Guest Post: A view from the courtroom

December 13, 2014 / / 5 comments

It’s one of the more heartbreaking cases in recent history.

It was just two days before Christmas last year, when a young Australian man working in Chicago was flying back home for the holidays, leaving his girlfriend of five years behind. Faced with an extended layover at LAX, James Rapley decided to rent a bike on a sunny Sunday morning for a ride along the beach.

He never made his flight home.

Rapley was riding in the uphill bike lane on Temescal Canyon Blvd when he was run down from behind by another young man, who was allegedly under the influence at 9 am, and reportedly admitted to texting behind the wheel when he drifted into the bike lane, taking the Aussie’s life in an instant.

I’ve often wondered what James Rapley’s thoughts were in those last few moments as his life drifted away. Whether he thought of the woman he loved, or the family he would never see again.

Or just wondered why.

Mohammed Kadri, the driver who took his life, was recently charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Our anonymous South Bay correspondent volunteered to be in the courtroom for Kadri’s Preliminary Setting on Thursday. Here’s her report.

……..

This morning, Mohammed Kadri was actually present in court. I didn’t see anyone in the tiny courtroom who looks 20 years old, because Kadri is kind of hirsute, so he looks older; the kid probably has a 5 o’clock shadow by noon. He’s not very tall, but his suit fit well, and posture is good and it indicated that he understands the gravity of his situation.

The Deputy DA assigned to the case requested a continuance. The judge asked a little impatiently why they shouldn’t proceed today. The prosecutor stated that she needs time to speak with the victim’s family. (Because what better time than the holidays?!?) The next court date is Friday, January 16th.

Incidentally, the prosecutor is Danette Meyers. She’ll prosecute viciously. The victim impact statements will be absolutely integral to the case, though. Even if the family can only provide written statements.

—

From the glass elevators at the courthouse, you can see planes coming in to LAX. I looked at those tubes of tin and thought of all the souls on board. James had flown into LAX a day early because he was worried that bad weather would delay his flight home to Australia. I wondered if any of today’s arrivals had chosen an early flight for the same reason, to play it safe so they can get home to their families for the holidays. And then I prayed every single one of them will be on their connecting flights. Because James Rapley never got the chance.

—

Just as an aside, and I could be wrong, but… In the hallway outside the courtroom, an older guy intercepted Kadri’s lawyer as we (me & the guy who turned out to be the lawyer) reached for the courtroom door at just about the same moment. This older guy may be a relative. Right after Kadri’s appearance, I went into the hallway to type some quick notes on my laptop. This same older guy walked by, very clearly looking down at the screen. I scowled at him and he pivoted away. I think he noticed the LACBC sticker on the front and suspects I’m some agent of theirs. Well, let the defense worry that so many eyes are on them.

I’d love to see Kadri quake beneath the gaze of an angry guardian angel the size of the Bike Coalition.

—

The Airport courthouse has no bike parking, but the security at the garage entrance suggested locking up to the handicap parking sign. The courthouse is conveniently nestled in the armpit of the 105/405 interchange, and miserable to reach by any way but car. If you look at Google Maps, it’s right there by the Green Line station, but you can’t access it by 116th street (unless you scale two chain link fences, and people clearly do this.) Nope, you have to go down to 120th and head back north. If you’re on a bike on 120th & La Cienega, it’s terrifying to wait in the eastbound left turn lane (whose sensor doesn’t register bikes), because the westbound traffic shooting out from the freeway underpass seems to be COMING RIGHT AT YOU thanks to the wacky angle at the intersection. By the time that oncoming wall of FedEx truck zoomed at me like Jaws, my heart rate was about 160. It’s not much lower right now, what with the rage about how we practically require vehicular manslaughter defendants to arrive at the courthouse by automobile.

……..

After I got her report, I emailed a member of Rapley’s family in Australia to let them know about the January 16th court date.

The response I received broke my heart.

The next court date will be just days after the one year anniversary of his funeral. And six years to the day that he’d been with his girlfriend. 

