A better description would be the actions of a heartless coward with a callous indifference to human life.
Or maybe just murder.
According to the Desert Sun, the body of an unidentified bicyclist was found lying in the roadway on Dinah Shore Drive in Cathedral City around 9 pm Saturday. It was clear he had been hit by a car.
There were no apparent witnesses, and no description of the car or driver at this time.
A satellite view shows a four lane roadway with a center divider west of Whispering Palms. Based on the limited description, there’s no way to tell which direction the victim was riding, whether he was on Dinah Shore or attempting to cross it.
There’s no speed limit sign visible in the street view; however, the distance his body was apparently thrown would suggest he was hit at a high rate of speed.
There’s also no way of knowing whether he might have survived if the driver had stopped and called for help as the law, and basic human decency, requires.
This is the 55th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Riverside County. That compares with 69 in Southern California this time last year, and six in the county.
Update: Bike SGV is hosting a free, family-friendly Ride to the Twenties Festival at the Workman Homestead Museum Saturday afternoon. My apologies for not mentioning this earlier.
Margaret Wehbi sends word of a dangerous intersection at 135th St and La Cienega Blvd in the Wiseburn section of unincorporated LA County, near Hawthorne, where a young girl was hit by a car while riding to school.
She adds that the person who posted the notice dictated her comments, and apologized for the errors.
Apparently, the girl suffered a broken growth plate, and will be in a sling for awhile. And both she and her mother have been traumatized by the incident.
………
Good news from Newport Beach, as a 14-year old girl who was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding her bike has made a full recovery.
Meanwhile, the driver turned himself in, and could face up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as $10,000.
Although I always question whether hit-and-run drivers who come forward a day or two later just gave themselves enough time to sober up.
Better Bike’s Mark Elliot calls for traffic mitigation to protect the safety of bicyclists during the reconstruction of Santa Monica Blvd.
A letter writer in the Times says while 11-year old Matty Grossman wants a safe place to ride his bike, her son can’t walk home from school because of the cut-through traffic caused by the Rowena road diet.
LADOT Bike Blog looks at the new California laws to establish traffic diversion schools for bicyclists and a hit-and-run yellow alert system.
Santa Monica’s new Breeze bikeshare system is still on track for a November rollout; the initial test system has proved popular enough that it will be extended past the planned October 1st end date.
Any Hermosa Beach city council candidate who poses for a campaign photo on a fat tire beach bike can’t be all bad.
A writer for the Contra Costa Times says too much blood of bicyclists has been spilled on Mt. Diablo. Apparently, drivers have to receive a verbal warning because they don’t have enough sense not to pass on blind curves.
A Palo Alto road diet has won over the city’s skeptics, and will be made permanent after a successful trial phase. Installing road diets on streets like Rowena and North Figueroa on a trial basis could help overcome opposition here, while identifying issues that need to be addressed.
Census data shows bike commuting continues to rise across the US as city’s build more bikeways; Los Angeles is up to 1.3%. However, census data dramatically undercounts the number of transportation cyclists, since it doesn’t include multi-modal commuters who bike part way or people who bike to shop or other destinations.
Talk about a miraculous recovery. A Wisconsin woman turned up at a police station to ask for her bike back after she had been declared brain dead and sent to another hospital as an organ donor.
A Minnesota writer rides with a bike messenger and learns being late is the cardinal sin of the business, even if that means getting back on your bike with a broken hand after flying over the car that cut you off.
Battle Creek MI police conclude no one was at fault for the wreck that killed a cyclist. Except for whoever was responsible for maintaining the crumbling asphalt that caused him to fall in front of a 15-year old driver.
A 25-year old New York teacher who worked with disadvantaged children is honored as a Hometown Hero in Education; sadly, the award came two months after he was killed while riding cross country to raise money for the charity Bike and Build.
A New York writer says NYC cyclists might not have Boulder CO’s 300 miles of off-road pathways, but they enjoy the excitement of riding in the city. And instead of signs warning about puma attacks, they might have to dodge a rat or two.
City Lab looks at the benefits of slower traffic as measured in terms of both money and lives; a New Jersey road diet penciled out at a net benefit of between $2.6 million and $37 million over the 20-year lifespan of the project.
