Archive for Bicycle Safety

Able-bodied mtn biker confronts disabled ebike rider, Metrolink helps promote bikes, and redesigning LA’s worst intersections

May 26, 2021 / / Comments Off on Able-bodied mtn biker confronts disabled ebike rider, Metrolink helps promote bikes, and redesigning LA’s worst intersections

A video from last fall has popped up again, causing fresh outrage online.

Justifiable outrage, for a change.

David Wolfberg forwards a story from Boing Boing that picks up a video we posted last September, showing an able-bodied mountain biker complaining about a disabled rider’s adaptive ebike, and demanding to see the rule allowing him to use it on the Indiana trail.

Maybe you’ll remember it.

Lord knows I do.

The story doesn’t end there, though, as reprehensible as this uncomprehending attack on a disabled man is.

Wolfberg also forwards videos revealing the disabled man, Tom Morris, to be a noted endurance athlete and coach.

And yes, going back to the original video, Morris had every right to ride it on the trail according to this piece from Road.cc.

Morris…has since said he has been in touch with Terry Coleman, the deputy director of Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), who told him that his bike was perfectly legal to ride on trails.

Morris said: “What I’m on is not an e-bike, it’s an adaptive piece of equipment. And adaptive equipment is allowed on all of the trails throughout all of Indiana. So if you’ve got this equipment, get out and use it, use it in the state parks, use it on these trails.”

Morris also said Coleman told him that the DNR had actually just bought 12 “off-roading wheelchairs”, to give disabled people in the state more access to trails and paths for leisure activities.

So the next time you find tempted to criticize someone else for some infraction, real or imagined, think twice.

Then don’t.

There may be some reason why they’re doing what they’re doing. And it doesn’t really matter whether you understand or agree with it.

Because it’s not your job to enforce the rules, any more than driveway vigilante drivers have the right to enforce their interpretations — or misinterpretations, more often — of bike laws on you.

Try a little empathy and understanding instead.

And maybe make this world a little better for all of us in the process.

Image by Michael Gaida from Pixabay.

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Remember this tweet the next time someone insists Los Angeles isn’t (insert more progressive city here).

https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1397195715529564172

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Metrolink is teaming with the LACBC to promote bicycling as Bike Month sinks slowly in the west.

Taking Metrolink makes a great way to explore other parts of Southern California by bike, especially with their $10 weekend fares.

And particularly now that it’s getting safer to get back on a train.

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Great thread from 18-year old housing and transportation enthusiast Zennon Ulyate-Crow, who is doing the work LADOT should be doing to reimagine some of LA’s most problematic intersections.

Here’s his latest project, which turns an East Hollywood mess into something we could all live with.

Let’s hope LADOT is already keeping an eye on him, with the promise of a job once he gets his degree.

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Speaking of LADOT, it seems the ostensibly progressive department ostensibly focused on Compete Streets still hasn’t gotten the message of the mayor’s Green New Deal — that we have to reimagine our streets and how we get around if we’re going to meet the city’s climate change goals, let alone survive.

Or maybe they still have old school engineers on staff who retain their focus on automotive throughput, as an obsolete plan to widen Burbank Blvd rises from the dead.

https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1396938808650731520

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton busts the myths in Metro’s half billion dollar highway budget for next year, saying this is not what Angelenos voted for when they approved Measure M funding.

With auto-centric crap like this is still being pushed by Metro and LADOT, maybe we can’t afford to wait, and need to get Ulyate-Crow working there now.

Or better yet, running it.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to instruct you in how to wear a bike helmet.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

No bias here. San Carlos has installed a bicycle dismount zone where people are supposed to get off their bikes and walk them across an intersection to “minimize conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.” Even though bike riders have every right to just ride across the damn street.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly. 

A man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was sentenced to 25 years behind bars for fatally shooting another man who tried to take his bicycle from outside a convenience store.

A Jackson, Mississippi man is on trial for fatally shooting a 14-year old boy in the back after one of the boy’s friends stole a bike from his yard. We all hate bike thieves. But no bicycle is ever worth a human life. 

