Tag Archive for hit-and-run

Morning Links: New dismount gates on Expo Line bike path, and OC DUI driver hits cyclist hours after getting new car

September 29, 2016 / / 2 comments

Still no luck getting email notifications for new posts working again. But we’re working on it. Please keep coming back every day until we get it fixed.

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The Source reports that Santa Monica has installed a set of six staggered gates on the Expo Line bike path in order to slow bicyclists down before intersections.

Or maybe make them dismount entirely.

According to the press release, the locked gates are required by the California Public Utilities Commission to prevent conflicts with pedestrians at intersections at 19th, 20th and Stewart Streets.

However, while the stated purpose is to get riders to slow down, the signs on the gates clearly say “Cyclists Dismount” for no apparent reason.

Photo from City of Santa Monica

Photo from City of Santa Monica

Gates might make sense there if the purpose was to keep drivers from inadvertently turning onto the bike path, or if they were somehow intended to keep riders from straying onto the railroad tracks when trains were coming.

Instead, they almost seem designed to defeat the purpose of the path by discouraging bike riders from using it. Especially if the absurd dismount requirement is actually enforced, rather than allowing riders to slowly weave around the barriers.

There is no requirement under state law that bicyclists must walk across intersections, anymore than drivers are required to get out of their cars and push them to the other side.

So it would be interesting to know just what the justification is for telling cyclists to dismount.

And whether that comes from the CPUC, Santa Monica, or somewhere else.

Thanks to John Hanson for the heads up.

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A bike rider suffered a possible broken leg when he was struck by a driver who took off without stopping in Costa Mesa Tuesday night.

The Orange County Register reports that, based on the rider’s description, police stopped a gray Mercedes with damage consistent with the collision. After failing a roadside sobriety check, the 22-year old driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run, both felonies.

It didn’t take long for Instagram users to put two and two together, and realize it was the same woman shown posing with pride next to a brand new Mercedes Benz, which has apparently been purchased just hours before the crash.

It also didn’t take long for the photo to be deleted after the negative comments started pouring in.

However, as we all know, once something appears online, it’s usually there forever.

screen-shot-2016-09-28-at-11-21-06-pm

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling, Brent Bigler, and David Huntsman for the tips.

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Gabourey Sidibe is one of us, as she rides an adult tricycle between sets on Empire.

Liev Schreiber is one of us, as he rides his kids to their New York school on a Dutch bike, complete with a wine crate for a basket. Maybe he’s been taking notes from LA Bike Dad. Or maybe Brooks saddles.

J.K. Simmons is one of us as well, as he tells Jimmy Kimmel about bicycling home from his LA gym in 100 degree weather. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

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Local

The LA city council approves a $3 million settlement for a bike-riding rabbi who suffered permanent brain injuries when he was struck by a car on Victory Blvd, just east of the 405 Freeway. The suit alleged that the posted bike route signs implied the dilapidated street was safe to ride, something most people who know the street would likely disagree with. Maybe it would be better if LA spent its money building the bikeways called for in the 2010 bike plan, instead of paying damages to injured bicyclists forced to ride on dangerous streets.

Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman pens a challenging essay asking readers to look beyond their own privilege and consider not just bikes, but the people on them.

Two men have been arrested in an Echo Park shooting believed to be gang related; at least one of the victims was on a bike.

 

State

A NorCal cyclist received minor injuries when he was hit head-on by the driver of a left-turning pickup; a CHP officer somehow sees that as a reason to remind people about the state’s three-foot passing law, which had nothing to do with it.

A writer recommends a serene 12-mile climb through spectacular scenery on your next bike vacation to Lake Tahoe.

 

National

PRI’s The World reports on the Dutch Reach — opening your car door with your right hand, instead of your left — which makes you look back for bike riders before you open the door.

The opening of a new Colorado bike path means cyclists can now ride a continuous 150 mile pathway along I-70 through the Rockies from Glenwood Springs to Denver.

The Chicago Tribune says the city’s evolution as a leading bike-friendly city is next to meaningless if it doesn’t become a bike-safe city, as well.

A Minnesota paper suggests banning cell phones from driving compartments of motor vehicles, and clarifying the definition of gross negligence after a judge acquits an accused distracted driver in the death of a cyclist.

This is why people continue to die on our streets. Just a month after a South Carolina man was arrested for killing a cyclist and fleeing the scene while under the influence, he was arrested once again for DUI. As soon as drivers are charged with drunk or stoned behind the wheel, their licenses should be suspended and their keys taken away pending trial; the right of others to be safe on the road outweighs their privilege to drive.

A New Orleans bike rider was doing everything right, yet still was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding in a bike lane.

 

International

Nice piece from the Guardian, as they look around the world to ask why people on bicycles are considered interlopers on the streets, and whether drivers will ever learn to share them with bicyclists.

An Edmonton, Canada paper recommends giving physically separated bike lanes a try, despite the city’s failed attempts at bike infrastructure; Calgary cyclists tell them they’ve been a tremendous success there.

A new European safety campaign uses Formula 1 drivers to tell kids to “Stay Bright” on their way to and from school.

A road raging British driver has been charged with chasing a bike rider and running him down, following an argument when she was reportedly driving distracted.

The mother of a fallen British bike rider is relieved that the truck driver who killed her daughter in a left hook was spared prison time, saying there are no winners when something like this happens.

A Paralympic champion had her specially adapted bike stolen just hours after she returned home to Great Britain.

Horrible story from the UK, as a road raging bicyclist is charged with manslaughter in the death of a retired man who was pushing his wife in a wheelchair; the victim somehow hit his head on the pavement as a result of the dispute. Once again, never resort to violence, no matter how justified you may feel at the time. This rider should face the same consequences we’d expect of a motorist under similar circumstances.

A DC website looks at how Barcelona gets bicycling right.

 

Finally…

Now you and your dog can both get a workout without ever leaving home. And there are no minor traffic collisions when you’re an assistant Ohio State football coach.

On the other hand, there are no major consequences, either.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Update: 22-year old Jurupa Valley bike rider killed in early morning hit-and-run

September 6, 2016 / / One comment

A Riverside County became the latest bicyclist to be murdered by a hit-and-run driver, in what is becoming an epidemic in Southern California.

According to the Press-Enterprise, 22-year old Jurupa Valley resident Forrest Holmes was killed in a collision at the intersection of Limonite Ave and Lucretia Ave in Jurupa Valley around 2 am today.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No information is available on how the wreck occurred, and there’s no description of the driver or the suspect vehicle.

A street view shows a wide, four lane roadway on Limonite, with a an un-striped residential street on Lucretia; they meet at a T-intersection controlled by a traffic light. None of which means anything without knowing what happened.

This is 57th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh in Riverside County.

It’s also the third fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider in the past week, and the fifth in just the last five weeks.

Update: KABC-7 reports Holmes was an aspiring minister, and had gotten up early to minister to day laborers at a local Home Depot. 

The station places the site of the collision on Limonite, less than a half mile west of Lucretia, rather than at the intersection itself. After he was struck from behind, other drivers comforted him as he lay dying after the driver fled the scene. 

A gofundme page has been established to help pay for his funeral expenses; as of this time, it has raised a little over $1,100 of the $5,000 goal. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Forrest Holmes and his family and friends.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links, Update / Tags: , , , ,

Update: 20-year old bike rider killed in Inglewood hit-and-run

September 2, 2016 / / No comments

Not again.

Just hours after news broke of a fatal hit-and-run on PCH Monday night, word comes that another bicyclist was murdered by a heartless hit-and-run driver in Inglewood just hours later.

According to the Daily Breeze, 20-year old William McGee was hit by a vehicle around 2:25 this morning at Crenshaw Boulevard and 109th Street. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died soon after.

No other information is available at this time, and no details were provided on the driver or the vehicle involved.

A street view shows a divided four lane street on Crenshaw, while 109th is a narrow residential street that enters on a T-intersection controlled by a red light.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Inglewood Police Department at 310/412-5211.

There’s no excuse, ever, for leaving another human being to die in the street. If the driver is found, he or she should face a 2nd degree murder charge, along with a permanent loss of driving privileges.

This is the 56th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and 23rd in Los Angeles County this year.

Update: KNBC-4 reports a burning van was found nearby with damage consistent with hitting a bicyclist, suggesting the driver had set it on fire to coverup the crime.

The youngest of three sons, McGee had just celebrated his 20th birthday six days before he was killed.

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My deepest sympathy and prayers for William McGee and all his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , ,

PCH claims another victim, as bike rider killed in Pacific Palisades hit-and-run

September 2, 2016 / / 8 comments

Yet another bike rider has been murdered by a heartless driver who didn’t have the basic human decency to stop.

KCBS-2 reports the victim was struck by the driver of a white Jeep around 11 pm on PCH at Sunset Blvd. However, they add that it was near Temescal Canyon, suggesting that the wreck occurred somewhere in between the two streets.

No information is currently available about the victim, who died at the scene.

The driver fled following the crash, with the front bumper hanging off the vehicle.

No other details are available at this time.

According to SWITRS data, the brief section of PCH through Los Angeles remains one of the most dangerous areas of the coast highway, with 158 bicycle-involved crashes in the last 12 years, second only to Long Beach. Malibu is third with 128.

The section of PCH that runs through Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Malibu has been the site of nine bicycling fatalities in that time, including this one, making it one of the deadliest roads for cyclists in Southern California. At least three of those deaths have been the result of hit-and-runs.

Malibu is currently working on safety improvements to PCH through the city, while Caltrans has promised to eventually widen PCH to provide shoulders through the section where this crash presumably occurred.

This is the 55th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 22nd in Los Angeles County; it’s also the seventh in the City of Los Angeles.

Note: An earlier version of this story contained the wrong total for bicycling fatalities in Los Angeles County this year; it has been corrected to reflect the accurate total. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.

Thanks to Brian Nilsen for the heads-up. And thanks to Ed Ryder for the stats on PCH.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Reverse hit-and-run — driver found, victim missing; and cyclist buzzed and told to “get a car, bitch!”

August 31, 2016 / / One comment

Usually police look for the driver following a hit-and-run.

This time, they’re looking for a victim.

Azusa police acted on a tip to find a driver who admitted to hitting a bike rider, even though his story seems to have bigger holes than the one in his windshield.

Damaged-car-2

A press release from the Azusa Police Department says the driver doesn’t even know when he hit the cyclist, telling the police it happened at an unknown time and location, sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning.

The driver reportedly said the victim’s friends laughed about it, and that he drove off after talking with the rider he hit, who also left the scene. Which seems improbable, given the major damage to his windshield, suggesting a significant impact.

Never mind that someone would have to be pretty wasted to crash into someone and not even know when it happened, let alone where.

Police don’t know if a crime actually occurred, but are asking anyone with information to call the Azusa Police Department at 626/812-3200.

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This is who we share the roads with.

Bike commuter weshigh was the victim of not one, but two dangerous passes from the same driver — the last one just a foot away, in clear violation of California’s three foot passing law.

And adding insult to injury, the driver yelled at him to “get a car, bitch!” when he caught up to him at a red light.

A better solution would be if the driver wasn’t allowed to use one anymore.

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Congratulations to the LACBC’s Tamika Butler on her well-deserved award from the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals for 2016 Professional of the Year – Nonprofit Sector.

Streeetsblog quotes Alta Planning’s Jessica Roberts, chair of the APBP’s awards committee, explaining why she was chosen.

“Los Angeles and the entire region are really important right now, not just to the many people that live there but as a national example,” Roberts explained. “What is in the city’s Mobility Plan demonstrates where our nation needs to go, where active transportation is not an after-thought, but a core strategy…LACBC and Tamika are part of writing that important story.”

