Another cyclist, crushed by another truck

By Susan Boyle

At approximately 3:30 PM, Tuesday January 12, 1999 bicyclist Brad Minch was struck and killed by an oversized 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck at the intersection of 6th Avenue and 30th Street.

Brad Minch, age 20, worked as bicycle messenger for the Click Modeling Agency for the last year and a half after moving to New York City from Cleveland. Company management considered him to be a highly skilled and experienced cyclist.

Minch was struck by a tractor-trailer hauling freight for the Aulenbak Company of New Jersey. Measurements performed at the scene by Transportation Alternatives with a measuring wheel calibrated to tenths of feet found that the tractor-trailer combination was approximately 60 feet long. New York City law prohibits tractor-trailer combinations exceeding 55 feet. It is not known if the size of the truck contributed to the crash. However, it is known that larger trucks take longer to brake and have larger blind spots in which the driver cannot observe pedestrians and bicyclists.

"How many bicyclists and pedestrians will be killed before New York City starts enforcing its own 55-foot truck law? Transportation Alternatives calls on the Police Department to enforce the monster truck laws and for the City Council to conduct an oversight hearing on why the law is not being enforced. Only a handful of officers perform truck enforcement while monster trucks are taking over city streets," said Susan Boyle, Bicycle Program Coordinator for Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle advocacy group.

1/3 of Trucks Oversize

An August 1998 survey performed by Transportation Alternatives found that 28% of tractor trailers selected at random in midtown Manhattan exceeded the 55-foot length limit. In April 1997, Jill Solomon, age 29, was killed at the Manhattan side of Queensboro Bridge by an oversize tractor-trailer whose driver turned into her path. The driver later told police that he did not see Solomon despite her reflective vest.

Growth in Bicycling and Oversize Trucks a Dangerous Combination

Based on NYC Department of Transportation data, Transportation Alternatives estimates that there are approximately 105,000 everyday bicyclists on city streets. Approximately 6000 are thought to be bicycle messengers and 10,000 food delivery bicyclists. In 1998, 16 bicyclists were killed by cars and trucks compared with 22 in 1997. It is not known how many of these cyclists were killed by trucks because neither the police nor the Department of Transportation have collected this information.