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Local

Streets For All introduces Destruction for Nada, a much-needed campaign to stop all highway widening in LA County, as Metro considers an induced-demand boosting jump in highway spending at Thursday’s board meeting, along with a proposal to kill the wasteful and destructive $8 billion plan to widen the 710 Freeway. It’s long past time all of Metro’s funding was shifted to transit and Complete Streets.

Speaking of Streets For All and highways, mark your calendar for Wednesday, June 9th, as they host another of their virtual happy hours, featuring Caltrans District 7 Director Tony Tavares.

LAist examines the battle over the Beautiful Boulevard plan to create a livable Complete Street along the route of the planned NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit line through Eagle Rock.

 

State

Antioch could build the Bay Area’s first Bicycle Garden, a fully landscaped miniature streetscape within an existing park to teach bicycling skills to kids and adults.

The post-pandemic reopening is raising a debate over the streets of San Francisco, as advocates call for keeping closed-off streets carfree, while drivers insist they need the roads open to get around. That’s a debate that should be happening in Los Angeles, as well, as the city faces an urgent need to reimagine how people get around in order to meet climate goals, and confront the ever-increasing congestion on our streets. But isn’t. 

San Francisco installs the city’s first advisory lane, where bike riders use bike lanes on either side of the street, while drivers in both directions share a single center lane.

Sad news from Northern California, where a man riding a bike in Cottonwood was killed by a hit-and-run driver who just left him on the side of the road to die. As we’ve said before, in cases like that, the driver should face a murder charge once they’re caught for making the conscious decision to let their victim die.

 

National

Marketplace reports on why you should care about the draft update to the MUTCD, the country’s traffic control bible.

The NRDC has rejected the proposed federal highway bill under consideration in the US Senate, calling it a small step when we need a great leap.

Bicycling explains why you should ride your bike for fun more often. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

An anonymous donor gave a whopping $1 million to purchase land for mountain bike trails on Washington’s Bainbridge Island, as well as conserving land and expanding an existing dog park.

A Chicago man took an “epic” bike ride across Indiana just to dine at the nearest Waffle House. Although the real story is how he was able to make almost the entire trip on offroad bike paths.

The New York Times offers a photo essay examining bike style around the city. These days my only sense of style is whatever will look least humiliating in public.

Island Press introduces Bike Easy, which has played a significant role in the remarkable transformation of New Orleans into a bike friendly — or at least, friendlier — city.

Miami joins the Vision Zero club, as the city announces plans to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. Let’s hope they take it more seriously than Los Angeles does, like planning to remove bike lanes and sidewalks to widen Burbank Blvd.

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers a primer on the different types of cargo bikes.

An IT professional from a tiny Uruguayan pueblo is now riding a bicycle through Mexico, in the fourth year of his quixotic quest to ride from Uruguay to Alaska.

A Canadian girl got a new BMX bike for being honest enough to return a bike a stranger had given her, after learning it had been stolen. Although the question is why did a stranger give her a stolen bike to begin with.

This is who we share the road with. A British man will spend six years behind bars for intentionally running down and killing another driver in a road rage dispute.

The UK press continues their onslaught of photos contradicting Prince Harry’s claim that he was never he was able to ride a bike with his father, heir-to-the-thrown Prince Charles.

Members of a Dublin bike club testify that a speeding driver rounded a bend on the wrong side of the roadway moments before slamming into a woman who couldn’t get her bike off the road in time; the driver is on trial for her death.

You’ve got to be kidding. When a Welsh bicyclist tried to take video of dangerous drivers to the local police, they threatened to charge him for swearing at the motorists who nearly killed him, instead.

The Air Force Times tells the story of a top secret suicide squad of bike-riding Jewish commandos dropped behind German lines during World War II.

More proof that bicycling pays. A study of bike paths in Helsinki, Finland, shows a gain of the equivalent of $4.41 for every $1.22 spent to place bikeways along major arteries in the city. Then again, they increase property values, too.

 

Competitive Cycling

The BBC questions whether anyone can beat Columbia’s Egan Bernal, saying the pink leader’s jersey is his to lose.

However, Cycling Weekly says the race is far from over, and offers five things to watch for as it enters its final week.