Maybe someone’s trying to tell them something. After a 7,000 rider strong charity ride was pushed back by the papal visit, it’s cancelled after heavy rains and fears of Hurricane Joaquin result in a state of emergency.
Not every cyclist wants a carb-burning workout; a new Brit route planner currently under development promises to get you to your destination with the least amount of effort.
The husband of a fallen Dubai cyclist and elephant polo champ leads her former teammates in climbing 100 French passes in 10 days in her honor.
In the latest example of wealthy Arabs behaving badly, a Mercedes driver is wanted in his native United Arab Emirates for a massive, choke-inducing burnout after arguing with a London cyclist.
One person’s political gain is another’s plea for safer streets.
CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo sent an email saying it’s unacceptable to use the hit-and-run death of Irma Yolanda Espinoza-Lugo on North Figueroa for political gain.
Except that seems to be exactly what he’s doing.
It’s sad that calling for safer streets in the wake of a needless tragedy is seen as a “political opportunity for personal gain.”
Especially since this wreck occurred on a stretch of North Figueroa that would have already undergone safety improvements if Cedillo hadn’t personally blocked them, despite overwhelming community support.
Business Insider offers a close-up look at Peter Sagan’s $9,250 world championship winning Specialized S-Works Tarmac. Note to TMZ: That’s a “super expensive” bike, not this.
An Austrian cyclist who took a frightening spill during the U23 road race blames a broken steerer damaged when his bike flew off a support car during the time trial.
And both drivers and cyclists say better education is the key to building on the success of the worlds to make Richmond VA a safer place to ride a bike.
………
Local
CiclaValley says Times’ columnist George Skelton’s call for a registration fee on bike riders is flat Earth thinking. Meanwhile, a Modesto rider says go ahead and bill him 60¢ for the wear and tear his bike causes on the roads.
The Los Ryderz bike club in Watts will ride for cancer awareness on Saturday, despite losing their tools and a pair of bikes in a break-in. This would be a good opportunity for some bighearted people right here in LA to step up and help replace them.
A Bike League webinar will feature Daniella Alcedo from the LACBC’s Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition and Maria Sipin of Multicultural Communities for Mobility this Thursday at 11 am.
Krosstoberfest comes to Long Beach this Saturday with the SoCalCross Prestige Series cyclocross races at El Dorado Park. I can almost hear the polka music and smell the muddy lederhosen already.
No bias here. A Banning newspaper says a Beaumont cyclist was injured after “driving” into a car, even though it says the driver didn’t see him. The driver must have left crossed the rider, since they were going in opposite directions on the same road.
Saturday’s Simi Valley Share the Road Ride will honor fallen cyclist Phil Hernandez, while calling attention to the need to make room for bicyclists; riders can choose courses from 25 to 100 miles.
The San Francisco Chronicle rejects the call for an Idaho stop law, saying road safety and established law trump the inconvenience of stopping for a stop sign. Meanwhile, after the city’s mayor threatened to veto the ordinance because he won’t trade safety for convenience, Streetsblog SF offers proof he does exactly that on a regular basis.
Bad enough that we have to worry about dangerous drivers; a Berkley bike rider was injured when a falling tree knocked down a power pole and he crashed into the fallen power line.
The bicyclist killed in a Yolo County time trial over the weekend was an experienced cyclist who worked as a consultant for Oracle. Police say both the victim and the driver appear to be at fault, since the driver passed unsafely while the victim wasn’t riding far to the right.
A pair of filmmaking adventurers rescue an abandoned puppy while on a 900-mile bike trip to climb 45 towers in the Southwestern US.
There’s special place in hell for someone who would steal a pair of custom-made tricycles that provide mobility for a wheelchair-bound Portland woman.
City officials in Boulder CO vote to undo a road diet in the face of vitriolic criticism, even though it improved safety in the short amount of time it was allowed to exist; People for Bikes says it will be just the fourth protected bike lane removed anywhere in the US.
An Iowa man faces up to 25 years in prison for killing a bike rider taking part in a group ride; his BAC was nearly three times the legal limit at the time of the crash.
Opinions vary over a protected bike lane currently under construction in Chattanooga TN, even among bike riders. Instead of complaining about the loss of just 15 parking spaces, try installing a few bike racks to draw customers on two wheels.
A Florida legislator re-files a vulnerable user law that would require drivers to yield to bike riders and pedestrians when making a right turn that crosses sidewalks, bicycle lanes or bicycle paths.
A crawling burglar in the Sunshine State somehow managed to steal 40 bikes and equipment worth $104,000 after disabling a bike shop’s security system. So if you start seeing a bunch of brand new bikes on Craigslist at ridiculously low prices…
International
Interesting collision data from the UK; not surprisingly, Mondays and morning rush hour are the most dangerous times for London bicyclists
Once again, bike riders are the good guys, as a pair of British paramedics drop out of a charity ride to help a woman injured in a car crash.
A Danish study looks at the behavior of road users to determine the ideal width for two-way cycle tracks, concluding after a number of complex calculations that the magic number is 7.38 feet if there’s no parking, and 7.7 feet if there’s parking alongside the bike lanes.
Australia’s Victoria state has promised key bike projects, but failed to deliver. Sounds familiar.
It’s been a bad two days for Southern California bike riders.
According to the Orange County Register, a woman was killed as she was riding her bike in a crosswalk in the city of Orange Sunday evening.
The unidentified victim was crossing the street at the intersection of West Chapman Avenue and North Flower Street shortly after 6 pm when she was struck by a man driving a full-size pickup. She was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where she passed away nearly 45 minutes later.
The paper reports the driver cooperated with investigators, and was sober at the time of the collision.
There’s no word on who had the right-of-way or which street the victim was crossing, or what direction the truck was traveling. A satellite view shows a two-lane street with a left turn lane on Fowler and six lanes with a left turn lane on Chapman, with crosswalks in each direction.
He goes on to explain that as she rode in the crosswalk against traffic, she would not have had enough time to make it across all seven lanes if she didn’t push the button for the pedestrian crossing signal. In addition, the sun would have been facing the oncoming traffic close to sunset, making her difficult to see.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kathleen Walker and her family.
The San Diego Union Tribune reports the 63-year old victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding west on Flanders Drive at Camino Ruiz around 5:30 this morning when he went through the light and was struck by a car headed south on Camino Ruiz.
Police don’t suspect drug or alcohol use contributed to the collision. However, it’s possible that heavy fog in the area may have been a factor, as the cyclist and driver may not have been able to see each other until it was too late.
No word on whether the victim had lights on his bike an hour before sunrise; video from the scene shows no sign of lights on the badly mangled bike, though it’s possible they could have been damaged in the collision.
Given the early morning hour, and the fact that the driver had to leave the scene to find a phone, it’s unlikely that there were any independent witnesses to the wreck, which suggests that police had to rely on the driver’s word that he had the green light.
The heavy fog and severe damage to the bike also suggest that the driver may have been in violation of California’s basic speed law; CVC 2250 says that no one may drive “at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent” with regard to a number of factors, including weather and visibility.
This is the 53rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in San Diego County; it’s also the sixth in the city of San Diego.
According to KESQ.com, a 57-year old bike rider was killed in a collision after turning into traffic in Cathedral City Sunday morning.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding east on the north sidewalk at 69120 Ramon Road around 9:20 am. Police report he suddenly turned to his right and rode directly into the path of westbound traffic, where he was hit by a car.
He died after being taken to a regional medical center.
However, it’s hard to understand why the victim would have turned out into traffic when he should have been able to clearly see the cars coming.
The station implies that he may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It’s possible that he may have somehow thought he had more time to cross the street than he really did, particularly if the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed.
This is the 52nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Riverside County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
This is why you always secure loose items on your bike.
According to the Ventura County Star, 53-year old Oxnard resident Maria Dupre was riding her bike on the 800 block of North Ventura Road in Port Hueneme around 6 pm Sunday, when something she was carrying on her bicycle became lodged in her front wheel. She lost control and fell from her bike.
She was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The paper notes Dupre was not wearing a helmet; in this case, it might have made a difference, assuming she suffered a head injury. Solo falls like this are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.
This is the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Ventura County; the first occurred just eight days earlier in Moorpark.
My deepest prayers and sympathy for Maria Dupre and all her loved ones.
It’s kind of sad that the voice of reason at Monday’s town hall meeting to discuss the Rowena road diet came from an eleven-year old boy.
Let alone the hate it inspired in some quarters.
Matty Grossman has become the perhaps unwilling star of LA bike advocacy, with an interview on KCBS-2 and a profile in the LA Times that features the following video, recorded by Sean Meredith.
It’s a little hard to hear — after all, he is just eleven — but it’s worth cranking up the volume as far as it goes to catch every word
Especially this segment excerpted from the Times’ story.
“I have lost track of the number of cars who have purposely violated my legal right to three feet of safety or shouted obscenities at me,” Matty said at Monday’s town hall. “Can you imagine the kind of monster who yells ‘F you’ to a child?”
And Matty, a sixth-grader, is over it.
“It’s whiny, entitled behavior you wouldn’t tolerate from a kid,” he told the room. “Why should I tolerate it from adults?”
Why should any of us?
Maybe it was being shamed by a kid that caused one rabidly anti-bike commenter to lash out in protest over a kid interrupting the conversation on “adult issues” like bike lanes and transportation policy.
But that’s exactly the point.
Because if some drivers will treat a little kid like that, imagine how they treat a grown-up on a bike.
According to the press reports, Matty wants to grow up to be mayor of Los Angeles. Or an astrophysicist.
He’s got my vote.
But if that doesn’t work out, I think we can get him a job with the LACBC.
………
Speaking of Rowena, and by extension, the new mobility plan, Times’ architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne offers an insightful explanation of just why it’s so desperately needed, despite rumblings from some quarters.
Sometimes we tell ourselves it has been this way for all time. Recently a reader sent me an email that included this line: “Driving by car is how it’s done here.” (The word “son” at the end of the sentence was implied.)
But that’s not really true — not if you take a broad view of Los Angeles history. Look at a photograph of, say, Broadway in downtown L.A. in the late 1920s. It is full of people walking. But it is also full of people in cars, on bikes and on streetcars.
It looks vital. And guess what? It also looks very congested. In the decades that followed, in our tireless efforts to stamp out the congestion — something we became truly expert at — we wound up stamping out the vitality too.
Seriously, take a few minutes and read it all the way through.
Excuse my language, but just when are we going to stop this fucking waste of life? The right to keep on living is the most basic of all human rights.
………
There’s a new world record for a human-powered vehicle, set by a bullet-shaped bike ridden by Canadian Todd Reichart and the AeroVelo team at the annual World Human Powered Speed Challenge. It was clocked at 85.71 mph, beating the old record by 2.58 mph.
………
That didn’t take long. The world championships haven’t even started yet, and a bike thief already made off with a $10,000 Specialized S-Works belonging to the Dutch team. And no offense to The Verge, but I’ve done a lot faster than 30 mph.
Bicycling isn’t a luxury in South LA, where a bike count shows people who can’t afford cars riding to or from work and school. And people there have more to fear than dangerous streets and drivers.
He doesn’t mention bikes, but 3rd District Councilmember Bob Blumenfield writes about revitalizing Reseda through the Great Streets program on Sherman Way. Let’s just remind him to include some decent bike lanes while he’s at it. And slow the damn traffic down.
After winning joint custody, Chris Brown wants to treat his daughter Royalty royally by teaching her to ride a bike.
State
An off-duty CHP officer spotted a man sleeping in an Oceanside bike lane; when he stopped to investigate, he discovered the man was the victim of a hit-and-run. He was in critical condition as of Friday morning.
After riding over 9,300 miles through 31 states with his rescue dog to promote pet adoption, an animal activist had his bike, iPod, GoPro and dog toys stolen in San Diego. At least he managed to hold onto the dog.
Prospects for the Coachella Valley’s proposed 50-mile CV Link bikeway aren’t looking good, as Indian Wells and Rancho Mirage both vote to block the proposed route.
