Dangerous Bicycling in New York

This morning the New York Times reported on a bicyclist that died after falling under a truck while riding down Houston Street. Another, experienced cyclist, a doctor in his 50s who reportedly had been an avid rider for three decades, died the day before when hit by a city tow truck that suddenly turned onto the west side bicycle path along the Hudson River. New York doesn't have to be a place where cyclists' lives are threated every time they get on a bike. The city is a wonderful place to ride: relatively flat and small, riders never need to go much more than 7-8 miles in any direction to reach their destination, and for those that live on the West Side of the city the Hudson path should make any travel stop light and smog free.
But pedestrians and motorists in this city are at war, and this is no exaggeration. Look at any street corner in the city, especially during rush hour, and you'll see people crossing the street when the cross walk light is red and the traffic light for cars is clearly green. The pedestrians cross the street with a look in their eyes that says, "go ahead, &*%hole, I dare you to hit me." Streetwalkers think they own the city, and motorists mostly oblige, in their minds often wishing to mow down the arrogant individual in the middle of the cross walk, but at the last moment reasoning that it probably isn't worth the years of jail time and murderer's guilt that would result.
Cars must make their way through the sea of pedestrians the best they can. I found this out a few weeks ago when I rented a car from one of the agencies located in the middle of the Village, not far from Union Square. As I drove a huge Ford Explorer toward the wide open space of the Henry Hudson Highway, I had to dodge middle aged ladies who suddenly appeared from between parked cars and crossed the street without even looking to see if I, or any other driver, was coming along. Pretty harrowing as a driver, I figured out pretty fast that the only way to make it through the city in a car is to gun the throttle when the street empties for just a moment, and try to make it as far as possible before the next traffic jam or carefree pedestrian suddenly blocks the road.
So, don't be surprised when a driver, be it a truck, taxi, bus or plain old car, gets awfully close to a bicyclist, or maygbe too close. Its one half of the game that all New Yorkers play, putting the other guy at fault and assuming that,even if us pedestrians lose our lives ,at least in court the other guy will be held to blame. It is a culture of agression, and inconsideration, that makes New York City's streets, and apparently bike paths, a stage for acting out so much aggression that they have become battlegrounds rather than thorofares.