SALON

Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 3:00 PM UTC

Is it time for the NYPD to investigate bike accidents?

Cyclists and pedestrians are posting their living wills online in an effort to shed light on traffic violence VIDEO

By

Topics: Video, International Business Times, NYPD, Bicycles, Motor accidents, Investigations, , , ,

Is it time for the NYPD to investigate bike accidents? (Credit: Shutterstock/Amy Johansson)
This article originally appeared on International Business Times.

International Business Times

If you knew you were going to be struck and killed by a car in New York City this year, would you trust New York’s Finest to get to the bottom of things? If not, you’re not alone.

Time’s Up, a New York City environmental group, is collecting online living wills from cyclists and pedestrians who are asking the New York Police Department to conduct full investigations in the event that they killed by a motorist. The project, dubbed “My Living Street Will,” was launched on March 19 and is hosting a growing number of statements from everyday New Yorkers who navigate the city’s streets on two wheels or two feet.

Keegan Stephan, a Brooklyn-based cyclist and Time’s Up volunteer, said the idea grew out of a planning meeting in which he and other volunteers were trying to figure out ways to increase awareness about the dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians.

“We really just want New Yorkers to wake up to traffic violence,” he said.

Stephan uploaded his living own will to the project’s Blogspot blog on March 20, reciting the project’s recommended statement: “If I’m killed in an automobile collision, I want the police to properly investigate the crash before determining the presence or absence criminality, and I want them to release, without delays, the report to my family and the general public.”

Statistics posted by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles said 3,504 cyclists were injured by an automobile in 2011, and 22 were killed. The majority of those collisions aren’t extensively investigated by the NYPD. Often, Stephan said, police will simply determine that “no criminality is suspected,” even when collisions occur on sidewalks or amid other questionable circumstances.

Advocates for pedestrians and cyclists have long argued the NYPD should dedicate more resources to collision investigations. For Stephan, the issue hits close to home. A year and a half ago, two good friends were struck and killed by motorists in the same week, and Stephan was struck by a vehicle earlier this year while biking along Kent Ave in Brooklyn. He said the NYPD’s reluctance to carry out full investigations of these incidents points to a larger cultural bias that tends to favor drivers and views cyclists as menaces to city streets.

“I think there’s a culture of windshield perspective in the NYPD,” he said. “A lot of the officers are from Staten Island or other places where they grew up driving. Drivers don’t want to see other drivers prosecuted.”

There’s some encouraging news for cyclists, however. Earlier this month, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly sent a letter to the City Council outlining a new policy in which the department has increased the size of its collision investigation squad and loosened the conditions for dispatching investigators. According to the letter, posted in full on StreetsBlog.org, the squad had previously responded only to accidents where a victim was either dead or likely to die. Under the new guidelines, the squad will respond if there is serious injury or if a police department duty captain believes circumstances warrant action.

While the new policy is a sign that the culture is changing, some cyclist and pedestrian proponents say it doesn’t go far enough. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction, but I think it falls short,” said Steve Vaccaro, principal attorney at Vaccaro and White, a Manhattan law office that advocates for victims of negligent motorists.

Vaccaro, who recorded his own living will for the Time’s Up project, said that even under the new provisions, collision investigators won’t investigate the majority of collisions involving serious injury — despite a state law that requires them to do so. Vaccaro, incidentally, isn’t just a cyclist advocate; he’s also an avid cycler himself, biking regularly from his residence on the Upper East Side to his downtown office, to everywhere in between. “That’s how I get around the city.”

Even Vaccaro  though admits that the living wills may not hold much legal weight when it comes to compelling the NYPD to conduct investigations. Like Stephan, he believes the main point of the wills is to shine a light on an issue that needs more attention.

“This is a political battle, and symbolism is very powerful,” he said. “Should I ever become fatally injured, I would have no problem having my recorded wishes used symbolically or otherwise to help force the NYPD to investigate in a way that is consistent with their state mandate.”

Watch Vaccaro’s full living will below. And if you’re a cyclist or pedestrian, upload your own here.

More International Business Times

Christopher Zara

More Christopher Zara.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 11 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
We crush them with debt to go to college -- and today, rates are actually set to double. Are we out of our minds?
3282 points3283 points | 4074 comments
vote
Before Edward Snowden: “Sexual deviates” and the NSA - When the last major defection hit the NSA, the government smeared the leakers as gay. New documents show they lied
2677 points2678 points | 185 comments
vote
This man is still lying to America: A smoking gun shows Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is not coming clean to us -- again
763 points764 points | 43 comments
vote
We must hate our children. We crush them with debt to go to college -- and today, rates are actually set to double. Are we out of our minds?
110 points111 points | 17 comments
vote
James Clapper is still lying to America
81 points82 points | comment

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows