Archive for Bicycle Safety

Stupid Driver Tricks — bizarrely impatient Brentwood driver; and knee-jerk Hollywood anti-bike hatred

August 31, 2012 / / 5 comments

Maybe it was something in the water.

Or maybe it was a little lunar lunacy in anticipation of tomorrow’s Blue Moon.

But Thursday’s ride to Manhattan Beach and back was marked with more Stupid Driver Tricks — and not just drivers, as a few cyclists and pedestrians insisted on getting into the act — than I usually see in a month.

But this one takes the cake.

All this woman had to do was wait a few seconds until the light changed, and she could have easily gotten out of that parking lot with her dry cleaning.

Instead, she pulled out directly towards the car in front of her. When that didn’t work, as he failed to magically disappear from her way, she backed up, pausing as I pulled up next to her. Then looked directly at me, and cut me off anyway — as the driver next to me and I both shook our heads, arms extended in the universal WTF gesture.

And yes, I may have made another gesture that didn’t show up on camera as I pulled up next to her.

No, not that one.

………

Streetsblog offers a good look at what you should do if you encounter my pet peeve — bike lanes needlessly blocked by Hollywood production crews.

Even though experience has taught me that Corgis make much better pets than peeves.

As they note, film crews are required to have a permit before they’re allowed to block a bike lane, or any other traffic lane, for that matter.

And yes, a bike lane is a legal traffic lane, albeit one reserved for bikes, just as HOV lanes are reserved for vehicles with more than one occupant. Or people willing to pay for the privilege of driving alone.

Which means that, without a permit from the city — which is remarkably easy to get — film crews have no more right to block a bike lane than they do the center lane on Wilshire Blvd. Though that never seems to stop them from doing it anyway.

The story also notes, correctly, that you have every right to demand to see that permit, whether they like it or not. And that if they don’t have one, you’re entitled to call the police — or Film LA — and demand that they move the offending cones to reopen the bike lane.

Although getting someone to actually care enough to do something about it can be another matter.

Then there are the seemingly inevitable comments from film crew workers unwilling to even attempt to obey the law.

Including this one from a self-described Assistant Location Manager who threatens to have anyone who asks to see the permit arrested on false charges.

As an Assistant Location Manager, the guy whom you will probably be approaching for a film permit, which will then be followed by your venting hippie diatribe about why my working trucks are blocking your bike lane here’s what I am going to do….Ask to see my permit, which I will produce for you. Then it will be I who will call the cops and claim that you threatened my production company with extortion, which I will be able to produce witnesses for. I will also suggest to the officer who responds that we spotted you taking illicit drugs not far away from my set, which I will also produce witnesses for. Being that most bikers I know engage in the occasional to regular use of drugs, I will most likely be right. When your being cuffed and taken to jail, I will then sell your bike on ebay….I may even use the funds to put gas in my Ford F-150 (not a Prius). You guys want a fight, your going to get one…

Point is, we are losing production jobs everyday to other states and cities because of BS like this. My methodology may seem machiavellian but I will do whatever it takes to keep filming in Los Angeles, keep food on my family’s table, and not be forced to move to keep working in film industry which provides a much needed paycheck and health benefits to family and I. Be warned, if the working trucks are parked in a bike lane, bike around us and go on your merry way…

Nice way to put a good face on Hollywood, dude.

And summing up exactly why many people in this town are fed up with self-entitled production crews, regardless of the jobs they create.

Yes, we all want to put an end to runaway productions, and keep those high-paying jobs right here at home.

But Hollywood needs to take a long, hard look at itself, and accept that other people in this city have rights, as well.

………

Joe Devito forwards a photo of the ghost bike for Michael Vega, the 25-year old cyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver earlier this week in Rancho Cucamonga.

And judging by the comments, it sounds like we’ve lost a great guy.

………

A few other quick notes:

Flying Pigeon looks at Tuesday’s meeting of the LACBC Civic Engagement Committee. Downtown is rapidly being redrawn to support bicycling. Glendale letter writer doesn’t seem to grasp the concept that bike lanes make streets safer, not the other way around. Three San Diego firefighters are on trial for beating the crap out of two bike riding brothers after calling one a bicycle faggot. A rocket scientist Ventura motorcyclist hates on California’s new three-foot passing law, missing the concept that it is actually possible to drive safely; and that emergency vehicles get an entire lane, while bicyclists only get three feet.

