A salmon cyclist was killed in Twentynine Palms last night.
According to the Hi Desert Star, a 32-year old man, whose identity has been withheld pending notification of next of kin, was riding against traffic on the north shoulder of Valley Vista Road west of Sherman Hoyt Road at 8:31 pm, when he reportedly attempted to cross the road. Note: The coroner’s office lists the victim’s age as 31.
He was struck by a westbound car driven by 31-year old Ann Marie Platzke of Twentynine Palms. The story inexplicably says he was struck from behind, which would be impossible given that they were traveling towards one another.
Investigators found an open container of alcohol near the victim, implying that he may have been riding under the influence, which is illegal under California law.
Drunk or not, the victim should have been able to see a car approaching directly in front of him on such a flat, straight road. Why he might have attempted to cross the road at that point will remain a tragic mystery.
This is the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third in San Bernardino County.
Update: The victim has been identified as 31-year old Micky James Mroz of Lucerne Valley.
My prayers and sympathy for Micky James Mroz and his loved ones.
Santa Monica police are offering up a new PSA suggesting that stopping for stop signs while riding a bike is child’s play. And the best way to ensure you’ll get home to yours.
Children, that is.
It’s not like their message isn’t reasonable — both the law and common sense dictate that we should observe traffic signals just like anyone else. But while they’ve undoubtedly scored points with bike-hating residents, they could have done a lot more good by focusing on the need for motorists to pay attention and drive safely around bike riders.
Which is what share the road really means, despite the way some drivers — and police departments, apparently — try to twist it these days.
After all, even the most dangerous cyclists pose a risk primarily to themselves, while dangerous drivers pose a risk to everyone around them.
I don’t have any records on what may have caused bike injury collisions in Santa Monica. But neither of the two bicyclists killed in Santa Monica in recent years ran a red light or stop sign. Antonio Cortez died after riding into an open car door while allegedly riding drunk, while Erin Galligan was run down from behind by while riding home from work on PCH.
Even if he was as stumbling drunk as SMPD officials implied, Cortez would probably still be alive today if a driver hadn’t left his car door open in violation of California law.
And to the best of my knowledge, no one has ever suggested that Galligan did anything wrong, other than occupy the same road space as the speeding hit-and-run driver who killed her.
Maybe the SMPD’s next bike safety videos should focus on closing your damn car door and not running away like a coward after you kill someone.
Then again, this is the same department that has promised to crackdown on scofflaw cyclistsmore than once. Even though they can’t legally focus enforcement on specific violators as opposed to violations.
That is, they can legally ticket everyone who rolls stop signs, for instance. But they can’t direct their enforcement towards cyclists as opposed to everyone else on the road.
And they should know that.
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As long as we’re sharing videos, here’s one from the Encino Velodrome’s recent Swap Your Legs Race.
http://vimeo.com/pfcycles/encino-velodrome
Meanwhile, a great video says it’s time to fix LA’s broken sidewalks. And even our Twitter-using mayor liked it.
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The Daily News is the latest to notice that current LA law bans kids playing on or near streets.
A writer for City Watch says the Pacoima Wash bike and pedestrian pathway recently approved by the San Fernando City Council has the power to transform the area.
Fair warning to Los Angeles, as Oakland agrees to pay out $3.25 million to a cyclist seriously injured after hitting a pothole. The city had received numerous complaints about the pothole-ridden road but failed to fix it.
Drivers are at fault for injury collisions with bicyclists in a Georgia county two-thirds of the time. But why did they illustrate the story with a crashed motorcycle?
A documentary maker for the BBC moves to LA, but gives up bicycling to work due to “distracted drivers going 50 mph in the dark.” But isn’t that half the fun? Thanks to Jim Pettipher for the heads-up.
Funny how often totally insane cyclists attack perfectly innocent motorists for absolutely no rational reason. Seriously, no one should ever attack anyone else on the roadway or use their U-lock as a weapon. But something tells me there’s probably another side to stories like this.
The owner of Soigneur magazine looks at five up and coming bicycling groups, and manages to be only somewhat offensive, particularly in regards to women riders.
A writer for the Guardian says cyclists aren’t the enemy, and it’s time to end the us versus them mentality.
An Australian writer suggests bike cams have been beneficial, but oddly worries about privacy concerns even though nothing that occurs in public view is ever private.
Your next helmet could look like an alien brain if you’re willing to spend more than $1000 for the privilege.
Finally, after an Aussie BMW worker calls for intentionally dooring cyclists and posting the videos online, the story somehow devolves into a debate over licensing cyclists, rather than protecting them from illegal assaults by bike-hating jerks.
News is just coming in that Wendy Villegas has been convicted in the hit-and-run death of cyclist Luis “Andy” Garcia.
According to Danny Gamboa, Villegas changed her plea to no contest for the September 14th collision that took the life of Garcia, and left two other riders seriously injured.
Gamboa reports she accepted a plea bargain of three years and eight months in prison for felony hit-and-run and DUI. That represents a gift from the DA’s office, as she had been facing a minimum of five to seven years for vehicular manslaughter, DUI and felony hit-and-run, with a maximum of 10 to 15 years.
In other words, she was sentenced to just 20% of what she could have faced.
She proceeded to drive home, dragging Garcia’s bike several hundred feet beneath her car according to LA Streetsblog. She was reportedly still drunk when she was taken into custody several hours later.
Meanwhile, her victims remained where they’d fallen. Lopez had been tossed into the air, breaking his back and leg; Melgar was nearly knocked over the guardrail and into the LA River below.
Garcia was left lying in the roadway, where he was run over by a second vehicle. Whether he could have survived the initial impact had Villegas stopped as the law requires will never be known.
Many reports suggested that the 21-year old Villegas never seemed to grasp the seriousness of her actions, as exemplified by this courtroom incident reported by Sahra Sulaiman in the Streetsblog story above.
So, when she and her lawyer complained that wearing an ankle bracelet that would monitor both alcohol intake and movement would be inconvenient to a young, working student as well as a challenge for her to pair it properly with the variety of shoes she wears, Lopez couldn’t take it any more.
“I thought to myself at that moment, ‘Well, what about Andy?’” he wrote. “‘[Andy] was a full time student in college. He had responsibilities. But yet, he can’t and will never be able to fulfill them…And she is worried about her fashion sense! What about the inconvenience she brought upon his family and friends?’”
He finally yelled out, “But she killed someone!”
Maybe a few years in state prison will succeed in driving that home.
Update: KTLA-5 reports that Villegas is scheduled for sentencing on April 22nd. Not surprisingly, the story notes that many of the cyclists in the courtroom were unhappy with the minimal sentence, and the Garcia’s mother was repulsed by Villegas lack of remorse.
First up, let’s go back to that video we shared yesterday, in which I was Jerry Browned by a pair of our fellow cyclists.
But this time, instead of looking at what they did, take a look at what I did. Or more precisely, didn’t do.
Which is, react.
Notice that in both cases, I held my line without swerving in either direction.
Not exactly the easiest thing to do.
It’s human nature to react — or too often, overreact — to the unexpected, either by swerving away from it or, counter intuitively, swerving into it. Many people react to being startled by turning to look towards whatever it is that surprised them. And naturally, if they’re on a bike, their bikes follow.
Either one can increase your risk exponentially, as a rider startled by an unexpected pass on the left could swerve right into parked or turning cars, or risk injury by falling or crashing over a curb. Meanwhile, a swerve to the left can result in a crash with the person or vehicle that startled you, or a cutting dangerously or falling in front of traffic.
If I’d reacted to the first rider by jerking my bike to the right, I could have collided with the cars in the right turn lane; to the left, I could have been hit by the cars going straight.
That’s why one of the most important skills you can develop — and a key to defensive riding, as well as driving — is learning not to react unless you need to.
Practice holding your line — that is, continuing to ride in the same path you were headed — regardless of what is going on around you.
And learn not to overreact to a situation that may already be over before you can respond — like a swinging door when you’re already riding outside the door zone, for instance — as was the case with both of these riders.
It could make all the difference between a minor annoyance and a major disaster.
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Metro wants to hold a ciclovia in your neighborhood.
The Metro Board approved the Open Streets Program in September 2014 to include up to $2 million annually for open street events in Los Angeles County that will be distributed through a competitive grant application process. Open streets are events which temporarily close the streets to automobiles and open them up to people to re-imagine and experience their streets while walking, biking, rollerblading or pushing a stroller in a car-free environment. The goals of the program are to encourage sustainable modes of transportation (biking, walking and transit), provide an opportunity to take transit for the first time, and provide an opportunity for civic engagement that can foster the development of multi-modal policies for cities.
The Metro Open Streets Program application is now available to cities to apply for grant funding and the deadline to apply online is Friday March 14, 2014. For more information contact Avital Shavit at shavita@metro.net.
The LA Bicycle Advisory Committee’s Bikeway’s Subcommittee meets next Wednesday, March 19th — despite the date on the agenda below. The public is invited to discuss upcoming improvements on the city’s streets.
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Mark your calendar. According to the LACBC, the MyFigueroa project is due back before the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee on the 25th of this month.
Twelve-year old middle school student was injured in a collision with a Chevy Suburban in Whittier. No word on what happened or who was at fault.
Once again, a foreign visitor comes to this country and is sent home in a box, as a Dutch cyclist is one of two victims of a murderous Austin TX driver who injured 23 other people — 5 critically — when he plowed into crowds at the South By Southwest festival. The suspected drunk driver was fleeing from police, and now faces two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault. If only we could get the authorities to take less high profile cases so seriously. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.
Minneapolis police reopen the case of a cyclist killed in a hit-and-run over five years ago.
Pyscho cyclist terrorizes a Brit couple in a road rage incident. Or at least, that’s one side of the one-sided story.
Now here’s a great idea. Paris makes their Velib free for three days to combat dangerous air pollution. I wonder what other city that suffers from bad air could benefit from something like that? Oh wait, we don’t have a bike share system here.
The Cannibal, possibly the greatest un-banned cyclist of all time, says that Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso could be the best thing to happen to (pro) cycling. Oddly, he’s not expected to have any significant impact on recreational riding or bike commuting.
Finally, despite six previous DUI convictions — and seven arrests — an Ohio driver was still on the streets so he could kill a cyclist in a drunken hit-and-run. I’d like to know why the hell someone like that wasn’t banned for life from getting behind the wheel — let alone not behind bars already?
It’s another thing entirely when the danger comes from being buzzed by other bike riders who really should know better. Especially when there’s no damn reason for it.
In the first case captured in the above video, a rider blew by with no warning whatsoever, apparently because he couldn’t be bothered to squeeze his brakes long enough to announce his presence and make a safe pass. Had I moved more than a few inches off my line — which would have happened as soon as I thought it was safe to pass the rider ahead — we would have collided.
And probably ended up beneath the cars to our left.
The second rider evidently felt the need to risk my safety by remaining firmly inside the frequently ignored solid yellow no-passing line, brushing by as close as humanly possible without making actual physical contact.
If I had even turned my head to look behind me, she would have hit me. She must have recognized my obvious skill and was confident in my ability to hold my line.
Right.
So let’s get this straight.
What passes in the peloton doesn’t play on the street. Or the bike path, for that matter, which tends to be over populated with the least skilled riders and pedestrians,.
If you’re going pass another human being — on a bike or otherwise — give them at least an arms-length passing distance, if not the full three feet you’d expect from a motorist.
If for any reason you can’t give sufficient passing distance or if there’s any danger of conflict, call if out before you pass. A simple “On your left” can avoid most problems, and is often, though not always, greeted with a thank you and a move to the right.
Which is exactly what I would have done if the woman on the bike path had just announced her damn presence.
And if the guy on the street had yelled it out before blowing by, at least I would have known not to move left, which I was about to do.
While I’m no fan of bike bells, even that helps by offering a friendly announcement that you’re there, if not where you’re going.
And lets everyone know an angel just got it’s wings.
Always pass on the left whenever possible, and never undercut a rider by passing in the door zone he or she is carefully avoiding. If a car door happens to swing open, it could knock you into them, and you could both end up under passing traffic.
Or better yet, just treat other riders the same way you want drivers to treat you. And simply don’t pass until it’s safe to do so.