Then there’s this from another committee member.

“Tamika has challenged the pedestrian and bicycle professional community to grapple with the ways that privilege and structural inequality are embedded in our transportation system and our profession,” wrote Sarah Fine, a member of the APBP awards committee and a planner with the City of Oakland. “We’re all better for it.”

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Caught on video: Cycling Weekly offers a bike cam perspective of the Vuelta’s crash-filled stage 10.

Trailing by nearly three minutes, Alberto Contador says his chances of winning the Vuelta are close to nil, although third place Chris Froome thinks he still has a shot.

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Local

The LACBC talks with 11-year old bike advocate Matlock Grossman, who impressed everyone with his insightful comments about the Rowena road diet.

The Hollywood Reporter offers a detailed look at the terrifying attack on a Beverly Hills surgeon, which started when three people in Venice claimed he damaged a bicycle and demanded $150 on the spot.

KPCC reports on the launch of West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals bikeshare, with UCLA up on deck.

Pasadena Star-News columnist Larry Wilson gets it, saying despite the fears of merchants — one in particular — over lost parking, it’s time to give bikes a chance. On the other hand, Susan Shelley of the Daily News apparently doesn’t, insisting that free parking and avoiding poetry readings is fundamental right.

CiclaValley continues his tale of a recent Napa wine tasting bike tour.

 

State

Only a few months after confiscating the bikes of off-road riders for trespassing on the base, the Marines’ MCAS Miramar, the former home of Top Gun — yes, that Top Gun —  may open a trail to cyclists.

Five members of Ventura’s Channel Islands Bike Club finish a 3,400 mile ride across the US.

Apparently, it’s not just Coronado. San Jose residents complain about the sharrows “defacing” their neighborhood, describing them as blight and graffiti. On the other hand, it’s nice to know they don’t like sharrows, either.

San Francisco breaks ground on the city’s first protected intersection to reduce conflicts between people driving, walking and biking.

 

National

The federal case against Lance Armstrong reaches a critical phase as both sides request a summary judgment.

The Federal Highway Administration addresses several common misperceptions about bicycle and pedestrian funding.

That’s more like it. An Oregon man gets six years and loses his driver’s license for life for killing a teenage bike rider while visibly drunk. Any conviction for killing another human being while driving should result in the automatic loss of license. Period.

The Detroit News writes about fallen cyclist Karen McKeachie, saying the champion triathlete died doing what she loved. Seriously, if anyone says that about me, I’ll come back and haunt them and their descendants for all eternity.

A Pennsylvania man says he shouldn’t have been driving after using heroin, cocaine and marijuana before getting behind the wheel; unfortunately, it came a little too late for the bicyclist he killed.

Buried in the 3,721 page records of Hillary Clinton’s schedules at the State Department is news that she dedicated a basement shower for employees who wanted to bike or run to work.

 

International

A Vancouver cyclist says a new bike lane is completely terrifying, dumping riders into a shared lane with right-turning drivers.

That super-rich Canadian senator deleted her Twitter account after comparing Toronto’s bike lanes to a third-world country.

A writer for the Montreal Gazette says ghost bikes contradict the city’s myth of shared roads.

Caught on video too: Celebrity is clearly no protection from road raging drivers, as a BBC presenter suffers the wrath of a driver who assaults him and threatens to knock him out for the crime of riding his bike outside the door zone.

A South African mountain biker could face murder charges for fatally stabbing two men he says were trying to steal his bike.

Aussie cyclists call for repealing the country’s mandatory bike helmet law, while physicians warn the rate of head injuries could go up. Of course, the only way to find out is repeal, or at least suspend, the law and study the outcome.

Turns out the Aussie truck driver we mentioned yesterday who buzzed a cyclist, then got out of his truck to repeatedly threaten him is a member of a neo-Nazi group. Which doesn’t seem that surprising in retrospect.

A former soccer player and cancer survivor is planning a 750 mile ride across Japan to encourage people suffering from the disease.

A Beijing blog list 16 things that need banning more than the just banned e-scooters, including cyclists who ignore road regulations, and elderly riders who kick their legs over their bikes without looking first to see if other riders are passing.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to celebrate your victory, wait until you actually do. If you’re already on probation and riding a stolen bike at 3:30 am, don’t attract attention by nearly getting run over trying to cross the street.

And if you can’t sleep, you may be overtraining. But at least you should be happy.

 

Category: Bike Cam Video, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links, Road Rage / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Update: Bicyclist killed by fleeing suspect in Loma Linda police chase

August 19, 2016 / / 7 comments

A police chase has turned deadly in Loma Linda, as a Loma Linda bike rider was run down by a suspect fleeing from San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies.

According to a notice released by the department, deputies were attempting to serve a domestic violence warrant on 37-year old Eric Tafoya of Rancho Cucamonga at a residence on Benton Court in Loma Linda this morning when they saw him leave the home.

They attempted to stop his car as he drove away, however, Tafoya continued driving, apparently traveling south on Benton Street before turning west on Barton Road.

As he approached the intersection with Anderson Road at 10:48 am, he smashed into a bike rider, then continued on without stopping, until he crashed into a van and fled on foot. He was taken into custody a short time later after being located by a police dog.

The victim, whose identity is being withheld pending notice of next of kin, was taken to nearby Loma Linda Medical Center, where he died at 12:18 pm.

No other information is available at this time.

There’s no word on how fast Tafoya’s vehicle was traveling, or whether the victim was struck on Barton or crossing at the intersection.

However, a street view shows a four lane street that could invite high speeds, with a bike lane on the right shoulder.

Tafoya now faces a possible murder charge, in addition to the original warrant.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Region 1 Major Accident Investigation Team at 909/918-2305; anonymous tips can be made at 1-800/782-7463.

This is the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in San Bernardino County; it’s also the second in Loma Linda since the first of the year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 62-year old Redlands resident Randolph Stephenson.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Randolph Stephenson and his loved ones.

Thanks to Kate for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , , ,

Weekend Links: Reward for killer hit-and-run Riverside County driver, and CicLAvia returns to Wilshire this Sunday

August 13, 2016 / / 2 comments

The family of fallen cyclist Duane Darling calls on the public’s help in tracking down the hit-and-run driver who left him to die on the side of a Riverside County road.

Investigators are looking for a Ford F-150 pickup with damage to the passenger-side headlight. Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP at 951/637-8000; there’s a $1,000 reward in the case.

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Just in time for Sunday’s CicLAvia, the Militant Angeleno offers his guide to the iconic, if truncated, route, which has been shortened due to construction on the Purple Line subway.

However, he fails to include the locations of any of the other 55 Pokestops along the route.

CicLAvia offers a list of feeder rides to the event. Given the heat forecast for the weekend, my feeder ride may be the Red Line.

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More kindhearted cops.

Over a dozen Virginia police officers pitch in to buy a new bike for an autistic boy after his was stolen off his porch.

And a pair of Kentucky cops buy a new bike for a seven-year old girl after hers was stolen; the girl touchingly said the officers healed her heart.

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Evidently, it takes one to know one. Lance Armstrong makes a cryptic, one-word doping accusation when Fabian Cancellara won gold in the Rio time trial.

Bradley Wiggins becomes the UK’s most decorated Olympian after winning gold in the men’s team pursuit.

The Guardian looks at the impact not making their nation’s Olympic teams has on women cyclists, and what comes next for them.

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Local

Damien Newton talks with Bike SGV’s Wes Reutimann.

Membership in the new WeHo Pedal bikeshare costs just $69 for the first year.

 

State

A two week ride to put an end to human trafficking will end in Newport Beach on September 25th.

The co-founder and CEO of the Lyft car-sharing service once biked 350 miles from LA to Mono Lake, and helped raised funds for a campus bike line as a student at UC Santa Barbara.