Trial has begun in the case of the driver who killed tandem cyclists Greg and Alexandra Bruehler, resulting in the single saddest photo I’ve ever seen. Here’s a good reason not the be an idiot, as a road-raging Detroit cyclist runs a red light, hits a truck, punches the driver — and gets fatally shot as a result. A PA cyclist is the victim of an early season drive-by pumpkining. Maybe cyclists should be licensed — and paid to ride. Ex-framebuilder Dave Moulton notes that doping has been around as long as competitive cycling.

Finally, I’ve always like fast women, as Bikeyface nails it once again. And it’s so hot, Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali is fixing bikes in his tightie whities reds.

Come back a little later in the day Friday, when we’ll have a giveaway contest to celebrate National Trail Mix Day. No, really, there actually is one. And I’ll see if the video came out on some of those other Stupid Driver Tricks over the next few days.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Update — Rancho Cucamonga cyclist latest victim of a fatal hit-and-run; 2nd in last two months

August 28, 2012 / / 25 comments

KCBS-2 reports that yet another cyclist has been killed in a Southern California hit-and-run.

According to the station, 25-year old Michael Vega was riding west on Foothill Blvd near Ramona Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga around 6:40 pm Tuesday, when he was run down from behind by a white truck, which fled the scene.

A fire captain reports the impact was hard enough to knock Vega out of his shoes. The station also notes that Vega was wearing a helmet, but the force of impact was too great for it to be of benefit.

And yet a police spokesperson suggests that unless the driver was drunk — which will probably never be determined, since he fled the scene — it will amount to nothing more than a simple traffic accident.

Thanks for having our back, dude.

Hint to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department — killing another human being with a motor vehicle is a serious matter. Or at least, it should be.

Whether or not the driver was drunk.

KCBS reports the witnesses tried to comfort Vega where they found him crumpled in the gutter; he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Police are looking for a white work truck with a ladder or lumber rack in the back. Anyone with information should contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff Department’s Rancho Cucamonga station at 800/477-2800.

Vega is the 49th cyclist to die on Southern California streets this year, excluding gunshot victims, and the eighth in San Bernardino County.

This is also the third cycling death in Rancho Cucamonga — a frighteningly high total for a city of less than 168,000 — and the second fatal hit-and-run involving a cyclist in that city in just the last two months.

My prayers and deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones.

Update: Michael of CLR Effect offers his thoughts, which are always insightful and always worth reading, including this:

Almost as troubling is the initial reaction from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. I don’t normally like to knock law enforcement, they are only charged with enforcing existing laws, not making them, not prosecuting them. But tied into the process of enforcement is the act of interpretation. When a department spokesperson says “unless the driver is intoxicated, nothing other than having a traffic accident taken is going to come out of this” has to leave me wondering what ever happened to the serve and protect code (granted that is the LAPD motto, but have always believed it should apply to all in the public service sector). 

Update 2: The Press-Enterprise says Vega was a resident of Norco, and died at the hospital less than an hour after being hit.

Update 3: KCBS offers a good follow-up on their original story, noting a ghost bike has already been installed, and that Vega worked at the Apple Store in Victoria Gardens. 

He was on his way to his girlfriend’s home when he was killed; his mother thanked those who comforted her son as he lay dying, and said she saw a double rainbow that night, taking a picture of it at the same time he passed away.

Update 4: An arrest has been made in this case. 

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

Friday’s ride, on which I seemed to be invisible

August 27, 2012 / / 6 comments

One of the biggest problems we face as cyclists is being seen by today’s too-often distracted drivers, who seem to take the simple act of driving far too casually.

We wear bright colors, and position ourselves in ways that force anyone paying the slightest attention to see us. Yet too often, motorists seem oblivious to our presence.

Let alone anything else on the road with them.

I saw that yesterday as we were driving home from the market, and watched as the driver ahead of us looked as though he was going to stop for a red light — then proceeded to roll through the light without ever braking and T-bone an SUV on the cross street, knocking it into another SUV waiting in the opposing turn lane.

The impact was hard enough to deploy both airbags in the car that ran the light. And send the driver of the first SUV storming out of his vehicle to berate the man who hit him.

Why he went through the light, I have no idea; he could have been drunk, distracted or just not paying attention.

But it was an odd perspective to watch it all unfold from behind and be unable to do anything about it. And realizing that the airbags and armor plating of the vehicles involved had combined to protect everyone involved from serious harm.

