Sunday Bike Accident
04
August
8/4/2008:
Heard about this incident briefly on the Live Hoboken Police and Fire Scanner yesterday, but was otherwise occupied. However, one Hoboken411 reader witnessed the accident first hand and had this to say:
Scary bicycle accident: 14th and Hudson
“We were having an early dinner at Hudson Tavern when we witnessed a very scary bicycle accident that sent one woman to the hospital.
PHOTO GALLERY (HOLD MOUSE OVER IMAGE TO NAVIGATE – 5 PHOTOS IN THIS SET)
Shortly after 6pm a man driving a Subaru was heading south on Hudson Street crossing the 14th Street intersection when his car collided with a woman on a bicycle heading east on 14th. The woman appeared to going at a pretty good clip when she collided with the car flipping up and over until she slammed into the ground. Customers eating at the restaurant jumped into action at the shocking scene, which was especially scary because the woman was NOT wearing a bike helmet.
Immediately concerns about head, neck, and spinal injuries came to mind as people yelled “Don’t move her!” while others stopped traffic and called for an ambulance.
Hoboken PD arrived quickly, followed by Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps and an EMT from Jersey City. After some consultation the woman was strapped to a board and could be seen wincing in pain when she was moved. She took a nasty spill made worse by her lack of head protection. The woman was seen moving here arms and legs, which is a good sign, though damage after the fact can be done if the accident victim is not handled correctly.
It was a very jarring scene to witness, and a reminder of why you really need to be mindful of traffic when you are on a bike in Hoboken. It was also a reminder of how quickly your life can change, and how truly unprotected you are if you don’t wear a helmet. Hopefully this woman is resting comfortably and will recover from her injuries!”
August 4th 2008 - 15:53:21 |
If they’re stupid enough to not wear a helmet, they’re probably stupid enough to not have health or accident or liability insurance. They end up in the hospital, can’t pay the bills, and the Nanny State taxpayer ends up paying for their stupidity. I guess that’s what you guys want?
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 15:59:01 |
Regarding seatbelts, yesterday I was driving friends to Costco and I noticed one guy in the back seat wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. I told him to put it on. He’s from Brooklyn and said, “Why should I? I’m in the back seat. Is this some dumb NJ law or something?” (I know it is in CA…need a NJ refresher.) I just replied, “No, its MY car’s law. I you want, you can walk.” He put it on. If I saved just one friend from stupidity, that’s cool.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 16:12:38 |
plaintruthiness wrote:
i dont think that’s true either. lots of people have health insurance and make careless choices. my company actually started this program now that gives you a discount if you take this survey, and it asks you to “pledge” certain things like that you will always wear a seat belt, you will wear a helmet when biking or riding a motorcycle, pledge not to smoke, etc. obviously it’s not to the point where they verify these things, but the idea for the insurance company is it gets the employees thinking about these little things and as a result, more preventative care/actions happen and reduces the amount of claims as a result of these little things.
i’m fine with dumb people not wearing helmets, but i know if i ever get into an accident with said dumb people, i’ll end up paying out my ass for their lawsuit and their medical bills, which possibly could have been avoided other than broken bones.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 16:14:13 |
plaintruthiness wrote:
My brother was in much the same situation when he was in high school. He and several members of the cast of the school play decided to go out for pizza after their last rehearsal. He refused to start the car until they all buckled up.
Lucky them, because they were involved in an accident on Breakneck Road (Route 603 in Gloucester Co.). The car flipped 3 times and the worst injury was my brothers because the window was either open or smashed and his left hand was caught between the roof of the car and road.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 16:18:01 |
plaintruthiness wrote:
yeah, if you got into an accident and your friend got hurt, he could have sued you (at a minimum his insurance company would). people don’t think their friends would sue them, but i’ve seen it happen more than once.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 17:10:04 |
For extra safety, I wear my bike helmet in the car, too. Just getting ahead of the curve – it will probably be the law by 2010 anyway. The walking helmet will probably take a few more years to enact.
Sheesh.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 18:03:52 |
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 18:09:38 |
plaintruthiness wrote:
I do the same thing.
People in the rear seat can easily become a projectile and end up in the front seat with you. It’s easier to wear a seat belt than let the EMT’s try to untangle your mangled bodies.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 19:18:43 |
I read in the Bottom Line once that the people in the front seat is 5x as likely to die in a rear-end collision if the people in the back seat aren’t belted in, so I have the same rule as EZ and Plain.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 20:26:13 |
KenOn10 wrote:
i gotta wonder why you think it’s funny to mock something like this? yeah, it should be common sense and people should do it without it being a law, but people also shouldn’t murder someone else. it happens, that’s why there are laws. we all benefit from things like speed limits, seat belt laws, requiring turn signals, etc. it’d be nice if people just drove with common sense, but unfortunately, that’s not reality. hell, we live in NJ, if you don’t recognize that here, then I don’t know where you would figure it out.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 20:46:24 |
plaintruthiness wrote:
Actually if the person is over 5 foot 7 inches AND the back seat belt does not have a shoulder harness, then the person is at a statistically greater risk of injury AND death by wearing the seatbelt then not wearing it, including from minor rear-ending accidents. The lap belt is often the cause of severe internal injuries when not accompanied by a shoulder harness in proper use. This is why so many car manufactures now have shoulder harnesses in the back seat too. I hope your car does or you are needlessly risking people’s lives.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 21:09:41 |
Actually, the real reason so many car manufacturers now have shoulder belts in the rear seats is that starting with the 1990 model year, it became a mandate that all cars have shoulder belts in the outboard rear seats. So unless the old whip you’re crusing around in is an ‘83 corolla, or you are cramming 3 adults in the back seat, chances are that your car has rear shoulder belts and you have no excuse not to use them.
Also, a number of states, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts come to mind locally, require that all passengers be belted in. Usually the driver can be issued a ticket in these states if one of the passengers is not belted in.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 21:18:19 |
hobojoe wrote:
hobojoe wrote:
Thank you, Mr. Nader!
http://www.grist.org/feature/2008/03/19/nader/
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 22:11:26 |
HHoney wrote:
can you please link to those stats? i want to see the studies that show that. because if lap belts are put on properly, which they often are not, i believe i’ve read that it’s better than not having a seatbelt. i find this very hard to believe.
Login or Register to reply
August 4th 2008 - 22:25:40 |
this is all i found so far, which has the comment about unbelted backseat passengers increase the risk 5 times for front seat occupants.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt#Use_of_seat_belts_in_the_rear_seats
Login or Register to reply