Better to lose a few seconds off your Strava time than spend a few hours in the ER.
Or force someone else to.
Update: In the comments below, Chuck questioned whether the first rider was really as close as he seemed, noting he passed the rider in front of me at over an arms length.
While he goes by far too fast in the video to tell just how close he is, this still should give a better idea. Clearly, not as close as the near-shoulder brushing rider on the bike path, but still too close for safety, let alone comfort.
Especially at that speed.
Way too close for comfort.
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Nice.
Some walking — or in this case, rolling — human scum used sleeping homeless people as props for BMX stunts in Downtown’s Skid Row.
I don’t care how much of a self-absorbed jackass you may be, show some respect for other human beings. Especially those less fortunate than you.
Meanwhile, the needlessly embattled MyFigueroa project is gaining key support from neighborhood councils, and is due back before the city council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee any day. Hopefully, we’ll get some advance notice of the hearing so supporters can actually show up.
Outgoing County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky looks at Metro’s Bicycle Roundtable; has it really been four years since so many cyclists showed up for the first one?
If you need inspiration, you’ll find it here, as the Orange County Register talks to a recumbent-riding Wounded Warrior who’s not letting cancer kick her ass. Thanks to the Register for sharing this one.
More evidence that Caltrans is hopelessly locked in the auto-centric past as they propose widening Highway 1 to six lanes in Pacifica to possibly save 5 minutes drive time 20 years from now. But at least they did include bike-friendly 10-foot wide shoulders in the plan.
An off-duty Chicago cop who drove away after hitting a cyclist gets one whole year probation and 30 days community service.
New York firefighters will ride 18-days from Ground Zero to the Navy Seal Museum in Florida, towing an I-beam from the World Trade Center.
Very cool bike murals from Buenos Aires. I wonder if I could fit an entire wall in my carry on? Then again, I have not idea how I’d get to Argentina to begin with.
Lots of people swear at cyclists, but this guy may have been going for the record as a road raging Brit driver is caught on video swearing at a cyclist 25 times in just 35 seconds.
Finally, stealing a bike is nothing unusual. Stealing a penny-farthing for a drunken Christmas Day ride home, on the other hand, is.
This was not a good weekend for SoCal cyclists, with four riders losing their lives in three separate collisions.
If you don’t want the details — and trust me, I understand if you don’t — stop reading at the end of this post. The only thing you’ll miss from over the weekend is the weekly listing of events, which you can find on the Events page above.
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On a related note, the unusually and unacceptably high rate of bicycling fatalities in Los Angeles County this year has depleted the stock of bikes available for ghost bikes.
If, like me, you support the ghost bike movement to remember fallen cyclists, and unlike me, you have an unneeded bike that can be turned into a moving memorial and a warning for all to ride and drive safely, email Danny Gamboa at danny@zkofilms.com to arrange a donation.
The first workday after clocks are turned forward or back reportedly show a big jump in traffic collisions, as sleepy drivers struggle to adjust their internal clocks to the new reality.
So take fair warning, and ride extra defensively today.
It couldn’t hurt, right?
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A good friend of mine will be leading a Women’s History Ride on Saturday, March 22nd starting at the Angeles-Rosedale Cemetery, start time TBD.
There’s no shortage of notable LA women on bikes in the modern era, or during the first bike boom of the early last century. However, she’s having trouble finding information on women’s cycling from the ‘50s through the ‘90s; she notes even the 1932 LA Olympics didn’t have a single woman cyclist.
If you have any knowledge of female riders from the last half of the last century, whether in the news or tales passed down through your family — or maybe even experienced first hand — leave a comment below or email the address on the About page and I’ll pass it along.
A born again Wilmington rider — in the bike, not the religious sense — recalls a childhood on two wheels. And a 1900-mile Buffalo Soldier ride from 117 years ago.
Cycling in the South Bay offers a list of 10 ways to upgrade your ride. And unlike virtually every similar list I’ve ever read, this one really does make sense. All of it. For virtually every rider. So read it, already.
A Contra Costa writer tells drivers how to make a right turn when there’s a bike around. Hint: It doesn’t involve cutting the rider off, then wondering why you got the finger.
