The MIT student newspaper, The Tech, has obtained and posted copies of some of the police reports on the truck-bicycle crash on Dec. 27, 2011 which resulted in the death of Phyo Kyaw, ’10. Here are my comments on the Tech story, and the police reports it links to.
I study bicycle crashes — it’s part of what I do in my profession, but I offer the following comments for free as, I hope, some small service to the MIT community and to the public at large. [Disclaimer, if needed: I am an MIT alumnus. That is, to some extent, why I care.]
To sum up what I’m about to say, there’s enough blame for this crash to go around. Also, the crash investigation failed to look into a number of significant issues or to frame the legal issues clearly. It shows considerable bias toward the truck driver. The Tech‘s reporting missed on a few points. Specifics follow.
The crash was an unusual one: head-on between the bicyclist Kyaw and a right-turning semitrailer truck which crossed the centerline of the street it was turning into. The crash occurred at night, in the rain.
The first Massachusetts State Police report indicates that Kyaw was not riding in the bicycle lane on Vassar Streetbut does not indicate that the truck had crossed its centerline. These is similar bias in the other State Police report which was released:
“The possible cause of this collision was the encroachment of the bicycle into the path of the turning tractor trailer unit,” the [Massachusetts State Police vehicle ecamination] report [page 6] said.
Encroachment of the bicyclist into the path of the truck driver when the bicyclist was on the right side of the street and the truck on the left side? Encroachment means that a vehicle is where it isn’t supposed to be. The bicyclist was encroaching, then?
The reconstruction report goes on to way that
…roadway design and engineering did not precipitate or contribute to this collision.
Nonsense. Not mentioned in any of the reports, a bulbout and street furniture on the corner made the turn difficult for the truck, forcing it across the centerline of Vassar street. The driver may have been looking in his right rear side-view mirror to make sure he cleared the obstacles.
Kyaw’s bicycle’s final position was not in a bicycle lane, the report said. Local laws do not require bicycles to travel in the bicycle lane, and it is common for left-turning bicycles to travel in Vassar’s left lane.
The comment about the law is correct, but the last part of the quote is incorrect and misleading. Kyaw was in the right-hand travel lane. Bicyclists must merge out of the bike lane toward the center of the street to go straight or turn left without conflict with through and right-turning traffic or with traffic stopped at the curb. I have a Web page with photos of this very intersection online illustrating that point.
The reconstruction report cited contributing factors of “moderate to heavy rainfall,” Kyaw’s nonreflective clothing, Kyaw’s presumed high speed, and the lack of a front light on the bicycle.
A headlight is required by law. The lack of a headlight makes sense as a contributing factor, assuming that the truck driver was looking in Kyaw’s direction at all, and places some of the responsibility for the crash on Kyaw. Reflective clothing is not required by law, and any reflector or reflective material only works if headlights are aimed at it. Rain also may have affected Kyaw’s ability to see. Eyeglasses were found a the scene, and when beaded with rain, they spread glare.
Kyaw was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, Cambridge Police report #5 said. The bicycle was “not equipped with a front-facing light,” and its front white reflector was partially obstructed by brake and shifter cables, the report said. Massachusetts law requires bicycles to have a front light at night.
Cables obstructing a reflector doesn’t seem a likely explanation. They’re too narrow unless the reflector is very small. The reflector may have been obstructed by Kyaw’s hands, or its reflective properties compromised by dirt or beads of rainwater. The truck’s headlights were in any case not aimed at the bicyclist to light up the reflector as the truck rounded the corner. Another possibility is that a vehicle ahead of the bicyclist, or car headlight glare behind him. made worse by a wet or fogged windshield, may have concealed him.
Kyaw’s 21-speed bicycle appeared to be set at the gear combination that was as hard to pedal in as possible, indicating travel “at a fairly fast pace,” police report #5 said. On the other hand, if Kyaw was intending to turn left and was approaching a red light, it is also possible he was slowing down, or had even come to a stop.
The fifth Cambridge police report includes this statement but also indicates that the shifter for the rear derailleur was in the second-highest position, not the highest.
The discussion of Kyaw’s speed would have benefited from interviews with people who knew his riding style, if they could be found. There are many bicyclists who ride in high gear at a low cadence. On the other hand, he might have been strong and fast, yet still foolish enough to ride at night without a headlight. In this case, he would have been heading into an intersection against a red light at high speed. I consider that unlikely.
This brings up the issue of educating bicyclists. I’ve advocated for decades now that institutions of higher education provide bicycling instruction to incoming students. Avoiding having to write off the cost of educating even one student every couple of eyars, not to speak of future alumni contributions, would more than pay for this. But I digress.
According to Cambridge Police Report #1, the truck driver “stated that he was travelling westbound on Mass. Ave. when he attempted to take a right turn onto Vassar St. [The driver] said that the light was green and his right directional light was on. Moments later, [he] said he felt the impact of something hitting his truck. He stopped and got out of his truck to investigate and observed that he had been in a collision with a bicycle.
This doesn’t indicate which way the driver was looking — not a very informative statement from him. Did the police ask?
According to the reconstruction report, MIT provided video that showed the truck did activate its right directional signal.
(As indicated in a comment with the article, the video did not show Vassar Street, so it didn’t show Kyaw’s approach).
Another factor not indicated in any of the reports was the condition of the bicycle’s brakes. The bicycle is an under $200 model sold through big-box stores, which are notorious for poor assembly of bicycles — here is the best description of it I could find online. It does have aluminum rims, which brake much better than steel rims in the wet, but how well was it maintained? A capable crash investigation would have included examination of the brakes….the truck’s brakes were tested.
I hope this has been informative and helpful.