……..

The ghost bike for James Rapley is still there, 355 days later.

Maybe you’ve seen it at the corner of Temescal and PCH, and wondered who it was for, or stopped to read the inscription.

It’s been maintained all this time by a grieving father from Oxnard, whose own six-year old son was killed while riding his bike. Since then, Anthony Novarro has dedicated his life to remembering other bike riding sons and daughters who have lost theirs.

He stops by every few weeks to clean the site, and remember a young man none of us ever knew.

But all ghost bikes are removed or stolen sooner or later; it’s unusual that one lasts this long.

There’s a discussion currently underway to make the memorial permanent by installing a bike rack in the shape of a bicycle in Rapley’s honor.

So far it hasn’t gotten past the discussion stage.

But its another reminder that James Rapley hasn’t been forgotten in the City of Angels, even if he died a stranger to us all.

……..

Something else that hasn’t gotten past the discussion stage yet is a proposal to build the city’s first parking-protected bike lane on that uphill side of Temescal Canyon where Rapley lost his life.

Such protected bikeways were just approved by the state legislature earlier this year, and signed into law by Governor Brown. This would be the ideal location for one, with no conflicting intersections or cross traffic for nearly mile from PCH to Palisades High School.

Whether it would have saved Rapley’s life at that early hour is impossible to say; there may not have been enough beachgoers parking their cars to form a protective barrier so early on a winter weekend.

But it might help prevent a similar tragedy in the future.

And if there’s a better way to honor someone who needlessly lost his life in the few short hours he spent in our city, I don’t know what that would be.

……..

Update: A comment below from Jeffrey reminds us that a memorial fund in Rapley’s name has raised over $15,000 for Australia’s Amy Gillett Foundation to improve bike safety, with a goal of eliminating bicycling deaths. And it tells his all-too-brief life story, letting us know just who this man we never knew was.

More impressively, his family donated his life insurance and joined with friends to contribute over $250,000 to establish a scholarship at Whitley College for a Rural Student studying either Engineering or Science at Melbourne University.

But more funds are needed to increase the amount of the annual award, and help make a difference in the world that James Rapley never got the chance to make.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Guest Columns, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: New bike shop, Cedillo trades bike lanes for parking, and the heartbreak of a MAMIL wife

December 12, 2014 / / 3 comments

It’s a brand new bouncing baby bike shop.

I’m told a new bike shop has recently entered the world on 3rd Street near La Brea, so say hi to Labrea Bike Works the next time you’re out that way.

Thanks to Beverly Hills bike lawyer Michael Rubinstein for the heads-up.

……..

Local

A Zócalo panel discusses whether LA will ever escape the tyranny of the car. Not without big changes, it won’t.

CicLAvia brings the world to Leimert Park. Or all or LA, anyway.

KCET looks at the comprehensive new San Gabriel Valley bike plan, which is rapidly gaining approval from local governments throughout the area.

Mayor Garcetti’s Great Streets program enters its second phase.

Apparently unable to escape the auto-centric 20th Century, Councilmember Gil Cedillo abandons plans for a Great Street on North Figueroa in favor of more parking, in an apparent attempt to kill long-planned bike lanes for reasons known only to him.

Incycle stores will host toy drives in San Dimas, Pasadena, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga through Saturday.

 

State

San Diego’s repeatedly delayed bike share program will finally roll out in January; no, they really mean it this time.

Santa Barbara kids get new bicycles for the holidays in a Bikes for Tykes program.

Oakland approves protected bike lanes on historic Telegraph Avenue.

 

National

My hometown draws nearly 1,000 riders for their Winter Bike to Work Day.

At least they take hit-and-run seriously in Texas. A Houston woman is sentenced to 15 years for fleeing the scene after killing a cyclist, after claiming she thought she’d hit a tree; no point in pausing long enough to make sure, I guess.

A Missouri mayor has been indicted for deliberately running down a bike rider; he could also face impeachment by the town’s Board of Aldermen.

New York cyclists reject a new victim-blaming safety campaign from the local transit authority.