Yet if it had been a bike in the driver’s path, the outcome would had been far different, as the rider would have been severely injured by the initial impact. And most likely would have helplessly fallen into the path of other motorists in the busy intersection.

How the driver failed to see the red light and massive SUV directly in front of him is beyond me. Let alone the bus directly behind it, which avoided the wreck only through a combination of slow speed and the skill and attention of the driver.

And if a driver can’t see something that massive directly in front of him, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of us who present a far smaller profile as we travel on two wheels.

Something I experienced for myself as I rode home on Friday.

I was coming up busy Montana Blvd in Santa Monica on the last leg of a 40 mile ride to the South Bay.

Usually I take San Vicente back from the beach. But every now and then I take Montana just to see something different — even though that means riding even more defensively than usual to dodge the many drivers who turn into or out of driveways and alleys without looking, or dart across the street, oblivious to the presence of anything traveling on less than four wheels.

Like the guy who cut me off as he made his left onto Montana from the side street on my right. And flipped me off when, after braking hard to a stop, I spread my arms in the universal “WTF?” gesture.

Unfortunately, the video didn’t come out for that one.

Then there are the drivers who cut quickly into the bike lane, using it as a staging area to enter or wait for a parking space, without ever looking for a bike that may already be occupying that space.

Or even caring, for that matter.

Like the woman who drove past me just a block or two later, then cut directly into the bike path mere feet in front of my bike. And sparing me from rear-ending her only because she slid forward to wait for a space a little further up the street.

At first I thought she moved up because she heard my shouted warning.

But as I pulled up next to her, it became clear that she couldn’t hear me or anything else in the hermetically sealed automotive bubble in which she was driving.

I was going to say something, but it quickly became clear that she had no idea I was there. And probably never saw me at all as she passed just feet from where I rode in the bike lane.

So I rode off, a little shaken, but grateful I’d been prepared for a dangerous driver like her.

And well aware that it was only a matter of luck that kept me from being rear-ended or sideswiped; had she seen another parking space a few seconds earlier, she would undoubtedly have driven directly into me.

It’s scary as hell to realize that someone could completely miss a six-foot tall cyclist in a bright red and blue Fat Tire jersey.

And riding in a space which should, by its mere existence, suggest the presence of bikes.

………

One other quick note.

If you haven’t read it yet, take a few moments to digest Mark Elliot’s excellent wrap-up of cyclists descending on the recent Beverly Hills City Council session to demand fair treatment on the streets of their city.

Because right now, we’re far less than second-class citizens in a city many of us have no choice but to ride through. And which doesn’t seem to give a damn about whether we live or die.

Or receive justice either way.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike / Tags: , , , ,

Teenage Moreno Valley cyclist killed Monday

August 22, 2012 / / One comment

Somehow I missed this story yesterday; thankfully, Witch on a Bicycle didn’t.

The Press-Enterprise and Southwest Riverside News Network report that a 16-year old cyclist was killed in Moreno Valley earlier this week.

According to the SRNN, Moreno Valley resident Stephen Espinoza was hit by a van while riding at the intersection of Graham Street and Zoe Drive around 2:30 pm Monday; the Press-Enterprise reports that he hit the van, instead.

He suffered severe head injuries, and was pronounced dead at the scene. As usual, the driver was uninjured.

No word on how the collision occurred.

This is the 48th cycling fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the ninth in Riverside County; that compares with 12 bike fatalities in the county last year.

My prayers and sympathy for Espinoza and his family and loved ones.

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

Urgent action needed on Expo bikeway and Beverly Hills; more breaking news on the legal front

August 20, 2012 / / 6 comments

Big news on the legal front to start your week.

Along with a call for urgent action on the Expo Bikeway, and to fight hit-and-run in the seemingly heartless biking black hole of Beverly Hills.

As well as your chance to be an ambassador for bicycling in your own neighborhood.

………

Let’s start with the long-awaited Expo Line bikeway, which appears to be rapidly turning into a train wreck for Westside cyclists.

Expo Bicycle Advisory Committee member Damien Newton offers a detailed background on just how and why the plan is riding off the rails. It’s a must read for anyone who cares about the safety of cyclists on our streets.

Which is where cyclists will end up when the planned bikeway forces them onto dangerous crossings. Or when they avoid the bikeway entirely because they feel safer on busy high-speed streets than on a badly designed, rushed and corner-cutting bikeway.

