You too can prevent a bicycle crash
To be safe on a bicycle in Boston-area traffic, you need to think outside the box and the bike lane
I read with alarm and dismay of the death of Professor Thomas Rose resulting from a truck-bicycle crash.
A series of such crashes has taken the lives of MIT affiliates in recent years: Phyo Kyaw ’10 in 2011; visiting scientist Kanako Miura in 2013; graduate student of theoretical physics Minh-Thi Nguyen in 2024; and now, Professor Rose.
The bicycling advocacy community repeatedly and almost exclusively calls for “safer streets” — infrastructure improvements — in response to crashes, but I see another lesson: many people who come to MIT find themselves dependent on bicycling for transportation, but they are unprepared for the distinct realities of Boston streets.
I can put myself and others forward as proof that safe cycling is possible in Boston-area traffic — my MIT mentors, Professor David Gordon Wilson and Professor James Melcher, both cycled to work for decades before there was special bicycle infrastructure. But safe cycling here, on any kind of street or path, requires special bicycling-specific expectations, situational awareness, and skills.
Infrastructure changes can sometimes help to improve safety, but offer no guarantee: every fatal crash that I mentioned occurred in connection with a bike lane. For instance, Massachusetts Avenue has bike lanes as it crosses Memorial Drive, where Dr. Rose’s fatal accident occurred. Details of the crash have not yet been released, but the intersection has serious flaws despite repeated modifications — for instance, a bicycling advocate took a count in 2023 and found that 55 of 102 motorists ignored a red right-turn arrow there. Kanako Miura’s and Minh-Thi Nguyen’s crashes both involved “right hooks,” with trucks turning right across a bike lane. Barrier-separated, “protected” bike lanes also do not prevent right hook crashes, as evidenced by another fatal right hook in Cambridge in the same month as Nguyen’s: the bicyclist entered an intersection from a barrier-separated bike lane.
Bicycling skills which suffice in another country or city may create a false sense of security here. Most new residents must improve their skills to bike safely here. This requires a shift in perspective.
It is not safe in Boston traffic to expect other road users to strictly obey the law, or to look for a bicyclist where they don’t expect or can’t see — in the right rear blindspot, in a bike lane in the “door zone,” to the right of turning traffic, in the gap ahead of a stopped vehicle. Safety, then, often requires more than following the law and pavement markings, to apply MIT independence of thought — in this case, to shed the expectation that infrastructure (signs, signals, paint, and barriers) alone will protect bicyclists, or will protect them at all.
To ride safely and efficiently, bicyclists need to be proficient with mounting/dismounting and braking, learn to anticipate and avoid risks, get comfortable with controlling the travel lane — riding in its middle, yes, that is legal — as needed to be visible, avoid the door zone and prevent unsafe overtaking, prepare lane changes in advance, and use lane position and hand signals to communicate. A rear-view mirror helps with that. Online and in-person courses teach the needed skills. They build empowerment and confidence. But bicyclists should still wear a helmet. This is serious risk reduction, even if it is not a free pass to safety.
MIT offers indoor spin classes. That is good for building physical fitness. However, more safe cycling training would easily pay for itself in lives and careers spared, along with future alumni donations. Higher fuel prices, promotion of bicycling, and e-bikes and other electrified personal vehicles, with their broader user base, have led to political friction and increased attention toward bicycling safety. I do see that the idea of training is beginning to get some traction. Locally, Brandeis University has subscribed to an online cycling skills course. MIT might do even better and include on-bike instruction. It’s what I hope and should be able to expect from MIT. As a concerned alumnus, I am ready to offer my assistance.
John S. Allen ’75 has made a career as a writer, instructor and consultant on bicycling issues. He has served on the boards of local, state and national bicycling organizations. He is a certified instructor at CyclingSavvy and author of Bicycling Street Smarts (2019). He lives in Waltham, Mass.