American Joe Dombrowski rode the cycling roller coaster in the just the first week of the Giro, going from winning a stage one day to crashing out the next.

Cycling Tips introduces Tim Declercq, who they call one of the world’s best domestiques, and who is always at the front of the action.

International politics once again reaches into the sports world, as Germany responds to the hijacking and apparent torture of an opposition journalist in Belarus by pulling out of next month’s Elite Track European Championships in the country. And yes, that’s the right move; hopefully other countries will follow their lead.

Durango, Colorado’s annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic mountain bike race has proven to be a launching pad for cycling careers, including rising US WorldTour star Sepp Kuss.

 

Finally…

The answer to N+1 could soon be a subscription. Your next ebike could go 40 mph — as long as you’re willing to get a helmet, registration and motorcycle license.

And if your toddler feels left out by the time you spend on your Peloton, just build him one of his own.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

And get vaccinated, already.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Man on bike killed in late night Oceanside collision; driver arrested for possible DUI

May 23, 2021 / / 3 comments

Another person riding a bike has lost their life at the hands of an alleged drunk driver.

According to multiple and virtually identical sources, the crash occurred at 1:50 am Saturday just west of Oceanside Boulevard and Beverly Glen Drive in Oceanside, which would have been just as the bars were closing from the night before.

Police respondeding to the crash found a man lying unresponsive on the north side of the road.

Witnesses reported the driver was headed west on Oceanside when he or she slammed into the victim, who has not been publicly identified. That was corroborated by physical evidence.

There’s no word on which direction the victim was traveling or where he was positioned on the roadway. However, there is a bike lane in both directions on Oceanside, with the intersection controlled with a traffic signal.

There’s also no word on whether he had lights on his bike at that hour.

The driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence, with police also seizing their car.

Anyone with information is urged to call Oceanside Police Collision Investigator Clint Bussey at 760/435-4412.

This is at least the 26th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Mother of five dies after she’s taken off life-support, 10 days after collision while bicycling in Lincoln Heights

May 9, 2021 / / Comments Off on Mother of five dies after she’s taken off life-support, 10 days after collision while bicycling in Lincoln Heights

Too often, we never learn what happens after someone riding a bicycle is taken to the hospital.

If we ever hear about it in the first place.

That’s what nearly happened late last month, when a woman died days after she was struck by a driver while riding her bike in Lincoln Heights.

Make that a young mother, who leaves five young kids behind.

The first clue came with a post on Nextdoor, which Michael Shifflett forwarded to me this morning.

 

Unfortunately, there was no confirmation about the crash, let alone her death. And searching the LA County coroner’s office turned up nothing.

Because they misspelled her name.

According to information Shifflett was able to gather speaking with witnesses and members of her family, 31-year old Adriana Rodriguez, otherwise known as Fishy, was hit by a driver’s car at N. San Fernando Road and Humboldt Street on April 18th.

She was hospitalized for ten days afterwards, and died April 28th after being taken off life-support.

Her death was confirmed by the coroner’s office, which mistakenly spelled her first name as Andriana, which is why I couldn’t find it.

The driver stayed at the scene following the crash. No word on whether he or she was ticketed, but no arrest was made at the scene.

Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time.

However, a poignant, slightly truncated post from one of the first people on the scene following the crash captures the needless tragedy.

A GoFundMe campaign posted before Rodriguez’ death has raised a little more than $1,100 of the low $7,000 goal at the time of this writing.

Let’s see if we can boost that a little for those kids who will now grow up without a mother.

And yes, I gave, too.

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s the third I know of in the City of LA.

It’s also a reminder that too many stories like this never make the news. And we’ll never know how many other victim of traffic violence we may not have heard about.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Adriana Rodriguez and all her family. 

Thanks to Michael Schifflett and Chris By Bike for the heads-up.

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

Man killed riding bicycle near center divider on the Pomona Freeway in South El Monte; 7th LA County death this year

May 5, 2021 / / Comments Off on Man killed riding bicycle near center divider on the Pomona Freeway in South El Monte; 7th LA County death this year

Once again, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in the traffic lanes of a major SoCal freeway.

And once again, it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.