Fortunately, you still have a chance to put your foot down and demand the Expo Line Authority start listening to the BAC they appointed, rather dictating bad design from above.

The LACBC is calling for concerned cyclists — and yes, you should be very concerned — to attend the next Expo BAC meeting at 8 am tomorrow at the Skanska-Rados Joint Venture Field Office, on the 3rd floor at 11390 W. Olympic Blvd.

If you can’t make it, they — and I — urge you to email the list of Expo Directors on their website today to demand a safer bikeway from Downtown to Santa Monica. They also provide a sample email you can use as a template.

It will only take you a few minutes to write and send an email.

And the bikeway you save could be your own.

………

Meanwhile, Don Ward, aka Roadblock, calls on cyclists to attend the next Beverly Hills City Council session on Thursday to demand an end to their local — and hopefully unofficial —policy of letting hit-and-run drivers off the hook without even the slap on the wrist they get in most jurisdictions.

Ward points out a recent case in which a cyclist was severely injured, and the driver actually came forward to confess. Yet the case was so badly bungled by local authorities that no charges were ever filed.

According to Beverly Hills PD a break came the next day when the alleged driver, Victoria Chin, phoned in to confess her crime. Detectives arranged for her to turn herself in that day. They requested she bring the car in as well. This is where things apparently got complicated for the Beverly Hills Detectives. After flaking on her first appointment, Chin showed up the following day along with a lawyer but without her car. Beverly Hills Detectives acknowledge that they failed to process her confession and they sent her home without booking or arresting her.

Months later, citing issues not fully understood, the case was declined by District Attorney Steven Katz. Katz claims that since there was no car in custody, and the woman confessed on the phone and not in person, there was not enough evidence to move forward with a case. Questions arise of whether this is an isolated incident or part of a larger pattern of Beverly Hills apathy towards cyclists… Paul was not the first hit and run victim in recent memory to be denied justice by the city.

………

Brett Morin, the other driver charged in the road racing death of pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado, has accepted a peal deal. He’s scheduled for sentencing on October 3rd; considering the gift of a sentence given the driver who actually killed Alvarado, don’t expect more than a slightly harsh caress of the wrist.

………

Our anonymous Orange County source reports that we finally have convictions in the case of two allegedly drunk Huntington Beach speed racers who flew off the road, critically injuring a cyclist riding on the beachfront bike path.

Yes, even separated bikeways aren’t safe from speed-crazed Southern California drivers.

And yes, both have once again gotten off with a relative slap on the wrist — even if one appears to be a tough sentence for that particular judge.

Which says far more about our SoCal court system than we should be willing to tolerate.

Glenn Michael Moore & Michael Dennis Roach are the scumbags who were skunk drunk at half past eight on a Sunday morning and racing each other down PCH (can’t be late for church!!!) when they clipped each other.  Both speeding vehicles flew down an embankment.  Moore’s car slammed into Richard Lauwers as he rode his bike on the completely segregated beach bike path.  The next speeding vehicle on PCH was the responding ambulance.

Lauwers was having a nice quiet ride after a leisurely weekend breakfast at our famous Sugar Shack.  He would’ve been home in another twenty minutes.  Instead he ended up in the ICU, where he spent six days.

On Wednesday, Moore pleaded guilty to all counts against him.  He was sentenced to fines & restitution, one year in jail (stayed), three years of formal probation, and a  “First Offender Alcohol Program.”  Oh, and his license was suspended for a year.  I can’t figure this one out, because I’m working with insufficient data here.  IF Moore was before Judge Adams, who generally presides over that particular courtroom and is lenient, AND had a good lawyer (and by all accounts his lawyer is very good), AND he doesn’t have an extensive rap sheet (he’s pretty clean in OC at least), then this is a surprisingly tough sentence.  It’s still insufficient, but it’s certainly on par for Judge Adams and our overtaxed justice system in general.

Meanwhile, Michael Dennis Roach appears to have three separate sentences for the single count of engaging in a speed contest with injuries to another: two sentences for 90 days in jail, and a third for 90 days of service in lieu thereof.  Also, three years of formal probation as well.  Dunno what this is about, but there’ll be further proceedings on the 28th. Also, the OCDA unearthed a DUI with property damage that Roach had committed in November 2001 (while driving on a suspended license, but never mind that); a second DUI within 10 years could have resulted in a stiffer sentence, but oddly, his DUI charge and its enhancement were dismissed.