DC’s mayor stops to help a bike rider involved in a collision.

 

International

The Guardian asks if social equity legislation could force local governments to build roads that accommodate everyone.

A series of bike libraries, not bike shares, will open soon in the UK’s Yorkshire region.

A Kiwi cyclist deconstructs the need for that proposed Smart Helmet, which most cyclists seem to think is pretty stupid.

An Aussie paper looks at the fictional war between motorists and cyclists from both sides of the windshield.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me. If you’re riding your bike after dark with “a little weed” and three outstanding warrants, put a damn light on it already. Who’s the rocket scientist who put parking meters along a Dallas curbside bike lane?

And London’s Daily Mail looks at the heartbreaking tragedy of a MAMILwife.

No, really, I think they’re serious.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: The Times looks at the need for real bike data; and a crowded weekend calendar of bike events

December 10, 2014 / / 8 comments

The LA Times continues their recent look at bicycling issues with a great article pointing out the need for real data to support the growth in bicycling and bike infrastructure.

And they support it with an interactive map showing the growth in bikeways on an annual basis since 2005; I notice almost all growth occurred after I started this site in 2008.

You can thank me later.

No, seriously, I’m kidding.

But the simple fact is, LA has long fallen down in tracking who rides, where they ride and what happens when they do.

And the result is that council members like Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz and Tom LaBonge can halt vital bike projects because there’s no data to prove them wrong.

The LACBC has tried to step in to provide stats on bicycling in the city and on select streets. But it should be the city’s responsibility, and only the city has the resources to capture vital data throughout the city.

……..

Lots of great bike events are coming up in the next few days.

Bike SGV invites you to the Grand Opening of their new headquarters this Friday, complete with complementary bike valet.

The annual Midnight Ridazz All City Toy Ride rolls Friday night.

You’re invited to ride and shop in Northeast LA this Saturday. Or enjoy a community bike ride in Cypress Park the same day.

There will be a Kiddie Bike Rally this Sunday at Sycamore Grove Park on North Figueroa; ignore the typo about the date in the headline.

Also on Sunday, there will be a swap meet and racing at the Encino Velodrome, not far from the site of the Santa Cross cyclocross race at Pierce College. Update: Michael from the excellent Centerline Rule website noticed what I didn’t — that event at the Velodrome was last Sunday.

Sunday night will see a tour of ghost bikes and a bike light vigil in Downtown LA.

And mark your calendar for the Love Your Hood Ride in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, sponsored by Bikesanas del Valle, CICLE, Pacoima Beautiful and Metro.

……..

Local

A Santa Monica columnist says bike lanes are to blame for the city’s traffic congestion; silly me, I thought it was all those cars. And never mind that SaMo traffic sucked long before the city even thought about welcoming bikes in an attempt to provide an alternative to, if not reduce, that congestion.

 

State

KPBS says Caltrans is finally entering the 21st Century and discovering that more Californians are biking and walking more, and driving less.

Keep your eyes open, as a number of vintage bikes were stolen from a home in Santa Ana. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Newport Beach police ticket 21 drivers and four bike riders in their new traffic safety crackdown.

A new state legislator from the Bay Area says California cyclists should throw away our red rear lights and reflectors, and use a flashing white rear light instead. Evidently, so drivers would have no idea whether we’re coming or going.

A Marin County columnist insists that bike advocacy in the area has been set back by a) a road raging cyclist and b) a speeding bike rider who crashed into two kids on a bike path. If the same standard were applied to motorists, no one would ever be allowed to drive again.

 

National

This is how doorings turn deadly, as a rider in my hometown is hit by a car when he swerved to avoid an open car door.

Virginia’s Department of Transportation tracks down the owner of a hand cycle that had somehow come loose on a freeway interchange.

Huh? A Louisiana parish lowers the speed limit on a 17-mile recreational trail because an 83-year old woman was killed by a bike rider four years earlier and over 2,000 mile away.

 

International

A Canadian province moves to require helmets for all bike riders after April 1st. And no, it’s not an April Fools joke.

