The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was found with his bicycle next to a tree at the bottom of an embankment. He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite attempts to resuscitate him.
No other information is available at this time.
Anyone with information is urged to call Accident Investigator Gabe Cobian with the Oceanside Police Department at 760/435-4989.
This is the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in San Diego County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Call it Morning Links Lite today, as too much breaking news and other obligations pulled me in too many different directions to keep up on Thursday.
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It’s been an amazingly fast collapse.
Wednesday morning, Joe Bray-Ali’s campaign for city council was riding high, with a strong chance of pulling off a remarkable upset of CD1 incumbent Gil Cedillo. Thursday night, his campaign appeared to be in tatters.
Not surprisingly, Cedillo called for his opponent to step down, saying “there’s no place in Los Angeles for this type of divisiveness.” Only the kind he has engaged in for the past four years, apparently.
His call was echoed by seven other councilmembers, who issued a joint statement calling on Bray-Ali to drop out of the race; the letter was signed by Council President Herb Wesson, along with Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Joe Buscaino, Mitchell Englander, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Paul Krekorian and Nury Martinez.
Even the LACBC, while legally barred from political activity as a nonprofit organization, toed the line by issuing a statement condemning hateful and divisive language that excludes marginalized communities, without directly naming him or anyone else.
But unless someone manages to catch Cedillo on video taking a bribe or giving a Nazi salute, it looks right now like LA’s worst councilmember will continue to block much needed safety improvements in the district for another five and a half years.
But as KPCC suggested, a lot can happen.
On a personal note, I’ve known and respected Joe Bray-Ali for as long as I’ve been involved in bicycle advocacy. While he is not one to worry about political correctness, I have never seen any sign of racist or sexist attitudes or actions on his part; if I had, I would have shunned him as I have others over the years.
Which leaves me upset and confused over the comments that have come to light in recent days. They do not reflect the man I have come to know, and long considered someone who belongs on the council; in fact, I encouraged him to run years before he began to take the idea seriously.
It is only because of the man I know that I am willing to accept his apology. But I believe he owes us all a better explanation for what he was doing on that site, and for the offensive comments he made.
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Late notice, I know.
But I just got word about the Ride On for Red Nose Challenge, a four day fundraising ride from Santa Barbara to Las Vegas starting this Sunday, sponsored by Walgreens and People For Bikes.
So far it’s raised over $72,000 of the $200,000 goal.
You may still be able to join in if you’re not doing anything next week, and can raise the minimum $5,000 to help end child poverty.
If not, you can see the riders off from Santa Barbara on Sunday. Actually wearing a red nose appears to be optional.
Sunday, April 30 – 11a.m. – noon
A meet and greet with professional cyclists participating in the Ride On For Red Nose Day road ride, locally impacted Red Nose Day charity partners, and Santa Barbara leaders kicking off Day 1 of the 400-mile journey. Day 1 includes a 48-mile ride through Santa Barbara. Riders will depart at noon. Brief remarks at 11:40 a.m., including a welcome from Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson.
A 20-year old man will likely face charges for a 6 am Simi Valley freeway crash in which he was allegedly 1) speeding, 2) driving solo in the carpool lane, 3) texting, 4) drunk, 5) underage, and 6) not wearing a seatbelt.
Other than that, though, he appears to be a model driver.
Except for that thing about losing control, jumping over the concrete center divider and smashing into another car head-on. But nobody’s perfect, right?
My source also found what appears to be the driver’s since edited Twitter profile, which notes his love of alcohol and partying till dawn. Which he appears to have lived up to in this case.
Santa Monica approves a radically redesigned Lincoln Blvd, but rather than installing bike lanes, they expect “competent cyclists” to share the extra five feet in a bus lane that will be available all but three hours of the day. Which of course will be the three hours bike riders need them most.
Former Bicycling editor Peter Flax says he’s put together Ikea beds and TV consoles that were trickier and more time consuming than building the company’s new Sladda bicycle, though the ride left something to be desired.
Cuban cyclist Felix Guirola hasn’t given up on his dream of building the world’s tallest rideable bicycle, with the help of current record holder Stoopidtaller’s builder Ritchie Trimble.
Sad news from Temecula, where a man on a bicycle died following a Wednesday night collision.
According to the Valley News, the victim was struck by a truck driver who was turning right from eastbound Temecula Parkway to Pechanga Parkway around 8:52 pm last night.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies responding to the scene found the man, who has not been publicly identified, lying in the roadway suffering from major injuries. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died today.
There was no indication that alcohol was a factor.
Based on the limited description, it would appear the rider was the victim of a right hook. However, there’s no word on where the victim was riding at the time of the crash.
A satellite view shows a major intersection with seven through lanes and two right turn lanes on Temecula, which suggests that he may have been riding on the sidewalk and rode off into the crosswalk. However, that is just a guess at this time.
Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Carpenter at the Temecula Police Department at 951/696-3000.
This is the 15th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Riverside County.
Regular bike commuter Lou Karlin forwards word that he was attacked by a transient while riding in LA’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood Tuesday evening.
I was going west on Whitworth at Crescent Heights at approximately 6:10 p.m. A male transient was pushing a shopping cart northbound across the intersection. He passed me just as my light turned green. As I began to pedal, he turned back, entered the intersection and punched me in the jaw, knocking me off my bike. The driver behind me stopped and came to my aid. The transient, apparently deranged, accused me of having attacked him first and then threatened to hurt the driver. We let him go on his malevolent way, northbound on Crescent Heights.
I wasn’t badly hurt, just a sore jaw and ribs. I called 911 to report the incident, and was told to wait for officers. Unfortunately, it took 60 minutes and repeated calls before two officers arrived–so the transient had disappeared long ago. In retrospect, I wish I had followed him.
It might be worth a heads up to those who commute on Whitworth — the transient is white with a stocky build, in his 50’s, has a beard, and wore baggy jeans and a light-colored, short-sleeved shirt.
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Speed cameras work.
A Maryland news report says that no pedestrians have been killed on a roadway near the University of Maryland since a speed camera was installed in 2014; three people were killed on the street in the six months before it was put in place.
California Highway Patrol Officer Tom Maguire, representing the CHP’s rank-and-file union, challenged the notion that speed cameras would help improve street safety.
In his 21-year career patrolling the East Bay, Maguire said, “I have never investigated or assisted in an investigation that involved a vehicle and a pedestrian or a vehicle and a bicycle that resulted in a fatality where speed was the primary collision factor. Never.”
Things he should be well acquainted with in his 21 years of patrolling.
In fact, it seem disingenuous, to use the polite term, to suggest that speed is never a factor in a collision, let alone the determining factor in whether someone lives or dies following a wreck.
And the CHP should, and undoubtedly does, know better.
So the question becomes, not whether speed cameras save lives, but why the union representing CHP officers is willing to stand in the way of safety, and continue to let people die on our streets as the victims of speeding drivers.
You’d think they’d be in favor of reducing speeds, obeying the speed limit and saving lives.
But evidently, you’d be wrong.
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We all knew this was coming.
The only question was what it would be, and when.
LAist posted a story yesterday that dug deep into CD1 candidate Joe Bray-Ali’s online history, and found a handful of comments posted to an alt-right website that can be described as insensitive, at best. And that appear to have the fingerprints of the Cedillo campaign.
Bray-Ali explains in a video posted on Facebook that he was, in effect, trolling the users of the site. But apologizes repeatedly for his mistake in judgment.
Virtually every political campaign conducts opposition research on the opposing candidate to dig up whatever dirt they can find. Most campaigns have to common sense and decency not to use it.
Evidently, Gil Cedillo’s doesn’t.
While they will undoubtedly deny having anything to do with it at today’s press conference to denounce Bray-Ali’s comments, there can be little doubt that this came directly from Cedillo’s campaign — and undoubtedly with his direct approval — and was given to the writer for LAist.
I’ve personally been involved in a number of campaigns where someone uncovered damning information about the opposing candidate. The decision on whether to use it was left to the campaign manager, but it always run past the candidate before releasing it.
And in every case, the decision was made not to use it. Sometimes by the campaign manager, sometimes by the candidate. But always because it was the right thing to do.
But clearly, not all politicians are so ethically enlightened.
I am deeply disappointed by Joe Bray-Ali’s comments, and the lack of judgment shown in posting to sites like that, for whatever reason. His only defense is that he was posting as a private citizen, before he chose to run for office.
But he should have known better.
On the other hand, I am disgusted that Gil Cedillo would stoop so low to hold onto a seat he clearly doesn’t deserve. Whether or not he wins the election, his credibility is shattered.
And we should all see him as the dirty politician he has proven himself to be.
A Sacramento news site warns that Vision Zero may be an elusive goal, while noting that countywide figures show bicyclists were at fault in 71% of crashes, and riding salmon in 61%. Both of those numbers seem highly questionable; if so many people are really riding on the wrong side of the street, something is seriously wrong. And they need to find out why.
National
You’ve got to be kidding. A Hawaii judge reduced the bail of a man charged with attempted murder for allegedly driving up onto a sidewalk to intentionally run down a bicyclist — even though he has no permanent address and at least one previous conviction for failing to appear.
A Pennsylvania man has now been in jail for over a year awaiting trial on charges of repeatedly obstructing traffic by riding his bicycle on a local highway, and violating a judge’s order prohibiting him from riding his bicycle, on the highway or anywhere else.
Let that sink in.
He’s been jailed for a full year without bail or a trial for a traffic infraction. Something a driver would have gotten a simple ticket for.
Never mind that he has a legal right to take the lane if it’s too narrow to share with a motor vehicle, which is exactly what bike riders are taught to do.
And never mind that the judge may not have legal authority to prohibit him, or anyone else, from riding a bicycle, any more than she would have the authority to ban him from walking.
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Most bike riders spend less time worrying about avoiding roadkill than becoming it.
And even less about zombie entrails flying through the sky.
Like the Pasadena car dealer who says the city should forget about all those bike lanes and trying to be a green city, and just install more parking spaces and make it more convenient to own a car. Because really, you just can’t have enough places to park a car. Or drive one.
Metro wants to know about your Bike Month events. And no, popping a beer in front of the TV while you watch the Tour of California after finishing your ride doesn’t count.
Life is cheap in Britain, where a careless driver walks with a suspended sentence for killing an 83-year old ebike rider, despite fleeing the scene and coming back to watch the investigation while pretending to be a casual observer.
An English antique shop owner is told to remove the yellow bicycle he puts outside to direct people to his shop because it gives “the wrong image of the town.” But parking a car in front would probably be just fine.
April 25, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Dangerous driver — and pedestrian — tricks, and willfully indignorant* bike-hating writers
The war on bikes goes on.
A Macon GA pedestrian was convicted of misdemeanor assault for body-checking an Air Force chaplain who was riding his bike on a base fitness trail, insisting “the trail is not for bicycles.”
Or as Tom Vanderbilt put it, a driver’s license is too easy to get, and too hard to lose.
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Then there are the writers who just don’t get it. And seem damn proud of it.
A Davis columnist doesn’t seem to like the idea of an Idaho Stop Law, because, in his observations, virtually no one on a bike stops for a stop sign anyway, while every single driver comes to a full and complete stop. No, really, you can stop laughing now, that’s what he said.
On the other hand, an Australian columnist gets it, saying licensing bicyclists isn’t the answer, and that only a change in the attitude of all road users will prevent future tragedies.
The Better Bikeshare Partnership looks at the Team LACBC Diversity program to encourage more people to take part in the annual Climate Ride, beyond the usual white male suspects.
Caught on video: A Skokie IL cop pulls over a driver for tailgating a bike rider, telling them both “I want you to know that I care.” Although it’s kind of scary that the rider didn’t know he was being followed that closely.
Caught on video three: A bike-raging Toronto cyclist smashes the side mirror of an SUV, accusing the driver of laughing after nearly hitting him; a local advocacy group rightly condemns vigilantism while noting that something clearly led up to the incident.
Horrific story from London, where police are looking for a gang of masked thugs who hacked a teenage bike rider to death for no apparent reason, after harassing people earlier in the evening.
A new Dutch system uses bunnies and turtles to tell you whether you need to speed up or slow down to make the next green light. And a cow to say just give up, already.
The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS rebels has resulted in a unique bicycle culture, as cars and motorcycles are banned from moving in the west side of the city, and bikes are more practical in the rest.
According to KABC-7, 43-year old Long Beach resident Sokha Pho was found dead today in a remote region off the Raptor Ridge Trail in Carbon Canyon Regional Park, just over the San Bernardino County line from Orange County.
The station reports he had gone riding yesterday morning, and relatives called authorities when he did not return as expected yesterday afternoon. Rescuers from Orange and San Bernardino Counties conducted a search by foot, vehicle and air before spotting his body around 2:30 pm, suffering from obvious signs of trauma.
Commenters on a member’s only Facebook group said the trail, which is normally safe, was overgrown with foliage and virtually impassible; one rider told me she decided not to ride the trail yesterday because she couldn’t get through the overgrowth.
This is the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in San Bernardino County.
Correction: KABC-7 originally identified the trail as Rafter Ridge, rather than Raptor Ridge. I’ve changed the story to reflect the correct location. Thanks to Bob for the catch.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Sokha Pho and all his loved ones.
April 24, 2017 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: More on Vision Zero funding, bike theft goes unpunished, and Merced driver topples nine riders
The mayor’s proposal instead calls for using Measure M return funds to repave 60 lane miles of streets — just 30 actual miles — in the High Injury Network, while making safety improvements at the same time.
Meanwhile, his proposal to boost Vision Zero spending to $16.6 million would still represent just a small fraction of what New York spends each year to reduce traffic fatalities. Even though Los Angeles leads the nation in pedestrian deaths.
The LACBC’s Tamika Butler suggests tapping police and fire departments budgets to make up the difference.
Tamika Butler, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said the city could find other ways of securing more money for Vision Zero. One option, she said, would be to tap police and fire department funding.
“When you’re looking at the important work these departments do, it’s all about saving lives,” Butler said. “Vision Zero is about saving lives, too.”
The LAPD is chronically understaffed, with the smallest police force per capita of any major American city, while struggling to protect one of the largest patrol areas. As it is now, police have more cases than they can handle, and relatively minor crimes — like stolen bikes — often don’t get investigated.
And the fire department is just recovering from the drastic staffing cuts during the last economic downturn that increased response times to unacceptable levels, putting traffic victims and others in need of emergency care at needless risk.
Yes, we need to find the money to fix our streets somewhere, as well as dramatically increasing spending on Vision Zero to eliminate traffic deaths.
But taking funding from the police and fire departments is the wrong way to go about it.
A big part of the problem has been changes in the law a few year back that reclassified any theft below $1,000 as a misdemeanor, while preventing people convicted of misdemeanors from receiving any real jail time.
And since most bikes fall under that threshold, police put less effort into investigating those thefts, since they know the thief will be back on the street in a few days even if they manage to get a conviction.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t still try to return bikes to their rightful owners when they can. In fact, a detective in the West LA division reported at last week’s meeting of the department’s bike liaison program that they had recovered three bikes in recent months using Bike Index.
You can put this one directly on Governor Brown’s doorstep.
Unlike some other states, California’s three-foot passing law does not allow drivers to briefly cross the center line when safe to do so to pass people on bicycles, because Brown vetoed an earlier version of the bill that would have permitted it.
The result is drivers who try to squeeze by bicyclists unsafely rather than risk a ticket for briefly having two wheels over the yellow line.
So it’s the people on bikes who pay the price, instead.
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Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding this newsreel view of Nazi occupied Paris in 1944, filmed in part using a camera hidden in a bike basket.
Newport Beach pulls back on plans to widen the Coast Highway at Mariner’s Mile to three lanes in each direction, as residents call for revitalizing the street to make it more attractive to bike riders and pedestrians, instead.
They’re onto us, comrades. A San Diego letter writer insists the nefarious bike lobby is running the city government, indoctrinating fourth graders, and forcing poor, put-upon drivers to plod through potholes while we luxuriate in bike lanes. Although he doesn’t begin to compare with the Michigan woman who thinks having to obtain a license to park on the street is just as bad as the Holocaust.
A man returns home to his English hometown seven years after he left on a 43,000-mile around the world bike tour that raised the equivalent of nearly $13,000 for charity.
Bicycling is growing in popularity in South Korea, where beautiful mountains and lakes are just a short ride from Seoul, and the roads have bike lanes.
A new Portland video asks people how many traffic deaths and injuries would be acceptable for their own families, then asks if that should be the goal for everyone.
A bighearted 11-year old Wyoming girl won a new bicycle at an Easter egg hunt over the weekend. But instead of riding it home, she turned around and gave it to another girl who needed one.
Three Michigan police agencies deny charges in a federal report that they could have done more to prevent the Kalamazoo massacre, despite failing to respond to three calls warning about the stoned driver as he careened down the road for 22 minutes before the fatal crash.
Caught on video too: A British bike advocate’s camera is stolen as he’s recording cars parking in a bike lane, then smashed to bits by the thief after a brief chase.
I usually don’t finish reading them, for that matter. Let alone share them on here. But I’m making an exception this time, to give you a chance to ride the Left Coast for a good cause.
Pablove Across America (PAA) is a pro-plus experience with a world-class support crew and the energy of 50 cyclists riding for a cause. Cyclists will have the opportunity to ride down the beautiful California Coast, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. This race was started a few years ago when Jeff Castelaz and Jo Ann Thrailkill lost their six year old son to a rare form of cancer. In order to cope with the pain Jeff rode his bike from Florida to LA and it started in 2009. When friends and family heard of this news a family friend set up a fund and began collecting donations for his ride and for the family. Before they knew it there had over $250K in their account and from there this ride turned into an annual fundraising event to celebrate the life of Pablo and the Pablove Foundation was created to raise money for pediatric cancer.
The Pablove Foundation helps kids with cancer live a love-filled life today, and a cancer-free life tomorrow. Pablove’s mission is to invest in under-funded, cutting-edge pediatric cancer research and improve the lives of children living with cancer through the arts.
The event takes place October 1-7 and is unlike the others – you can see all the 5-star details below. If riders want to participate in just one day of the race (either the sendoff in SF or arrival in LA) they can also do that. And when riders arrive in LA there will be a special party for them at Trancas Country Mart — just north of Zuma/Malibu. The party will include a live musical performance (big name to be confirmed soon) with great food and drinks for all. Locals can also attend to participate in the festivities and welcome in the riders.
Riders are asked to raise at least $7,500 to receive a professional-grade experience, including:
Pro-race support to roll behind the peloton and perform daily maintenance on your bike
Soigneur services to keep your body in good working order through massage
Nutritious meals and on-bike food and drink
A double-occupancy hotel room (upgrades to single rooms available for $100/night, dependent on availability)
A training plan and individualized coaching
Pablove cycling kit with short-sleeved jersey and bib shorts
A New York man suffered a broken arm and jaw after he was knocked off his bike and jumped by a road raging driver and his passengers, because he wouldn’t get the hell out of their way so they could go around a double-parked car; no arrests have been made, even though police got their license number from two separate sources.
Then there’s the road raging driver who pulled his car over to harass a group a cyclists, then provoked an altercation with a second group and apparently pepper sprayed them — then was stupid enough to post the video on Facebook. I don’t know where this occurred, but this appears to be damn good evidence of felony assault; regardless of who attacked whom, he pulled his car over in order to provoke a confrontation. Thanks to Cyclist’s Rights for sharing the link.
Streetsblog takes an initial look at LA’s new interactive Vision Zero map, which appears to be still working the bugs out. What’s missing from the map is any word on what happened in response to the fatality; whether the driver was charged or if any changes were made to the roadway following the crash.
Newport Beach will be conducting a bike and pedestrian safety operation through Monday; as with similar programs in other cities, ride to the letter of the law as long as you’re in the city so you’re not the one ticketed.
A San Diego man who took off with a Border Patrol agent hanging on for dear life in the back of his truck after the agent tried to stop him from stealing a bicycle was sentenced to five years in prison.
Congratulations to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which saved 14 bike riders from themselves in a crackdown aimed at preventing crashes involving motorists, pedestrians and cyclists, but could only manage to find a single scofflaw driver to ticket.
An alleged drunk driver has been arrested for critically injuring a five-year old Sacramento boy as he rode his bike Tuesday evening. There’s something seriously wrong when a little kid can’t ride his bike without being endangered by some jackass who can’t manage to stay the hell out of his car after drinking.
Apple Maps now includes bikeshare docks, but only in New York, London and Paris. After all, the LA area is so unimportant in the greater scheme of things, right?
The National Transportation Safety Board says the Kalamazoo massacre might have been avoided if there had been better communication between the three police agencies in the area; the initial call warning about the stoned driver came 22 minutes before the crash that killed five riders.
The Daily News mostly gets it, calling on the NYPD to stop confiscating ebikes and target reckless cars, instead. Although Disney movies aside, most cars are only as reckless as the drivers in them.
You can carry anything on a bicycle — even a body. Probably not the best idea to bike away from a known drug house if you’ve got outstanding warrants, and drug paraphernalia and meth in your backpack.