Did I ever mention that I have a real problem with drivers who put everyone else at risk because they can’t keep their damn feet off the accelerator — let alone get behind the wheel when they’re drunk or stoned?

The good news is that Lauwers is okay, and back on his bike.

………

The LACBC is offering a way to become more active as a bicycling advocate in your own neighborhood. And make a real difference where you live and ride.

The new Neighborhood Bike Ambassador program is designed to empower you to influence the implementation of the L.A. bike plan, as well as programs developed by the LACBC.

The first kick-off meeting takes place tonight in the Valley, followed by four others throughout the L.A. area over the next 10 days. The meetings — and the program itself — are open to everyone; you can sign up to be a Bike Ambassador here.

………

Finally, a few other brief notes from the world of bicycling.

In a truly shocking case, a Santa Rosa driver takes his road rage off road, chasing a cyclist 100 yards onto a golf course before running him down with his car. The good news is, an arrest has been made; the bad news is, the 81-year old driver has done it at least twice before. And was still allowed to drive.

Thanks to Emily C for the heads-up.

………

The schmuck who kidnapped and murdered Louisiana cyclist Mickey Shunick pleads guilty to first degree murder in her death, as well as that of another woman. Hopefully they’ll shove him so deep into the living hell that is Louisiana’s Angola Prison that he’ll never see the light of day again.

………

Police may have solved the recent rash of Calnago thefts. The Orange County Bicycle Coalition reports hat two stolen Calnagos have been recovered when they were abondoned by the thieves outside an OC Dennys, and a third was recovered in a West Hollywood pawn shop through stolenbikeregistry.com.

No word yet on arrests in the case.

The L.A. Times offers a nice profile of Cypress Park’s Flying Pigeon bike shop and the eponymous Chinese bikes they love and sell.

………

And a PA cyclist moons a couple in a passing car, then threatens them with his bike seat before crashing into a police cruiser.

Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, Injuries and Fatalities, Law Enforcement, Legal Cases, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cyclist killed in solo Mt. Washington fall

August 19, 2012 / / 3 comments

According to the L.A. Times, a bike rider lost his life descending a steep hill in the Mt. Washington area early Sunday morning.

The Times reports that 34-year old Los Angeles resident Jean Carlos Galaviz was riding south on Canon Crest Street near Avenue 45 around 3:45 am Sunday. Galaviz had just left a relative’s home when he failed to make a turn and crashed into the hillside; he died of abdominal injuries and internal bleeding at USC Medical Center.

Police do no believe any other vehicles were involved.

No word on whether his bike had lights, which might have helped him negotiate the turn in the darkness.

This is the 47th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th in Los Angeles County. Galaviz is the 10 rider to die in a solo fall this year; half of those have occurred in L.A. County.

My deepest sympathy for the victim and his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

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

Newly installed Fiji Way buffered bike lane already blocked by Friday

August 19, 2012 / / 12 comments

That didn’t take long.

Just two days after the new buffered bike lane on Fiji Way in Marina del Rey was completed, it was already blocked on Friday by a semi-trailer illegally parked in the bike lane — in an area that had been designated as a no-parking zone long before the lanes were even contemplated.

And close enough to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Marina station that they could undoubtedly see it just by looking their windows. Let alone drive right past it every time a squad car leaves the station.

So what good does it do to install bike lanes if authorities don’t care enough to keep people from parking in them?

If that’s the way it’s going to be, the county should have just saved the money. Because the only thing worse than no bike lane is one we can’t safely use.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Law Enforcement, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,

A little this, a little that — Expo bikeway heads off the rails, Long Beach writer gets it mostly all wrong

August 16, 2012 / / 6 comments

I’ve been hearing a number of reports that the westward extension of the Expo Line bikeway is rapidly going off the rails.

Instead of prudently incorporating a safe, separated cycling facility along the full route, word is that Metro and LADOT are cutting corners and giving riders short shrift — including those recruited to serve on the line’s Bicycle Advisory Board, who complain that no one seems to be listening to them.

Which begs the question, why have an advisory board if you’re not going to listen to their advice?

This bikeway has long been a dream for riders who are desperate for a safe, efficient route between Downtown and the Westside.

But despite repeated promises in recent years, it sounds like we may have to keep dreaming.

………

Once upon a time, journalists had standards.

Or so I’m told.

Writers — even columnists — were expected to get the facts straight before they went to press. And editors were expected to hold their feet to the fire to ensure that every item in the paper was as accurate as possible.