A British Kickstarter takes an enlightened approach to visibility with bike apparel and backpacks that light up after dark.

Rome’s mayor insists he’s going to keep riding his bike despite mafia threats.

Competitive cycling’s governing body promises much needed sweeping reforms, but so far it’s the moral equivalent of vaporware. However, they do raise the prospect of mixed gender competition in the Olympic Games.

A Philippine priest defies his doctors to ride across the country to raise awareness of climate change.

 

Finally…

Forget titanium, what you really need to impress the gang on the weekly beer ride is a racing bike layered in 24 karat gold.

And a new Aussie study says kids are seven times more likely to need brain surgery if they suffer a head injury while not wearing a helmet — especially they’re in a motor vehicle. So where’s the call for mandatory car helmets for kids?

………

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling and Vanessa Gray for their generous donations to help support this site.

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Guest Post: Deep data analysis reveals the real causes of LA bike collisions

December 9, 2014 / / 11 comments

The key to improving bike safety is understanding how and why collisions occur.

Which has been almost impossible to figure out here in Los Angeles, where no one was keeping track of such vital statistics until recently. Let alone analyzing them.

I tried digging the data out of the statewide SWITRS traffic collision database before giving up, as have others before and since.

Now long-time LA bike advocate Dennis Hindman has dug through data compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department to uncover the causes of collisions — at least as determined by LAPD traffic investigators — with surprising results.

And makes the commonsense suggestion bicycling infrastructure should be installed first where cyclists ride, and collisions occur. At least until we have a fully built-out bicycling network.

I’m sharing the results of Hindman’s investigation, with his permission.

It’s a must read for anyone who cares about bike safety, and ensuring that everyone who goes out on a bike ride comes back home in one piece.

……..

The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data results from 2007 through 2013 have a doubling of commuting by bicycle from 0.6% to 1.2%. Los Angeles Police Department reported 1,335 bicycle collisions in 2007 and 2,413 in 2013. That’s a 81% increase. Although the bicycle collisions have significantly increased, the rate of collisions per total number of bicycle riders has no doubt fallen.

I did a totaling of type of collisions in the first 100 pages (about 500 collisions) of the 484 page 2013 bicycle collision report that mentions each collisions individually and found the reported collision type or primary factor in the collisions to be:

  • 220 broadside
  • 110 wrong side (usually got hit by driver turning right)
  • 146 Right of Way auto
  • 70 stop sign
  • 40 improper turn
  • 48 sideswipe
  • 30 head on
  • 22 rear end
  • 10 improper turn
  • 8 too close
  • 5 improper driving
  • 10 lane change
  • 29 unsafe speed (usually unclear when that refers to bicycle or motor vehicle)

I haven’t seen anything in the report that mentions hitting a parked car door. There are several reports about hitting a parked vehicle though. I’ll try to figure out how many times that occurred in the total. Its much less frequent than getting broadsided.

Right of Way auto and broadside I assume would mean a bicycle running a stop sign or running a red light and a motor vehicle that had the right-of-way hitting the bicycle. I have yet to see a collision report state ROW bicycle, although it occasionally mentions ROW pedestrian.

The report does mention collisions when a motor vehicle was making a right-turn as a bicycle was going straight. I’ll try to see how frequently that occurred in relation to all types of collisions. This also seems to be a small proportion compared to the number of broadsides.

A Los Angeles Department of Transportation bikeway traffic engineer recently stated that they do not do treatments for bicycles at intersections. The bike lanes are striped where there are no crossing points for motor vehicles such as driveways, freeway on and off ramps, and cross street intersections.

The MIT Media Lab made a great looking map of all the LAPD reported bicycle collisions for 2012:

http://youarehere.cc/p/bicycle-accidents/losangeles

When I look at that map it seems to me that the bulk of the LADOT resources for bicycling should be concentrated in the areas of the city where the bicycle collisions are densely packed together. That’s also where the most bicycling occurs. If there are few staff members and a very small budget, then why try to install bicycle improvements across the whole city at once. That dilutes the effect by spreading out the improvements so much that they don’t connect into a network of any sort and the quality of the infrastructure won’t be as good because the emphasis is on quantity.

