John Yacobellis: King of the New York Bike Messengers
by Judd WileyJuly 3rd, 2008, 8:20 pm
John Yacobellis, or “Yac,” is the “king of the New York bike messengers,” according to a Louie Schwartzberg who posted this glowing YouTube tribute.
Yac loves goin’ fast, swoopin’ around corners, disregardin’ traffic laws, yellin’ at cars, cuttin’ off pedestrians, holdin’ on to the side of taxi cabs, ridin’ on the sidewalk, swervin’ all over the road, slammin’ car doors shut that get in his way, and generally givin’ heart attacks to everyone who encounters him.
He thinks he’s Batman, or Spiderman.
Posted in Bicycles, Road Rage, Traffic Accidents |
Guys like Yac give cyclists a bad name. When operating a vehicle on a public road, we are all bound to obey the same laws, our means of conveyance notwithstanding. This means that hybrids, Smart cars, Econoline vans, motorcycles, bicycles, tricycles, rickshaws, and the Amish must all play by the same rules.
I have been known on occasion to ride my bike to work. Because of the flagrant disregard and contempt for the basic set of rules that aims keeps us all safe on the streets, guys like Yac are a danger to not only themselves, but to the rest of us.
Grow up, jerk.
If this guy ever tried to slam my car door shut while I was getting out, I’d chase him down and beat him with my crowbar.
Do you folks EVER stop your incessant whining about cyclists?
Tell ya what.. when you show the same “outrage” over your fellow motorists disregard for speed limits (far and away more dangerous than this idiot on a bike), then I’ll take you seriously.
Until then, ya’ll are hypocritical babies.
Paul C,
Fair enough, although I’m not going to condemn motorists who drive 10-20 mph over a 55 mph limit on the highway.
My outrage is over motorists who speed in areas where there are pedestrians and bicyclists present. I would actually expand the outrage to deal with those motorists who gun their engines through yellow lights, roll through stop signs, turn without signaling, and everything else that’s dangerous and unlawful.
I personally think DUI laws should be strengthened, not weakened. For instance, if you’re caught at some particular blood alcohol level that society deems unacceptable, you’re thrown in jail for 1 year. Drunk driving deaths would plummet.
All reckless, life-threatening behavior is worthy of outrage and should be condemned. That said, there’s a noticeable absence of criticism of urban bicyclists.
That said, there’s a noticeable absence of criticism of urban bicyclists.
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Check out the Advocacy & Safety subforum on Bikeforums.net sometime.
There’s plenty of admonishment for sidewalk/wrongway/light-running “cyclists”.
Personally, I shout at jackholes going the wrong way, because the dumbasses put ME in danger.
When I see “Truck Killed By Cyclist” in big bold letters on the cover of the New York Times, I’ll sympathize with all this whining. The fact is, if you’ve ever been a cyclist, you know that the roads are not designed for you, and that in order to be safe, you often have to break the law.
Think about it. How do you make a left hand turn if the ‘bike only’ lane is on the right, and there is no bike turn lane? Should you go the right way down a street full of potholes, or the wrong way down a street where the pavement is smooth?
I tried to find instances in which a cyclist killed a pedestrian, and I can only find one so far. It was in the UK, and the girl the cyclist struck was texting on her cellphone, not paying attention. The cyclist yelled at her to get out of the way, but she didn’t hear him, and he was given a 2,000 pound fine.
I watched a guy get killed by a truck while jaywalking. The undercarriage dragged him over ten feet before the driver realized what had happened. The pedestrian died on scene, and the driver walked with a no fault judgment, and no fine.
When you’re driving, just consider how you would want to be treated if you were the one hauling ass on your bike. You’d want the right of way at stop signs, for example, because you wouldn’t want to have to come to a complete stop.
Are we seriously arguing that cyclists are more dangerous than motorists? Even the most reckless cyclist is more a danger to themselves than to others. This car vs bike war will continue, and I think its clear which side I am on. And in this climate of ever increasing gas prices, whose side should you be on?
On a final note, cycling could save this country. More bikes equals less oil/gas dependency, less pollution, and less obesity. It also means less traffic, less noise pollution, and safer streets. Exercise is proven to increase cognitive function, which improves grades in school. it’s not like we couldn’t use the boost in academic achievement.
Ryan,
We are not arguing that cyclists are more dangerous than motorists. In fact, the above post/video has nothing to do with cars or motorists, other than the fact that this Yac fellow likes to slam shut any car doors that get in his way.
That said, I enjoy how you actually came on this site and stated that, “in order to be safe, you have to break the law.” That’s a bold announcement, which proves our point that bicyclists need to earn the right to ride on the road, i.e. licensing, registration, insurance, inspections, safety regulations. Thanks for the evidence, which we plan to use in future posts.
But let’s explore this “you have to break the law” thread a bit further. Could you elaborate on which laws you and other bicyclists feel compelled to break in order to be safe? You mention riding on the wrong side of the road. Are we also talking about blowing through stop signs and red lights? Biking on the sidewalk? Swerving around pedestrians for sport? Hanging on to taxi cabs?