The Department of DIY strikes in San Francisco, as a group called the San Francisco Transformation Agency is taking bike safety into their own orange cone-bearing hands.

Thirty bicyclists riding across the US with the Bike & Build program stopped in Stockton to work on a home.

 

National

A Colorado woman wants a new mayor who won’t pander to bike riders by allowing them to rudely ride in the middle of the traffic lane, while a bike-riding Colorado lawyer offers advice on how to deal with police and angry drivers. Such as the letter writer, probably.

A new Nebraska law gives bike riders the same crosswalk right-of-way enjoyed by pedestrians, as well as repealing the outdated mandatory side path rule.

Evidently, cycling is an obscure sport, at least as far as a Boston writer is concerned as he ranks the greatest sports movies. American Flyers over Breaking Away? Seriously?

A writer for the Boston Globe calls for cycle tracks in the city.

DC is installing pocket lanes to help bike riders navigate through intersections to avoid right hooks.

Tragic story from South Carolina, as a 77-year old bike rider died after riding into a ravine; he left a voice mail for his wife saying he’d crashed into a creek bed and needed help, and hung his shirt on a tree branch to signal rescuers, but wasn’t found until it was too late.

A Louisiana cyclist made it about a mile onto the 26-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, which prohibits bicyclists. I threatened to try riding it myself more than once when I live down there, since it would cut the ride to New Orleans down to a few scenic hours.

The Florida cop who accidently shot and killed a 77-year old woman left his previous job after siccing his police dog on a bike rider.

Florida cyclists wisely object to plans to place buffered bike lanes on a six lane divided highway with a 55 mph speed limit.

 

International

Bike Radar asks if you’re a cycling snob.

An off-duty British cop goes beyond the call of duty by stopping a thief and recovering the bike he stole, then using his own car to track down the vacationing Dutch couple it belonged to.

After a Brit bike rider was knocked cold by a hit-and-run driver, paramedics leave him on the side of the road, despite a neck injury and a broken shoulder, telling him to find his own way home.

A BBC TV reporter discusses his long road to recovery after a near-fatal bicycling collision; when he woke from a two-week coma, he thought he was an American race car driver in 1952.

Spend your next bike vacation pedaling through the real Palestine from Tel Aviv through Jericho and Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

 

Finally…

If you can’t fix it with duct tape, it ain’t broken. If you miss not being on your bike, doesn’t that mean you wish you weren’t on it?

And you’ll need to ride a bike for 50 minutes to work off the calories from the new frozen deep-fried Twinkies.

Which seems like as good an excuse as any.

 

Category: Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

BOLO Alert: Bike rider critically injured in North Hills hit-and-run last month; LAPD still looking for witnesses

August 8, 2016 / / One comment

I’ve just received the following press release from the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division.

Hit and Run Driver Leaves Bicyclist Severely Injured

North Hills:

A hit and run traffic collision involving a motor vehicle and bicyclist occurred on Saturday, July 23, 2016, approximately 5:00 a.m. at Parthenia Street west of Woodley Avenue, in the community of North Hills.

The vehicle was traveling westbound Parthenia Street and collided with the bicycle being ridden by James Mours, a 47 year old resident of Mission Hills. The bicyclist sustained major injuries and was transported by Los Angeles Fire Department personnel to a local hospital for medical treatment. He is still listed in very critical condition.

There is no description of the vehicle or the driver. The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking anyone who may have witnessed the collision.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Valley Traffic Division Officer M. Tucker at (818) 644-8114. The report number is 16 17 13752. During non-business hours or weekends, calls may be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800)-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most key pads) using a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters can also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “web tips” and follow the prompts.

Let’s get the word out and see if we can get some witnesses to come forward.

Best wishes to James Mours for a full and fast recovery.

Thanks to Officer Troy Williams for the heads-up.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Insurance owes squat if a hit-and-run driver misses, more on SB 986, and more kindhearted cops

August 8, 2016 / / No comments

Bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Josh Cohen uncovers an insurance loophole that victimizes hit-and-run victims a second time.

In a piece he penned for a law journal, Cohen points out that insurance companies aren’t required to pay for hit-and-run crashes caused by drivers if the car doesn’t actually make contact with the victim.

He illustrates it with the story of a bike rider who was forced into a stopped car by an inattentive driver.

The client pulled into the number two lane behind the last car stopped. He intended to pass the bus and vehicles stopped behind it in the number one lane once the traffic light turned green. The light turned green. Suddenly the client heard a car accelerate toward him from behind. The driver behind him did not notice him and was bearing down on him. The driver’s car came within inches of the client. The client took his last clear chance and veered back into the lane to his right. He got injured when he crashed into the stopped car to his right.

The driver of the car that caused the crash recognized he was at fault. He pulled over, took out his driver’s license and insurance card, and waited. An ambulance came and took the client away. The police never came. The offending driver left the scene, rendering the case a hit and run. But not exactly: there was no hit. It was a near-miss and run.

The victim’s insurance company denied his claim under the uninsured motored coverage on his policy, which requires actual physical contact — despite the state’s three-foot passing law.

Cohen says the easy and obvious solution is to remove the physical contact clause from the state’s uninsured motorist statute, saying it places an undue burden on vulnerable users.

Sounds right to me.

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While we’re on the subject of bad laws, a lawyer writing for the prestigious National Law Review warns that careless wording in California’s proposed SB 986 could put pedestrians at risk if drivers are allowed to legally roll through red lights to make right turns. CiclaValley takes up the subject, as well.

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More kindhearted cops.

LA County sheriff’s deputies team up to replace a bike stolen from a 41-year old San Dimas man with Down’s Syndrome. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Minneapolis police arrange for a new bike for a ten-year old boy whose bicycle was stolen by an older kid who punched him in the face.

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Spoiler alert: We’re going to talk about the men’s and women’s road races from the Rio Olympics. So if you still have them on your DVR or waiting to download, skip down to the next section.

Broken-hearted American Mara Abbott just missed a medal as she was caught by three riders within sight of the finish line, as Holland’s Anna van der Breggen took gold.

Abbott had been riding with Annemiek van Vleuten when the Dutch rider suffered a horrific crash; as of Sunday night, van Vleuten was in intensive care with a fractured spine, though Dutch officials said she was okay and conscious.

Belgian cyclist Greg van Avermaet took the gold in the men’s race after leaders Vincenzo Nibali and Sergio Henao hit the pavement less than seven and a half miles from the finish line on the road course’s crappy pavement.

Australian Ritchie Porte is out of the time trial after breaking his shoulder in Saturday’s race, while Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali will have surgery for a broken collarbone. Rwandan team captain Adrien Niyonshuti failed to finish, blaming his bike for the early exit.

Meanwhile, American Andrew Talansky entered the final stage of the Tour of Utah with the lead, but ended up losing the race to Aussie Lachlan Morton.

As Deadspin says, cycling is cruel.

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Local

After years of promises, Wilshire Blvd finally gets new pavement and buffered bike lanes through the Condo Canyon area formerly known as “the gauntlet” for its speeding cars and bad pavement, connecting with the existing one whole block of bike lanes east of Beverly Glen. Odd that we’re told that Westwood Blvd has too much traffic and too many buses for bike lanes, while Wilshire gets bike lanes despite having far more of both.

Fallen cyclist and music teacher Rod Bennett lives on in his music at Santa Clarita’s LA SummerFest, even if no one showed up to listen.

Long Beach plans for greater density, sidewalks and bike lanes along an industrial stretch of PCH.

An 18-year old Long Beach man could be 26 before he rides a bike again after using his in a string of cellphone thefts.

 

State

A Redlands couple are halfway through a 10,000 mile tandem ride around the US.

After a 21-year old Chico woman was killed riding her bike, her parents find a bucket list in her bedroom and decide to live it out for her.

 

National

Bicycling talks with President Obama’s bike commuting chief of staff.

Missed this one last week, as CNN says distracted driving goes way beyond mere texting. Thanks to Victor Bank for the link.

A competitor in the Boulder CO Ironman was killed when she was struck by a car during the bicycling portion of the race. The course was not closed to motor vehicles, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look up and see there’s a damn race going on. Thanks to Penny Sputh for the tip.

A Denver bike cop credits his helmet with saving his life when he was run down by a driver who was having a seizure nearly two years ago; the driver got six years in a halfway house for failing to disclose his condition when applying for a driver’s license.

One of the benefits of putting cops on bikes is their ability to respond quickly, as demonstrated by the El Paso bike cops who arrested a bank robber while he was still at the teller window.

Cyclists ride outside the White House to “bike around the bomb” on the 71st anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing; they were joined by people riding around the Sepulveda basin here in LA.

 

International

An Edmonton, Canada bike rider accepts an apology from the driver who got out of his car to hurl a racial slur. Somehow, we’re all expected to believe the man was deeply remorseful, and not just trying to prove to the world he’s not really a racist after the video went viral. Not to mention avoid prosecution.

Caught on video: A London cyclist somehow manages to ignore the driver hurling obscenity-laced abuse at him.

Caught on video too: Another London bike rider learns the hard way not to splash water in the face of a driver he was arguing with, when the driver swerves into him and forces him into oncoming traffic. Similar to my greatest lesson, which was never flip off the driver behind you. For reasons which should be painfully obvious, and for which I still have the scars.

One Direction’s Harry Styles is one of us, as he takes to the streets of London on a classic Raleigh tri bike.

An Indian writer says bike commuting hasn’t caught on because owning a car is a symbol of moving from poverty into the middle class in the developing country.

An Israeli reporter asks the US State Department if Israel should pay a Palestinian girl $100 for the bicycle that border guards took from her and tossed into the bushes. Seriously, is this even a question? Just buy the girl a new bike, already.

Aussie motorcyclists are beating traffic by illegally using suburban bike paths, putting bicyclists and pedestrians at risk.

An Australian paper says new studies suggest being visible is less important than whether drivers are actively looking for people on bikes, giving more support to the safety in numbers theory.

Once again, police crack down on the victims, as Hong Kong police respond to recent bicycling deaths by chasing down law breaking bike riders.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to get high and shitfaced drunk, try not to stop your bicycle in the middle of a traffic lane in front of a school bus. Pro cyclists may not have better legs than you do, just better brains.

And no, you can’t actually live tweet an Olympic road race while you’re competing in it.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Redlands bike rider killed in Meade Valley hit-and-run

August 4, 2016 / / One comment

It’s happened again.

Yet another bike rider has been left to die on the side of the road by a murderous coward.

In a story that flew under the radar earlier this week, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that an unidentified cyclist had been killed in a hit-and-run Sunday night.

According to the paper, the CHP was attempting to identify the victim, who was apparently struck from behind while riding west on Cajalco Road west of Wood Road in Meade Valley; however, Google Maps places that location in Perris, instead. No word on the time of the collision.

The driver fled the scene without stopping. Police are looking for the driver of a 2008-2014 Ford car with front end damage on the passenger side, with a possible broken headlight.

The victim was identified today as Duane Darling, a member of the Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company, a recreational bike club based in Redlands. He was reportedly on a 60-mile ride when he was killed.

No other information is available at this time.

A street view shows a two lane, undivided highway with a shoulder on each side; there would have been nowhere to go if he had seen or heard the car coming up behind him.

Anyone with information with information is urged to call CHP investigators at 951/901-8401, or the Riverside office at 951/637-8000.

Once they find the driver, he — or she — should face a second-degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim to die.

This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Riverside County; that compares with 41 in SoCal this time last year, and four in the County.

If the crash did occur in Perris, it is the fourth fatal bike collision in the city in the last 36 months.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Duane Darling and all his friends and lived ones.

Thanks to Dorothy Wong and Lester Walters for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,
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