Seems like a long time ago, in that golden age before the current revenue crunch caused most papers to lay off too many of their editors. And allowing the few remaining writers to slip their erroneous flights of fancy onto newsprint and online without being challenged.

Then again, some papers never did have standards.

I’m not sure which case applies here.

Tim Grobaty, a columnist with the Long Beach Press-Telegram — who surely should know better, given the city he works in — could have gotten it right with just a little research. But apparently didn’t bother.

All it would have taken is a simple trip to the DMV website, where he would have learned that cyclists are expected to use left turn lanes. And which took me roughly 10 seconds to find via Google.

Instead, he offers the following advice.

1. Bicycles aren’t cars. Don’t act like you’re driving one by tying up the left-turn lane. Conversely, bicycles are cars. Don’t pedal through stop signs.

At least he gets the last part right.

Somehow, though, I manage to get through left turn lanes on my bike just as fast as the drivers in front or behind me, if not faster. So how, exactly, am I tying up anything?

He also instructs cyclists not to employ the common courtesy of calling out “On the left” when passing pedestrians, because it confuses him.

Maybe he should carry a pebble in his left hand when he walks to avoid stepping in the wrong direction.

One of the biggest complaints from pedestrians is that they don’t get any warning when riders are about to pass. But evidently, Grobaty would rather see cyclists refrain from offering walkers a verbal warnings, and is willing to accept the inevitable increase in collisions between bikes and pedestrians that would result, as if there aren’t too many already.

And yes, bike bells are friendlier.

But they don’t give walkers or slower riders any idea whether they should move right, left, go straight or levitate the hell out of the way.

All they tell you is that a bike is nearby.

And that an angel just got its wings.

Of course, it’s not just Grobaty.

We live in a society where the voices of those with little knowledge of a given subject carry as much weight as those who actually know what they’re talking about. Especially if they have their own TV or radio show.

Or newspaper column.

And don’t even get me started on the royal we Grobaty uses. Unless he has multiple personalities, in which case I owe him an apology.

Of course, the main point in his column is that Long Beach has spent $20 million on making the city safer and more inviting for bicyclists, and that retailers are starting to see a return on that investment as sales from cyclists increase. But people who drive to stores continue to spend more.

He’s right, of course. The overwhelming amount of retail sales continue to result from driven trips, even though numerous studies are starting to show the economic benefit of encouraging bicycling.

But he fails to consider the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been invested in streets and other infrastructure that allow people like him to drive a few blocks to the corner store.

And which is paid for in large part by every pedestrian, bicyclist and transit user, as well as drivers, whether or not they ever get behind the wheel.

Wake me when, or if, that ever gets repaid.

………

In a horrifying report, a 13-year old Milwaukee girl is charged with the hit-and-run death of a cyclist while street racing friends in a stolen car. A passenger in the car suggests she may have intentionally steered towards the bike rider, later laughing about it and saying he shouldn’t have been on the street.

………

Looks like LADOT hasn’t forgotten the Westside after all. Niall Huffman notes preliminary bike lane markings have gone down on Ohio between Bundy and Centinela, where the street becomes Broadway as it crosses into Santa Monica. And where they should join up with the Broadway bike lanes, providing a continuous route from Bundy to downtown Santa Monica.

………

LADOT Bike Blog looks at what the new Federal transportation plan means for local cyclists. Streetsblog’s Sahra suffers a cracked wrist jumping out of the way of an apparent drunk driver. A restored Tujunga Wash includes bike and walking paths. Support is growing for a NELA bike network. A bike ride will be held this Saturday to protest the coming Walmart in Chinatown; hopefully, they won’t attempt it on Walmart bikes. Flying Pigeon hosts the popular Get Sum Dim Sum ride this Sunday. The 4th Annual You’re Not Worthy Summer Century Ride rolls Sunday, August 25th. How to use bike racks on Metro buses. Better Bike says it’s time to hold Beverly Hills accountable when it’s not practicable to ride to the right on Santa Monica Blvd, even though parts of it are getting better; then again, they tried a patch job a couple years ago, and that only lasted a few months. Santa Monica allocates $164,000 for a planned Michigan Avenue Greenway connecting SaMo High with Bergamot Station. Manhattan Beach receives a nearly half-million dollar Safe Routes to Schools grant. Turns out I’ve been throwing bananas away when they reach their most healthful stage. More on the SoCal Colnago bike thief. The aptly named Hotter N’ Hell Mt. Baldy Hill Climb makes a comeback this Saturday,

