Cyclist Right Hooked and Killed by a Tractor Trailer in Brick

On Thursday morning Suresh Magan was struck and killed by a tractor trailer turning right off westbound Route 88 onto Coolidge Dr in Brick. Magan appears to have been riding with traffic and was crossing the intersection on the green along with the truck.


 
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The Street View image at this urban intersection shows some serious problems. Notice that the stop bar is marked right at the corner with no crosswalk or connecting sidewalks. At the very minimum moving the stop bar back 10 feet from the intersection and painting the crosswalk would only require some paint. A better more comprehensive solution would be to construct a bike box.



In Northern Europe where truck and bicycle collisions make up a substantial percentage of urban cycling fatalities countermeasures have been taken to ameliorate the truck/bike conflict. such the requirement of fitting truck mirrors to cover blind spots, bike safety education courses to drivers and in Copenhagen LED warning devices to warn truckers of approaching cyclists.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of Suresh Magan let's hope that Brick Township and NJ DOT take a look at bike and pedestrian safety improvements along this well traveled bike route.