Speaking of just don’t, a Colorado driver used coke for two days before killing a cyclist last September while on her way to court for a previous DUI arrest.
A Connecticut cop is suing the state over allegations he covered up for his drunken son in the death of a 15-year old bike rider. And blaming the victim, saying the boy appeared drunk and drifted into traffic lanes before he was killed. Schmuck.
Turns out 20 year later, a Boston writer was just two degrees of separation from the fallen rider who motivated him to always wear a helmet.
The New York Times looks at the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, a unique eight-mile bike and pedestrian trail helping to revitalize the city.
A Florida driver gets a well-deserved 13 years for the drag racing death of a cyclist. Compare that to a case closer to home, in which the driver who killed pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado while allegedly racing another car got a whopping 90 days from the San Bernardino County courts. Clearly, life is cheap in the Inland Empire — especially if you get about on two wheels.
Bike riders face a 10 times higher risk in South Carolina — and throughout the unforgiving roads of the Southern US — than in Oregon.
A government minister promises a cycling revolution in Northern Ireland; let’s hope it goes better than the non-cycling one in the Ukraine.
Lovely Bicycle recalls a story of the bike as an escape tool; far too many women and girls can sing a variation on the same tune. I promised myself as a young man I’d never be that guy; that’s one promise I think — and hope — I’ve kept.
Finally, it turns out it’s illegal to play catch in Los Angeles. And cyclist Wes High captures an extremely close call as a driver attempt to make a left turn around a bus — without a clue what’s hidden behind it.
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A special thanks to Elizabeth Trautmann, Will Campbell, Bryan Beretta and Margaret Wehbi for your generous donations to support this site over the weekend. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am.
More bad news on what should have been a weekend of celebration after a last minute reprieve for the Marathon Crash Ride.
KNBC-4 is reporting that a Glendale man in his late 20s was killed after riding his bike through a red light in Glendale this morning.
According to the station, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding at the intersection of Glendale and California Avenues at 7:10 am when he allegedly rode through the light at a fast pace, and was hit by a car. He was taken to USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver, identified only as a woman in her 40s, remained at the scene and was not arrested.
No other details are available at this time.
As always, the question is whether there were any independent witnesses, other than the driver, who saw him run the red light. It’s too easy to blame the victim when it’s impossible for him to give his side of the story.
This is the 24rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Los Angeles County.
My sincere prayers and sympathy for the victim and his loved ones.
Update: Evidently, there was another witness. According to the Glendale News Press,
(Sgt. Tom) Lorenz said a witness at the nearby Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf saw the cyclist, headed south on Glendale Avenue, run a red light before being struck by a car headed east. “He didn’t even slow down,” he said, adding the driver of the car, a woman in her 40s, has been cleared of any fault.
Update 2: the Glendale News-Press has identified the victim as 25-year old Melik Khanamiryan, presumably of Glendale. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link.
When two bike riders lose their lives in a midnight collision, without even being on their bikes at the time, I don’t even know what to say.
Except to let the facts speak for themselves.
According to the Whittier Daily News, a man and a woman were killed in a single collision in Norwalk early Saturday morning.
The paper reports they were walking their bikes across Rosecrans Avenue at Fidel Avenue at 12:02 am when they were struck by an eastbound Ford F-150 pickup truck, which then veered to the side, striking at least three parked vehicles.
No identification or other information about the victims are available at this time.
The driver, who was uninjured, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, He did not appear to be intoxicated, and was not taken into custody at the scene.
No word on whether the victims were in a crosswalk, marked or not, when they were struck. A satellite view shows a zebra crosswalk on the west side of the intersection, but none on the east.
If they were in the crosswalk, they were doing exactly what most law enforcement agencies recommend by walking in the crosswalk, rather than riding.
The question is why the driver didn’t appear to see two people walking bikes directly in front of him. And how fast he had to be going to take two lives with a single impact.
These are the 22nd and 23rd bike-related fatalities in Southern California this year, and the 9th and 10th in Los Angeles County, compared to just four this time last year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for both victims and their families.