San Diego cyclists get a new Whole Foods bike repair station; the city’s annual Midnight Madness ride rolls this weekend. Reducing the stress of riding across town. The latest version of California’s proposed three-foot passing law continues to move forward; Better Bike points out safe passing laws are literally all over the map. San Jose police decline to pursue a bike thief, even after he’s identified by the victim. Watsonville police warn cyclists about brakeless fixies following a serious crash. A 13-year old Sonoma cyclist faces a civil suit for running down and seriously injuring a 72-year old pedestrian; the city of Sonoma is also named for allowing bikes on the sidewalk. A boy scout on a bike tour through Fortuna finds fortune is not in his favor when he’s hit by a bus while crossing a freeway off ramp; sounds like the cyclist should have had the right-of-way since vehicles exiting a highway are required to merge safely, despite the biased press report.

Even Paralympic cyclists are doping now. According to the NHTSA, a pedestrian is killed in the US every 2 hours — with an injury every 8 minutes; but hey, it’s just an accident, right? Hats off to former framebuilder Dave Moulton for correctly calling our massive automotive infrastructure a waste of space, although I might quibble with his take on Olympic BMX racing. Bike lawyer Bob Mionske examines whether Strava can be held accountable for its members behavior. Five great American cities for cycling vacations; link courtesy of I Block the Bike Lane. Turns out my brother isn’t the only Iditarod musher to take up cycling. A Flagstaff paper appears to misunderstand a commonly misunderstood law regarding taking the lane. A Utah woman is critically injured trying to retrieve a bicycle than had fallen off her car on I-80. Rocky Mountain National Park considers opening a trail to mountain bikes. Former Angeleno Amanda Lipsey and her dog gear up for a week-long self-contained bike trip. West Texas cyclists don’t feel safe. Cyclists need better education, but let’s remember that the greatest threat to everyone on the road comes from motor vehicles. The founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works says Just Ride. A HuffPo writer says New York’s delayed bike share program will result in carnage once it opens. A prominent blind Detroit attorney is injured in a collision with a cyclist in New York’s Central Park — and he wasn’t the only one. A Washington writer says biking changed her life. A Florida cyclist is seriously injured in a hit-from-behind collision, but the driver isn’t expected to face charges.

Guadalajara businesses fund their own DIY bike share system; thanks to Richard Risemberg for the heads-up. Six scandal ridden team jerseys you might want to avoid. A passing driver helps save the life of a cyclist after he’s stricken with a heart attack while riding, then leaves without taking credit. The UK’s success in Olympic cycling inspires Brits to take up riding and is making those cash registers ring. London cyclists may not get safe roads, but they are getting a two-day bike fest next year. Turns out that the highly reported increase in serious collisions after some UK cities cut speed limits to 20 mph resulted from a statistically meaningless jump from six incidents to seven. Dublin coroner calls for making helmets available with the city’s bike share. Former Northern Ireland Olympian Billy Kerr passes away at age 67. Olympic gold medal winner and former doper Alexandre Vinokourov calls it a career. Namibia riders call for a ciclovía of their own. Aussie pro cyclist Robbie Williams is killed in a solo fall as a result of an undisclosed medical condition. Melbourne bike lanes are being remade to reduce dooring.

Finally, it turns out that inflatable bike helmet that’s suddenly making all the news again was actually invented in the U.S. decades ago; thanks to Steve Herbert for the first link.

Personally, all this talk about a $600 single-use device brings out my inner cranky old man and makes me want to yell at them to get off my lawn. I’d rather see an actual helmet that can provide real protection beyond the current 12.5 mph standard — and one most cyclists can actually afford.

Category: Bicycle Safety, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

One of L.A. County’s most dangerous streets gets a little safer with buffered new bike lanes on Fiji Way

August 15, 2012 / / 9 comments

Just quick update on last week’s item about pending bike lanes on Fiji Way in Marina del Rey.

A ride down to the South Bay yesterday morning showed that nothing had been done on the street beyond the preliminary markings that had gone down earlier.

Yet by the time I rode back a few hours and many miles later, the street had been transformed into, if not a cyclists’ paradise, a much safer and more inviting connection between the Santa Monica and South Bay bike trails.

And turned what has been one of the area’s busiest — and most dangerous — bicycling thoroughfares into something that promises to be significantly safer.

