commute consists of 3 miles of city traffic, 6 miles of MUP, and 1/2 mile of sidewalk.

But my main point in my last post was directed at people operating as pedestrians. It was not at all a blame the victim. Spend some time walking around downtown DC on a busy workday and see if you don't get some "bumper love".

A few years ago I was in Portland (and Freeport), Maine on vacation. Walking around the town I was completely unnerved by the total respect vehicles gave pedestrians. If one even approached (seriously, not an exaggeration) a corner the cars anticipated you entering the crosswalk and came to a complete stop behind the stop line. And there they waited patiently until you crossed and reached the other side.

Here in DC I've come to expect it to be normal to have cars moving through the crosswalk in front of and behind me as I cross. And the occasional car will come right at me to "hurry me along". This is normal experience for pedestrians here.

So how does one distinguish between the truck that sees you and will eventually yield or alter course to miss you from the one that doesn't see you?

I don't blame the victim. I blame 100 years of auto centric road design and the attitude of MPD that the car remains, as always, "king of the road".

Alice was an angel. She was the most angelic person I have ever met. Anyone she ever helped or smiled at would tell you the same. She was an intelligent and kind and truly committed to helping whoever she could however she could.
May she rest in peace.

[L]

I'm so sorry that this terrible accident happened, especially to such an amazing person. I'm also very sorry for the driver. He should be living in hell right now. God helps him too.

[icon o'classt]

JeffB writes:

"A few years ago I was in Portland (and Freeport), Maine on vacation. Walking around the town I was completely unnerved by the total respect vehicles gave pedestrians. If one even approached (seriously, not an exaggeration) a corner the cars anticipated you entering the crosswalk and came to a complete stop behind the stop line. And there they waited patiently until you crossed and reached the other side."

I can vouch for this; I was in Portland, Maine and experienced this exact same phenomenon...I thought it was incredibly refreshing and...strange! Then I thought about how strange I was for feeling that way, and realized I was the one out of line.

The point is that a lot of this is culture. Sure education and laws help, but mindset, I believe, is the primal battleground. A culture focused on the primacy of self-interest pits everyone against each other, with no real winners.