It ain’t necessarily so — new study proclaims L.A. one of the nation’s most dangerous places to walk or ride

October 3, 2012 / / 14 comments

This morning, the L.A. Times discovered the unacceptably high rate of bike and pedestrians deaths in this city. Quickly followed by a number of other news outlets.

Only problem is, they got the story wrong.

The study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute looks at bicycle and pedestrian fatalities in New York and Los Angeles, compared to other large cities in the U.S.

They concluded that while bicyclists represent 1.7% in other cities nationwide, they make up 2.8% of traffic fatalities here in Los Angeles. And pedestrians fare even worse, with nearly three times as many deaths on L.A. streets, as a percentage of total traffic fatalities, as in the rest of the nation.

Needless to say, New Yorkers fared even worse, with cyclists making up 6.1% percent of all traffic fatalities, and pedestrians nearly half.

And the media took that limited and misleading information and ran with it, proclaiming — loudly and falsely — that L.A. and New York are exceptionally dangerous places to walk and bike.

The problem is, as stated above, this study only considered these deaths as a percentage of overall traffic fatalities. Which means that if motor vehicle fatalities in those cities — which make up the overwhelming majority of traffic fatalities nationwide — were lower than the national average, it would skew the results and make bike and pedestrian deaths look disproportionately high.

And guess what?

Driver and passenger deaths in New York accounted for just 43.6% of traffic fatalities and 63.6% in Los Angeles, compared to a whopping 86.3% nationwide.

In other words, because fewer people are getting killed in motor vehicles in New York and L.A., it incorrectly suggests that more people who bike or walk are getting killed.

What’s missing from the study is an appendix with hard numbers of how many bicyclists and pedestrians were killed in each city, rather than just a percentage. As well as individual stats for each city that was included in the study, rather than a national aggregate.

Because the one statistic that would allow us to compare apples to apples is the number of deaths per capita for each city.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to access stats for individual cities from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s FARS database today, which would allow us to figure that out. And let us determine whether Los Angeles is really a more dangerous place to ride a bike than Dallas or Des Moines. Or any other city of any size in the U.S.

What I can tell you is that in 2011, Los Angeles County had the lowest per capita bike fatality rate of any county from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino and south to the Mexican border, with the single exception of sparsely populated — and even more sparsely biked — Imperial County.

And the City of Los Angeles had just one bicycling fatality for every 763,940 people who call L.A. home. That’s one for every three-quarter of a million people in this city.

Which sounds like pretty damn good odds to me.

In fact, that compares with one cycling death for every 189,454 people in San Diego. One for every 116,394 in Long Beach. And one for every 69,050 residents of Pasadena.

Don’t get me wrong.

One death is too many. Let alone the four the city has already suffered this year. And nothing in this study, or the press reports that followed, considers the city’s rate of serious cycling injuries, as opposed to fatalities.

But one of that nation’s most dangerous places to ride a bike?

Far from it. At least as far as your risk of dying is concerned.

And study’s authors — and the media who ran with it — would have known that if they’d just dug a little deeper.

Thanks to Harris M. Miller II and Where to Bike Los Angeles co-author Jon Riddle for the heads-up.

Update: Evidently, I wasn’t the only one who had a WTF response to this study and the hype that followed. The Native Angeleno had a similar reaction, as did our friends at Los Angeles Walks, who offer suggestions on how to improve safety for our fellow bipedalists. And L.A. Streetsblog meister Damien Newton looks at the over-the-top — and highly repetitive — media response.

………

On a related note, Pasadena public radio station KPCC responds to the study by asking for your help to map the area’s most dangerous intersections. It’s a great idea.

Although checking out the map Bikeside LA already put together would have been a nice place to start.

………

OC Bike lawyer David Huntsman forwards word of a road raging Dr. Thompson wannabe.

The Press-Enterprise reports that 38-year old Carl Albert Robbins of Temecula “accidently” hit a rider after intentionally swerving at four cyclists riding on Rainbow Canyon Road near Temecula around 8 am Monday. Robbins reportedly drove his car at the riders in the back, then swerved again at the lead rider, hitting the rider’s hand with the car’s mirror.

According to a Riverside Sheriff’s spokesperson, Robbins claimed the riders didn’t belong on the road, but he didn’t intend to actually hit one.

So let me get this straight.

If I try to fire a warning shot past your head, but miss and blow your ear off, it’s just an accident, right?