Because if you do too much of that, you might hit someone. Like the cyclists in these stories, which you missed:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/03/AR2007020301735.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2599595.ece
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/man-struck-by-cyclist-dies/2006/08/28/1156617253330.html
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=208306&in_page_id=34
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22762655-2761,00.html
There is plenty more where that came from. But before you start foaming at the mouth, my point is not that bicyclists are on some kind of world wide killing rampage, running over little babies and what not. I am simply stating that, yes, the bicycle is a fast moving vehicle that can cause harm, and yes, we can all afford to be a little safer.
As far as your personal anecdote is concerned, I don’t know what to say. It’s your anecdote and I wasn’t there. Do you think that the truck driver was at fault? Not to sound crass, but perhaps if the guy hadn’t been jaywalking, he might still be alive.
Also, is this what you mean by “saving this country”?
Because, despite all that cycling, the Chinese have acquired a real thirst for the internal combustion engine.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/13/business/AS-FIN-China-Auto-Output.php
As a cyclist, I am used to having to defend my mode of transportation. I wear a helmet, use lights brighter than a motorcycle, and riding very safely. I chastise other cyclists who do not do these things, but even I have been in situations where poor road conditions or inattentive motorists have forced me to pull illegal maneuvers in order to be safe. Every driver has been in this situation. At least my eight pound bike isn’t likely to hurt anyone. Even your examples of pedestrians killed by cyclists doesn’t come close to the number of pedestrians killed by motorists, most of whom are licensed, registered, and insured. Hoping that some sort of registration will magically make better cyclists is a pipe dream. It doesn’t work for motorists, what makes you think it would work for cyclists? All you’re doing is advocating a decrease in personal freedom for nothing. You want to give it away for nothing. I’ve tried to get cyclist insurance. As far as I know, it’s only available outside the US.
We should be trying to protect cyclists, not prevent them from riding. You are far more likely to be injured as a pedestrian than as a cyclist (and more likely to be injured by a motor vehicle). Should we make walking an activity for which licensing and registration is required? Should every pair of trainers come with tags and fees?
In most cities, cyclists are second class citizens. Bike only lanes are few, and even in bike friendly cities like Portland, OR they are often filled with hazardous debris, which is tossed to the size by the tires of motorists. Depending on what city you live in, biking on the sidewalk may be legal. For example, In Anchorage, Alaska the APD recommends that cyclists avoid riding in the street. The only problem with this is that the city of Anchorage is not very pedestrian friendly, and many major streets have no sidewalk at all. There isn’t a single bike only lane in the entire city.
Recently Portland put in bike boxes, to make turning safer for bikers. Before this, illegal maneuvers were often required of cyclists in order to be safe. Just as in driving, it depends on the situation. That it no way implies that I advocate breaking the law. I advocate changing it (for example, giving cyclists the right of way at a four way stop).
Did you intend for those pictures of cyclists in Shanghai to be a deterrent to biking? Certainly the Chinese appetite for gasoline has increased immensely in the last few decades, contributing to the increase in demand and price of oil. Entering the WTO made cars more affordable, and now China is expected to surpass our imports in the next twenty years. They want to increase their oil dependency? Great. Maybe in twenty years China will be Trek’s biggest customer.
Ryan -
To add to the safety debate - in this post:
http://www.commuteroutrage.com/2008/07/02/more-bicycle-safety-studies-needed/
I advocated for more safety studies on bicycles, and I point to a NYC study that talks briefly about bicycle accidents between bicyclists and pedestrains, and bicycles and themselves.
The cliff notes version is that according to the numbers in the New York study, bicycles are 10 times as dangerous to themselves as cars are, and are just as dangerous to pedestrians as cars proportional to their numbers on the roads.
The raw totals for bike on pedestrian deaths is low now because not as many people bike, but as you point out, more people are switching over. If more people switch and don’t follow the laws, these numbers will rise.
I wrote another post a couple of days ago on the same subject:
http://www.commuteroutrage.com/2008/07/21/concern-over-nationwide-increase-in-bike-accidents/
I agree with you that you give up personal freedom when you implement licensing and registration requirements, but the fact is that this is part of the price we may have to pay to ensure safe roads. If licensing and registration don’t increase safety, then why should we do it for cars anymore?
I am also a bicyclist. I don’t bicycle as regularaly as some people, but in my commutes, I have been run off the road by a motorist once, and I have been hit by a motorist once.
I was lucky in that neither incident was severe or resulted in much more than scraped knees and a bruised ego.
One of those incidents was the fault of the car - the driver simply didn’t give me enough room and I had to go off road to avoid him.
The second was my fault. I had eye contact with the driver, but I ran a stop sign and almost paid the price for it. Since then, I have been very observant of traffic laws when I ride - and in my opinion, that is the best way to protect yourself.
One of the biggest benefits of the traffic laws for drivers is that it allows you to anticipate how everyone else on the road will react in order to avoid potential crashes. When bicyclists have the ability to play outside this framework, no one can anticipate what they will do or how they should drive around them, and this causes accidents.