Sad news from Lompoc. A bike rider was killed when he was rear-ended by an SUV, as the driver apparently tried — and failed — to pass. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
A San Ramon attorney will be sentenced next week for the hit-and-run death of a Chinese tourist three years ago. Sentencing is at the judge’s discretion; he could actually get probation for killing another person and running away to cover-up his crime.
Thanks to Google, we may one day hear the anti-bike brigades say LA isn’t Silicon Valley instead of comparing us to Copenhagen.
Streetsblog is looking for someone to run the San Francisco site and cover transportation issues in the Bay Area. I’d consider it, but it would mean becoming a Giants fan. And some lines a man just can’t cross.
National
This Tuesday is Worldwide Car-Free Day. Which is not the same as free car day, unfortunately.
The level of bike commuting in Portland has reached an unheard of — in the US, at least — 7.2%; it was only at 2.8% in 2004.
Fifty-two soldiers complete a two day, 167-mile ride from Fort Knox KY to Fort Campbell.
When some Michigan hikers looked at pictures they’d just taken off a cliff, they discovered legs and a bicycle in the photos; when rescuers arrived, they found a the body of a man in his 30s at the base of the cliff.
Now this is a great idea. Over 70 businesses and many homes in Ashland VA have bike gardens — bicycles with planters or arranged like sculptures. Love to see something that spread around the LA area.
Very strange case from upstate New York as a cyclist has been unresponsive since he was found lying in the road, suffering from a double skull fracture and a broken orbital socket and clavicle. Yet his bike and helmet were undamaged and there was no sign of a collision.
A Charlotte NC writer says both cyclists and motorists have control over whether they get out of control. However, bicycling is not particularly dangerous, as he suggests; people in motor vehicles aren’t immune from collisions and serous injuries, or worse.
International
A Saskatoon city counselor says new bike racks are a waste of money, since cyclists can “tie up” their bikes to loading zone signs. Sounds like he’s more used to hitching posts.
You’re kidding, right? Toronto proposes producing a paltry 2.5 miles of new bike lanes a year for the next 10 years. No word on whether those are centerline miles or lane miles; the latter would mean bike lanes on just 1.25 miles of roadway per year.
A Singapore court cuts the sentence of a hit-and-run cyclist to three weeks; he’d originally been sentenced to eight weeks behind bars for fleeing after injuring a 69-year old woman while riding on the sidewalk.
And maybe it’s better to quaff that ale post ride rather than pre. Although after reading the effects booze has on a bike rider’s body, you may need a drink.
September 17, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Orange County bike rider killed in solo fall; 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year
The Orange County Register adds a little more information. According to the paper, Miller was riding east on Calle Empalme when he somehow lost control of his bike and hit the curb, and was thrown headfirst into a lamppost.
Police were unable to find a reason why Miller lost control. There was no debris in the street and no other vehicle appeared to have been involved. The street does have a downhill slope, but levels out about 50 yards from the crash site.
It’s possible that he may have picked up too much speed going downhill, or that he lost control after a close pass by a car, without getting. Or he could have become distracted or disoriented in some way.
The paper also notes that Miller was not wearing a helmet.
There’s no way to say if wearing one would have made a difference. However, relatively slow speed falls like this are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 714/647-7000.
This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th in Orange County. That compares with 67 this time last year, and 14 in the county.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Henry Miller III and all his family.
Somehow, this one went under the radar earlier this week.
According to the Orange County Register, 51-year old Rafael Romo was walking his bike north on Richfield Road when he ducked under the railroad crossing barrier on Orangethorpe Ave around 8:15 pm Monday.
He was standing on the south tracks waiting for an eastbound train to pass on the other tracks when he was hit by a train headed west at 48 mph. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The paper notes that it’s unsure if his death was an accident or may have been suicide. However, the latter seems unlikely if he brought the bike with him, rather than leaving it behind when he stepped under the barrier.
This serves as yet another warning to never go under or around railroad crossing guards, even if it seems safe at the time.
This is the 49th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th in Orange County. Romo is also the 19th SoCal bike rider to be killed by a train since 2011, which is the easiest type of collision to avoid.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Rafael Romo and all his loved ones.