As you can see from the video, a bike lane has been installed on the west/southbound side of the roadway, and the much hated, and probably illegal restriction to ride single file — which is unsupported by anything in California law — has been painted over.

Moving down to the turnaround at the end of the street, near the connection to the Ballona Creek bikeway, the road narrows to a single lane, with painted separators keeping motorists away from riders. And hopefully, reducing the risk of right hook collisions.

Continuing around the turnaround to the north/eastbound side of the street reveals a road diet for most of its length to Admiralty Way.

It was unclear yesterday whether the reduced roadway was being striped for a buffered bike lane, or if the county was planning to allow curbside parking, which had previously been banned, with door-zone bike lane alongside.

But a quick conversation with a member of the county road crew confirmed that cyclists will now enjoy a wide curbside bike lane with a comfortable buffer to the left — separating riders from the high speed, and often confused, drivers who have traditionally frequented the area. And that work on re-striping the street should be finished today.

Fiji Way has long been the missing link in the Marvin Braude bike trail, the name given the full length of the bikeway connection Palos Verdes with Pacific Palisades

As well as one of the most dangerous streets for cyclists, with multiple near-daily collisions as drivers entered or exited driveways without looking for riders first — like this one. Or brushed past or rear-ended riders on the previously unmarked street.

This should go a long way towards reducing those collisions, making what had been a needlessly risky ride much safer.

And it’s a high-profile improvement that shows the county may really be committed to improving conditions for cyclists.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Salmon cyclist killed in early morning Simi Valley collision; possible Riverside bike rider fatally shot

August 11, 2012 / / 6 comments

Just when it looked like we might make it through a single week without another cyclist getting killed — which would have made it the first fatality-free week in the last 11 — comes word that two riders have died in the last two days.

One by truck. One by gun.

………

A 62-year old Simi Valley man died in a Thousand Oaks hospital less than an hour after he was hit by a semi-truck while riding the wrong way on a darkened street.

According to the Ventura County Star, Trinidad Nava was riding south in the north-bound side of First Street at Easy Street in Simi Valley around 4:35 am Friday, when a big rig truck made a right turn out of a driveway and hit Nava head-on; KTVA radio says the truck was leaving a car dealership.

The paper reports he was riding without lights despite the early hour; Nava was declared dead of blunt force trauma at 5:30 am.

The driver, who has not been publicly identified, stayed at the scene and tried to help him.

The Star notes that the crash occurred just blocks from where the Simi Valley City Council recently rejected proposed bike lanes on Los Angeles Avenue at the urging of local business owners; however, even if they had been approved, they would not have made a difference in this case.

What might have helped is better education and outreach.

Many cyclists who learned to ride in Central American countries were taught to ride facing traffic, rather than with traffic; some Americans were taught the same thing, especially those who started riding as children in the 50s and 60s. Yet riding against traffic greatly increases risk to riders by placing them where drivers aren’t looking for them, while reducing reaction times and increasing the force of impact.

At the same time, outreach programs, such as the LACBC’s former City of Lights program, have worked to provide lights to riders who may not understand the need for them or have the money to buy them. I don’t know if such a program exists in Ventura County.

Either way, it’s too late to help Navi.

This is the 45th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Ventura County, following the death of Guadalupe Cruz in Fillmore this June; Cruz was reportedly riding on the wrong side of the street, as well.

My sympathy and prayers for Navi and his loved ones. Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

………

Riverside police report that a man has died after being found suffering from gunshot wounds on Wednesday; the Southwest Riverside News Network says that he was found next to a bicycle.

Thirty-seven-year old Riverside resident Rene Barrientos Corona was found at Arlington Avenue near Fairhaven Drive in the La Sierra Hills neighborhood when police responded to a report of a man down and bleeding in the street.

Police initially thought he had been hit by a car before medical personnel determined that he had been shot; Corona died at a local hospital the following night.

There’s no indication whether he was riding the bike or walking it at the time of the shooting; it’s possible that the bike wasn’t even his. However, the presence of the bike and the fact that police assumed he’d been hit by a car would suggest it was.

Witnesses said a dark, four-door vehicle with a spoiler on the back sped away from the area where Corona was found. Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Ron Sanfilippo at 951-353-7105 or Detective Rick Cobb at 951-353-7135.

Corona is the third bike rider to be killed by gunfire in Southern California this year, compared to nine last year.

My prayers for Corona and his family.

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