Update: Now it makes a little more sense, while seeming even more needless and tragic. Chris K, who lives in the area, writes to say that the crosswalk seen in the satellite photo has long been a popular crossing for people in the neighborhood to the south to get to the businesses, church and school on the north side of the street. He notes that there has even been a crossing guard there in the mornings.
Chris notes that despite the removal, people continue to cross at that intersection just as they always have, sometimes stepping out in front of oncoming traffic expecting traffic to stop as if it was a marked crosswalk.
It should be noted that under California law, there is a crosswalk at every intersection, marked or not. The only exception is if there is signage prohibiting crossing, which doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Now two people are dead, apparently because local traffic planners ignored historic pedestrian patterns and removed a marked crosswalk, despite the need for residents to cross the street.
Two more victims to a world where motor vehicles are valued more than people.
Update 2: Chris K adds that the florescent yellow signage pointing to the crosswalk remains in place, even though the crosswalk itself is gone, creating a confusing situation.
Update 3: KABC-7 has identified the victims as 23-year old Giovanni Xavier Chaidez and 20 year-old Rosibel Montoya, no hometown given. According to a live report on the station Sunday night, the driver is not expected to be charged.
Maybe someone can explain that one to me someday. Because unless the victims somehow leapt out into the roadway without warning, the driver should have been able to see them and stop in time.
Collision scene suggests Ornelas was riding in the street, not on sidewalk; photo by Danny Gamboa.
More bad news.
Last night we mentioned that a 70-year old Whittier bike rider suffered severe injuries in a collision yesterday afternoon, noting that early reports said the victim’s injuries weren’t considered life-threatening.
The paper reports he was was riding to work with a co-worker when he was struck. They were riding against traffic, though it’s not clear if they were riding in the street or on the sidewalk at the time of the collision.
The driver, identified only as a man in his 60s, was leaving the Home Depot parking lot and making a right turn onto Lambert when the collision occurred. He claimed to be unaware that he had struck anyone, driving several yards before stopping when he heard a grinding noise coming from under the truck.
As others have pointed out, it’s possible that he was looking left as he turned right, and may not have seen the bike riders coming from the other direction.
He was alert and stable when taken to the hospital; what happened afterwards that led to his death is unknown at this time.
Hopefully, the Daily News will update their story with more information.
I’m told a ghost bike will be installed at the site of the collision at 9 pm tonight.
This is the 21st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth already this year in Los Angeles County. It’s also third cyclist killed in Whittier since 2012.
Update: The Daily News confirms that the victim, identified as 70-year old Whittier resident Arturo Alfredo Ornelas, died at County USC Medical Center less than an hour after the collision.
Update 2: After examining the scene, Danny Gamboa reports Ornelas was dragged approximately 150 feet — half the length of a football field.
Update 3: This morning I received the following comment from a witness to the collision.
Having a first hand account as an eyewitness to this tragedy. One thing that wasn’t included is that the driver rolled the stop. Working next door, I see drivers run that stop all the time. If the driver had come to a complete stop – he would have seen the cyclist riding on the sidewalk. Some of the simple rules of looking both ways when making a turn were not followed. It is easy to blame the cyclist when it’s convenient.
A San Diego area bike rider has lost his life at the hands of a criminal apparently too drunk to control the car he stole.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, 29-year old Michael Reyes was traveling westbound on Chula Vista’s East J Street at Dennis Avenue around 4:15 pm Monday when he somehow crossed into oncoming traffic. He hit cyclist head-on before crossing over the sidewalk and crashing into a utility pole.
Reyes allegedly admitted to the police that he had been drinking, and that the silver Nissan Maxima he was driving had been stolen earlier that afternoon. Inside the car, police found property that appeared to come from other car burglaries.
There was nothing the victim could have done to avoid the collision. He does not appear to have done anything to contribute in any way to his own death, other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, sharing the same planet with a drunk on a crime spree.
If there is any justice, his killer won’t be back behind the wheel of any car, stolen or otherwise, for a very long time.
This is the 20th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in San Diego County. This is also the fourth cyclist killed in Chula Vista since 2012.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Update: The victim has been identified as 44-year old Chula Vista resident David Voight. According to San Diego’s 10News, Voight was a regular bike commuter, and was just eight blocks from his home when he was killed.
