Blame the bike?

Another sad story in Montreal about a cyclist killed by a truck turning right at an intersection and the media is questioning whether the fact the cyclist was riding a 'fixie' with no brakes was a factor in the accident.

Really? Is this the best investigation they can come up with? What about the quality of signage or markings to indicate to motorists that pedestrians or cyclists can be encountered?

Looks to me like the only indication of any kind is a small stop sign for cyclists because they better watch out for traffic and not vice versa.

Another factor that is not mentioned in any of the reports is the radius of the shoulder at the interestion. If you look at the screen shot from Google Streetview, you will see that the shoulder has a very large radius, which is ideal for vehicles to make turns without having to unduly slow down.

The urban planner, Andres Duany, points out the risks of these types of car-friendly designs to any non-motorized movers in various lectures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwd4Lq0Xvgc

It is time to stop viewing these events as tragic accidents and start dealing with the root causes behind them, which are directly related to the design of our cities for motorized vehicles and NOT for people.