……..

Hindman followed-up with a brief email providing a little additional information and clarification. 

When I mentioned 70 crashes involving a stop sign it should be stop sign or traffic signal. I’m getting better at understanding the abbreviations in the crash data and hopefully I can tabulate the primary collisions factors and collisions types for 2013. I counted 16 bicycle fatalities for 2013.* One pedestrian was killed by a bicycle rider in 2007 and in 2012, but none in 2013. Both of these pedestrians were in their 80’s.

Spot checking the MIT Media Lab results of 54 bicycle crashes for Van Nuys Blvd I noticed that any time the LAPD bicycle crash data mentions Van Nuys as the primary or secondary street it was counted by MIT as a crash on Van Nuys Blvd. I have to assume that all the street crashes mentioned were totaled the same way.

……..

*Editor’s note: My records show 18 bicycling fatalities in the City of Los Angeles in 2013. The discrepancy may be due to one rider killed in a train collision, and another who was walking his bike when he was hit by a car; it’s possible neither was classified as a bike collision in the LAPD stats. Two of the cyclists killed in 2013 died as a result of doorings. 

 

Category: Best of, Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Guest Columns / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: More on Sunday’s CicLAvia, Santa Fe Springs bike rider shot, Dubai site doesn’t get Bono joke

December 9, 2014 / / 6 comments

More on Sunday’s successful South LA CicLAvia.

Across LA offers photos from the day, calling it one of his favorite CicLAvia’s ever. Streetsblog says it was a great day for South LA.

And TJ Knight forwards KCBS-2’s report on the day, featuring his astute and too cute for words daughter around the 1-minute-plus mark.

I’m told turnout may have been a little lighter than previous events, due perhaps to the demands of the holiday season or distance from transit stations. The latter should be improved when the planned Leimert Park station opens on the upcoming Crenshaw Line in a few years.

……..

Local

The Daily News looks at Sunday’s memorial ride for Milt Olin, just one of many fallen riders who should still be with us.

Clear your schedule for Sunday’s Santa Cross at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

The Santa Monica Lookout looks at the local PD’s crackdown on bad roadway behavior that could endanger cyclists and pedestrians.

A 52-year old bike rider is shot to death in Santa Fe Springs.

 

State

Anaheim opens a new state-of-the-art, bike friendly transportation center. Now if they can just provide bike riders with safe, bike friendly routes to get there.

Santa Cruz County considers guidelines to protect cyclists, pedestrians and disabled travelers during road construction projects, something that seems to be universally ignored here in LA, both city and county.

 

National

The National Journal examines the bicycling gender gap, while City Lab says local bike shops could serve women a lot better.

Peloton says if you want to go faster, switch to an oval chain ring.

Santa Fe’s mayor proposes making the city a safer place to ride a bike.

Now here’s a unique argument. Bike cops at Colorado State University are accused of violating the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable search and seizure by stopping cyclists riding without lights or through dismount zones. Although it would seem both are readily apparent without conducting an illegal search.

My Colorado hometown hosts a Winter Bike to Work Day on Wednesday. Seriously, is there any reason we shouldn’t do that right here in sunny LA?

 

International

A British man suffers a serious injury falling from his bike. So naturally, local officials suggest banning bikes from the town center. I wonder that they’d do if someone tripped.

A Brit bike rider is convicted of dangerous cycling for walking his dog while he rode. The cop, who apparently doesn’t get out much, claims he’d never seen anything like it.

France prepares to crack down on rogue bike riders.

Copenhagenize offers daily updates on Viking Biking, proving that it really is possible to ride all winter, even in less tropic climes. Thanks to my bike riding and formerly Iditarod sled dog racing brother Eric for the heads-up.

Evidently, life is cheap Down Under, where fatally dooring an e-bike rider is only worth a lousy $1,200 fine — just under $1000 US.