According to My News LA, which apparently broke the story, a man was riding a bicycle near the center divider of the eastbound Pomona Freeway, aka the 60 Freeway, just west of Peck Road around 8:15 pm Tuesday when he was struck by several drivers.

Not surprisingly, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A collision with one vehicle at highway speeds is not likely to be survivable, let alone multiple vehicles.

As in the other cases where bike riders have been killed while riding on a freeway, no explanation was given for what the hell he was doing there.

Just to be clear, while it is legal to ride a bicycle on some limited access highways where there is no alternative bicycle route, there are few, if any, places in the Los Angeles area where it is allowed.

And it is never smart to ride a bike to the left of the fog line, or right limit line, on any urban freeway.

This is at least the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

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

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Update: 67-year old Pasadena dies after losing consciousness while riding on Glendora Mountain Road

May 1, 2021 / / Comments Off on Update: 67-year old Pasadena dies after losing consciousness while riding on Glendora Mountain Road

According to My News LA, someone was killed riding a bicycle on Glendora Mountain Road north of Glendora Friday.

The site reports the crash occurred shortly before noon at mile marker 12.06, according to the CHP.

Unfortunately, that’s all we know at this time.

There’s no word on whether a driver was involved, if it may have been a hit-and-run, or if the victim was killed in a solo crash.

There’s also no information about the victim.

The location along a popular riding route suggests they may have been a road cyclist; however, that is pure conjecture at this time.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 23rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: Now we know what happened

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune has identified the victim as 67-year old Pasadena resident Stanley Swantek. 

According to the paper, Swantek was riding on Glendora Mountain Road when he lost consciousness due to an undetermined medical problem just before noon Friday. 

A passing Good Samaritan began CPR, and continued until paramedics took over. However, Swantek was declared dead less than half an hour later. 

Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP’s Baldwin Park office at 626/338-1164.

Sadly, it’s yet another reminder that cars aren’t the only danger we face on the roads. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Stanley Swantek and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to John McBrearty, ActiveSGV and LB Acct Action Grp for the heads-up.

 

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

56-year old Robert Bronk died five days after he was struck by driver while bicycling in El Cajon

April 29, 2021 / / Comments Off on 56-year old Robert Bronk died five days after he was struck by driver while bicycling in El Cajon

Sad news from El Cajon, where a man died days after he was gravely injured in a collision.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, 56-year old Robert Bronk, who lived on the streets, was struck by a driver while riding his bike at El Cajon Blvd and West Lexington Ave around 10 am on Sunday, April 18th.

Actually, the paper says he was hit by a vehicle, with no mention whatsoever that it had a driver.

Bronk was taken to San Diego’s Sharp Memorial Hospital with traumatic head injuries, and given end-of-life care due to the severity of his injuries.

He died last Friday, five days after he was injured; the tragedy of his death was compounded by the tragedy of his circumstances.

Like any human being, he deserved better.

This is at least the 22nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Bronk and his loved ones.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Man killed in collision riding bike across Hwy 163 in San Diego’s Balboa Park Wednesday night

April 23, 2021 / / 2 comments

Let’s start with the fact that cars don’t belong in parks.

Let alone major highways bisecting one of Southern California’s most iconic public spaces.

Yet that’s the situation in San Diego, where multi-lane State Route 163 runs directly through the 1,200-acre Balboa Park.

Wednesday night, it cost a man his life.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a man was riding his bicycle across the southbound lane of the 163 just south of the Cabrillo Bridge when he was struck by a 63-year old driver around 9:05 pm.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

The victim, who was not publicly identified, was reportedly trying to cross from the center divider to the right shoulder. There’s no word on why he was crossing where he did, rather than use the nearby bridge.

This is at least the 21st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

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

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

Teen boy killed, two others seriously injured when hit-and-run driver plows through Port Hueneme bike riders

April 20, 2021 / / 2 comments

Horrific news from Ventura County, where one teen bike rider was killed and two others “significantly” injured in a Port Hueneme hit-and-run.

According to the Ventura County Star, the northbound driver plowed through a group of seven young bike riders at north Ventura Road and east Pleasant Valley Road  at 9:28 pm Monday, leaving bikes and debris strewn across the seven lane intersection.

The massive crash occurred directly in front of the naval base.

One victim, described only as a teenage boy, died after being taken to a local hospital.

Another boy was hospitalized in critical condition with what was described only as major injuries, while a third suffered significant lower body injuries.

The other riders apparently escaped unharmed.

The driver abandoned his car five blocks away on the 500 block of East Clara Street after fleeing the scene.

Twenty-eight-year old Port Hueneme resident Samuel Rocha turned himself in to police sometime overnight. He was still being processed at 9:30 this morning.

KABC-7 reports Rocha has been booked on one count of homicide and two counts of attempted homicide, in a story that hasn’t been posted online yet.

Let’s hope they’re right, and authorities are taking this crime seriously for a change.

This is at least the 20th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

That matches the county’s total for all of last year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victims and all their loved ones.

 

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

Two bike riders killed in Malibu collisions on PCH; just two of five fatal crashes on LA’s killer highway in recent weeks

April 18, 2021 / / One comment

My biggest fear when I agreed to surgery on my arm and hand was that someone would lose their life riding a bike, and I wouldn’t be able to write about the victim.

Which is exactly what happened in Malibu.

And not once, but twice.

The first came when three men were crossing Pacific Coast Highway just west of Busch Drive around 10:35 pm on Easter Sunday, one of whom was apparently walking a bicycle.

According to the Malibu Times, the man with the bike was struck and killed by a driver headed west on PCH.

A few moments later, one of his companions was struck and killed by a second driver as he scrambled to collect the victim’s belongings from the roadway.

Both men apparently died at the scene, just minutes apart. According to the paper, there have now been three people killed at the same spot in recent years.

Six days later, another man was killed while riding his bike at PCH and Corral Canyon.

The crash occurred sometime after dark on Saturday, April 10th.

The victim was riding without lights or reflectors when he was run down by a driver headed east on PCH at 51 mph, as recorded on the vehicle’s black box. He was knocked onto the other side of the highway, where he may have been struck by another driver.

There’s no word on whether the victim was riding on PCH or trying to cross the street. There’s also no word on whether the second driver remained at the scene.

Unfortunately, no identification was given for any of the victims, other than the first two men were homeless, while the third may have been.

But they all deserved better.

These are at least the 18th and 19th bicycling fatalities in Southern California this year, and the fourth and fifth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

They are also just two of at least five people killed on PCH in Malibu since early March, along with another pedestrian and the driver of an SUV who went off the road.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for all the victims and their loved ones.

Thanks to Valley Duke for the heads-up.

 

 

 

 

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

80-year old man riding bike killed by alleged stop sign-running DUI driver in Newport Beach Sunday afternoon

March 31, 2021 / / One comment

Sometimes the needless death of an innocent person doesn’t merit even a few inches in the local paper.

Let alone a passing comment on the nightly news.

On Monday, I started hearing reports of someone killed in a collision while riding a bicycle in Costa Mesa, based on posts from the notoriously unreliable Nextdoor app.

By Tuesday morning, the location had shifted to nearby Newport Beach, along with comments suggesting the driver had been arrested. But still no confirmation from the coroner’s office or any of the local news outlets.

Sadly, that changed with this cryptic press release from the OC Coroner.

The coroner reported that 80-year old Ernest Adams died at a Santa Ana medical center early Monday morning, following a collision somewhere in Newport Beach Sunday afternoon.

That was followed by a post on a Newport Beach news blog placing the 3:16 pm collision at 16th Street and Irvine Avenue in Newport Beach.

According to the site, multiple witnesses reported seeing the suspect blow through a stop sign before slamming into Adam’s bike; a street view shows a residential street controlled by a four-way stop, with bike lanes in three directions, next to Newport Harbor High School.

Twenty-year old Norwalk resident Alexis Garcialopez was reportedly arrested for DUI causing serious injury after failing a roadside sobriety test.

Hopefully, that will be upgraded to vehicular homicide in the wake of Adams’ death. Because after 80 years on this earth, he definitely deserved a better ending.

This is at least the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Orange County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ernest Adams and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Bill Sellin and Lois for the heads-up.

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