Comments on: Queens Pedestrian Struck by SUV, Dragged to Coney Island

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:49:56 +0000

Mary:

If your complaint is with cargo vans, I think you need to edit your last sentence a bit:

“This event, however tragically, undeniably demonstrates the degree to which ~~SUV’s~~ cargo vans are ill-suited to public roads that simultaneously serve bicycle and pedestrian traffic. I’d like the police to explain how exactly this isn’t a crime.”

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:48:52 +0000

Collin: Exactly. The author of this post focused on the word SUV and failed to process anything else. This article would have read the same if the story was that a SUV hit a person, stopped and called 911, while a Prius dragged the guy 20 miles.

By: Collin

Collin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:40:41 +0000

I don’t disagree that SUVs are dangerous and isolating, unsustainable and, for the most part, unnecessary. But this story does not at all support your argument. Since the SUV driver did notice that she/he had hit someone, and she/he did pull over to call 911 immediately, I don’t see how that proves that she/he was somehow removed from the human experience. It was the cargo van’s driver that had no idea he was dragging someone.

Your point would be stronger if you were criticizing cargo vans, because that driver does appear to have been unaware of his surroundings enough to drag someone 17 miles unwittingly. The SUV driver? Knew exactly what had happened and reacted immediately. People are hit by motor vehicles daily–how is this one any different from being hit by a sedan, a coupe, or… a cargo van?

By: Bobby B.

Bobby B. — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:20:39 +0000

Add the “www.” in front of the link below and paste in your address bar for another potential automotive risk:

independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/look-out-for-the-125mph-electric-car-because-you-wont-hear-it-905451.html

By: LP

LP — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:14:02 +0000

I’m a cyclist and a walker just like you are… and I also know how to read articles and report stories truthfully. I knew this guy, unlike you who twists a horrible tragedy for a self-serving cause.

Don’t be an asshole.

By: Mary Casper

Mary Casper — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:51:36 +0000

Apparently this isn’t even the first time this week, in nyc for pedestrians to be struck twice by two different vehicles: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/02/09/2009-02-09_mom_and_two_kids_run_over_twice_on_brook.html

And Matt, I’m aware of the facts. It’s weird, how I AM capable of reading, huh? But my point still stands. The SUV started it off and then the enormous van, both too large for their own good so as to isolate the operator from exterior events, led to the man’s death, in gruesome combination.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:15:21 +0000

The SUV hit the person and then called the cops. The van dragged the person. Did you read the article or just paste it in here?

By: Becky Striepe

Becky Striepe — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:42:54 +0000

This story is horrifying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been almost mowed down by SUVs on my bike and while on foot. The drivers tend to barely flinch, even when it was an incredibly close call.

I think you’re right on…these cars remove the drivers from their surroundings. Pedestrians and cyclists must feel like characters on TV from behind all of that glass and metal.