 

Finally…

Apparently, Norwegian cyclists wear top hats instead of helmets. A Dubai website doesn’t get the joke that Bono was dressed in Hassidic attire when he had his Central Park bike accident, blaming the clothes he wasn’t actually wearing for actually causing the wreck.

And screw the drones, Amazon tries out Gotham bike messengers for one-hour delivery.

……..

Check back a little later today for a guest post featuring some amazing bike collision stats courtesy of longtime LA bike wonk and advocate Dennis Hindman. 

 

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LASD to bar deputy distracted driving before they kill again; successful South LA CicLAvia

December 8, 2014 / / 3 comments

About damn time.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department finally proposes cutting back on onboard computer use by their deputies, which would be illegal for anyone other than emergency workers. And for damn good reason.

Unfortunately, it comes too late for Milt Olin, killed by a deputy who was using his to text with another officer when he drifted into the bike lane Olin was riding in one year ago.

Not too surprisingly, the department’s union agues for the need for deputies to keep using their computers while they drive, rather than rely on the radios police officers have used with relative safety for decades.

Evidently, Olin’s death doesn’t mean any more to them than it did the DA’s office.

……..

South LA merchants wonder if CicLAvia would ruin business for the day; experience shows that businesses that reach out to participants thrive, while those who don’t, don’t.

An anonymous donor contributes $400,000 for future events.

Unfortunately, the Times gets it wrong; CicLAvia is not a bike festival, as they suggest, but an open streets event that welcomes anyone without a motor. On the other hand, KABC-7 gets it right, and has the video to prove it.

……..

Local

Glendale will hold a workshop on Thursday to discuss where to put a bridge connecting Griffith Park and the LA River bike path with the east side of the river.

A bike rider is critically injured in a fall while riding with a group of cyclists on a mountain road above Altadena; he was airlifted to Pasadena for treatment.

CICLE’s next adult bicycling class is scheduled for Sunday, January 18th; that might make the perfect holiday gift for the bike-curious person on your list.

 

State

Two San Francisco cops are convicted of stealing $30,000 from a drug dealer. But it’s okay, one of them planned to use his share to buy a bike.

A San Francisco writer says the new three-foot passing law hasn’t really changed anything.

 

National

Honolulu gets its first cycle track, while residents worry what effect it will have on pedestrians. Maybe they should read this report from People for Bikes.

A Seattle red light camera catches a car and a bike running the light, but only the driver gets a ticket.

The mother of a Boise girl killed while riding her bike in a crosswalk files suit against the local police department for blaming the victim, rather than the operator of the big dangerous machine.

Nice. A new Colorado bike path runs along a reconstructed highway, allowing cyclists to ride 18 miles car-free from Boulder to the Denver area.

A sleepy Iowa town gets rediscovered thanks to a shiny new bridge and bike trail.

A female ex-con New Hampshire bike rider is under arrest for stabbing two women in a road rage incident.

Vermont proposes a statewide bike plan; long past time Caltrans did more than consider it.

Bono wasn’t dressed as a Hassidic Jew when he had his New York bike accident after all; turns out band mate The Edge was just pulling our collective leg.

 

International

Lance says he and his teammates had to cheat if they wanted to compete with other doping teams. Problem is, given the pervasiveness of cheating during the doping era, he’s probably right. And we all believe it’s over, right?

Irish cyclists talk about the problems they face on the road. Sounds like nothing is really different over there than it is here.

The mayor of Paris proposes spending the equivalent of $122 million on bike lanes. And making the city center nearly car-free.

A round-the-world cyclist says Australia is the world’s worst place for bike riders. I’m sure we could nominate a few spots that might compete.

 

Finally…

A Florida man flees by bike after stuffing his pants with stolen meat; I really don’t want to go to his house for dinner. See what it looks like to ride a World Cup cyclocross from a first-person perspective.

And in case you’ve forgotten, this is what it feels like to ride a bike for the first time.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Law Enforcement, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee