Day 266 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
………
No surprise here.
It turns out that Xavier Omar Rigby, the 22-year old Florida man accused of killing a 38-year old woman riding an ebike — then driving eight blocks with her body lodged in his windshield before falling off — is a repeat offender.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, he admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking weed after he was arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road two years ago. Although the Daily Mail reports prosecutors plea bargained the charged down to just reckless driving last year.
The Daily Mail also says this wasn’t even Rigby’s first hit-and-run, since he was involved in another hit-and-run in 2022 — three years before killing the bike-riding Florida mother last week.
Oh, and when police arrested Rigby this time, they found him at a liquor store about a mile from the crash scene.
He’s currently being held on $750,000 bond. Which seems a tad low under the circumstances.
Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.
………
People For Mobility Justice is hosting a taco bike ride in Willowbrook and East Rancho Dominguez this evening.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
That’s more like it. A pair of British men have been sentenced to life behind bars on murder charges for deliberately driving their pickup into a couple of young men riding ebikes, after chasing them on the wrong side of the road when they mistook them for burglars; the driver will have to spend at least 34 years in prison before he can be considered for parole, while his passenger was sentenced a minimum of 29 years.
Authorities in the UK have arrested six men and one woman for attempted murder after intentionally crashing into an 18-year old bike rider; five of the suspects have already been released on bail. Must have been a very crowded clown car.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
She gets it. A Tahoe writer says “We can’t stop reckless e-bike riders from taking risks, but we can make sure we’re driving safely in order to prevent tragedy.” If everyone thought like that, our roads would be a lot safer.
………
Local
Streetsblog says Culver City’s new Robertson Blvd curb-protected bike lane is shaping up nicely, as part of a safe first/last mile connection to the Metro E Line Station
State
Seriously? A 57-year old man suffered multiple broken ribs when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in Pacific Beach on Sunday, then run over when the driver got out of his car without putting it in park. But at least the guy stopped, right?
An op-ed from a staffer with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition calls on Governor Newsom to sign the recently passed law making it easier to install red light cams, to improve safety for everyone, including people on bicycles.
National
Bike Magazine says the “Ivy League of bicycle framebuilding schools” will open next year in Portland, Oregon. Never mind that the Ivy League isn’t a school.
Trump is rescinding hundred of grants for trails and bike lanes that are somehow deemed “hostile” to cars. Which appears to translate to anything that might possibly inconvenience someone in a car even a tiny bit.
A Colorado magazine recommends eight fall bike rides in and around Denver. Which was always my favorite time to ride when I lived in the city, after the tourists were gone and the students in class, the air was crisp and cool, and the leaves turned vibrant colors.
Life is cheap in Colorado, where a 46-year old man walked without a day behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a bike rider; he received just one year of probation and a lousy 20 hours of community service as part of a very lenient plea bargain.
An Illinois professor and futurist is nearing the end of a 1,000-mile solo bike ride around Lake Michigan, raising $25,000 for Michigan communities.
DC’s new strategic bike plan could balance the distribution of bicycle infrastructure in the city, which currently skips low-income areas.
Great idea. A Hattiesburg, Mississippi bike shop is giving away Naloxone, the opioid overdose drug, to anyone who walks in during a four-hour window on Thursday.
International
Cycling Weekly questions whether modern training methods are really doing the job of helping bicyclists pedal harder to go faster.
A Montreal PhD candidate crunches the numbers, and finds that despite the bikelash, bike lanes only take up 2.3% of the city’s roadways, with infrastructure for the big, dangerous machines claiming the other 97.7%.
French ultra-distance bicyclist Sofiane Sehili is appealing his detention for illegally crossing into Russia, after he had been denied entrance while nearing a record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bicycle. Yeah, good luck with that.
Competitive Cycling
The Israel – Premier Tech cycling team is at serious risk of going under, as bikemaker Factor threatens to pull its sponsorship unless the team changes its name and the country it represents, following repeated protests against the team this year by pro-Palestinian groups.
A 24-year-old Rwandan cyclist is redefining what it means to be an African woman in the sport by competing in road, gravel, mountain biking, and ultra-distance races.
Human Rights Watch says UCI’s comments about Rwanda’s “remarkable journey of transformation” and “warm hospitality” hosting the Road Cycling Worlds can’t cover up the country’s abusive human rights record.
Finally…
Riding a half century-plus on granny’s three-speed bike for fun and nonprofit.
No, seriously. That’s all I’ve got this time.
………
L’shana tovah to everyone celebrating tonight.
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
Leave a Reply