Evidently the authorities disagreed with Robbins, as well as the paper, booking him on $25,000 bond.

………

A full-time — and apparently very sarcastic — parking lieutenant for LADOT, among his many other jobs, is running for president of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. Walk Eagle Rock sends word that he doesn’t seem to be exactly bike friendly; you’d think an LADOT parking enforcement official would know not to put a business sign in a bike lane.

And sarcastic or not, suggesting someone light up a joint seems a tad inappropriate for a city official. Let alone a potential NC president.

But maybe that’s just me.

………

My good friends at Altadenablog send word that Cher, the original singularly named recording and Hollywood star, apparently hates PCH cyclists.

Or maybe just cyclists in general.

But she swears, cross her heart, that she would never text from behind the wheel. Honest.

We can only encourage her to Cher the road.

Thanks to Century City cyclist and attorney Stanley E. Goldich for the heads-up, as well.

………

It’s been a busy few days in my inbox.

George Wolfberg forwards a link to this New York Times story of a lovely journey by bike through the French countryside.

And he send us another NY Times story from over the weekend saying cities need to lose the helmets to promote bicycling.

Or at least bike share programs.

But lets stop for a moment to consider the claim that Dutch cyclists don’t wear helmets.

Dutch cyclists enjoy some of the world’s best biking infrastructure, and ride relatively heavy, slow bikes that are easy to step off of in the event of a fall.

Most American’s don’t

American bikes tend to be faster, lighter machines that usually take the rider down with them when they go down. And American roads don’t begin to compare with Dutch bikeways, in either quality or separation from vehicular traffic.

Whether or not you wear a helmet is your choice.

Personally, I never ride without mine, bearing in mind that they’re not magic hats that prevent all harm to the wearer; you’re far better off avoiding a collision than counting on your helmet to save you from it.

But let’s stop using the Amsterdam experience to argue against helmet use here. Because it just doesn’t translate from the Dutch.

………

Cyclist Jim Lyle send news that Hermosa Beach has rejected a plan to put bike lanes on Aviation Blvd.

HB City council members claimed the 2 – 3 person Public Works Department had more pressing issues, and couldn’t afford the 10 to 20 hours a month it would take to save cyclists’ lives plan the bikeway.

“Once we pave our streets, let’s talk about bikes,” Mayor Pro Tem Kit Bobko said.

Although you’d think with such a small staff, they might know how many people actually work for them.

………

Finally, my adventure cycling, Iditarod dog sled racing brother Eric offers a heads-up about the 100-year old former French bike racer who set a new 100 kilometer age group speed record.

I plan to race him myself when I turn 100; my brother, not the Frenchman.

Of course, I may have an unfair advantage, since he’ll be 109.

Category: Best of, Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

News just coming in: Bike rider killed in Corona crosswalk on Sunday

October 2, 2012 / / One comment

The Press-Enterprise is reporting that an unidentified cyclist was killed in Corona on Sunday.

The man was riding south in a crosswalk on the west side of Garretson Avenue at East Grand Avenue when he was hit by an Acura Integra driven by Simitrio Martinez of Corona. According to the paper, he died at the scene.

The Riverside County Coroner places the time of the collision as 8:48 pm, and lists the same time of death, suggesting he was killed instantly.

Neither the coroner or the Press-Enterprise offer any information on how the collision occurred.

The fact that the rider died on impact would suggest a high rate of speed. A street view shows Grand is uncontrolled at the intersection, while Garretson has a stop sign in both directions, making it most likely that the driver was traveling on Grand when he hit the cyclist.

However, that is merely a guess based on extremely minimal evidence.

There is a street light right next to the crosswalk, but there’s no way of knowing if it was working at the time of the collision, or if the rider was using lights.

This should serve as a reminder to everyone to always carry ID every time you ride. I keep my driver’s license in my seat pack, as well as emergency contact information in a small ziplock in my jersey or pants pocket.

And despite their annoying commercials, Road ID or other similar products are always a good idea.

This is the 61st cycling fatality in Southern California so far this year, and the 11th bike-related death in Riverside County; nine of those were a result of traffic collisions, while the other two were a result of health issues that may have been caused by riding.

My prayers for the victim and his family and friends.

Update: The victim has been identified as 55-year old Ignacio Prado Cuevas of Corona.

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

Update: Bicyclist killed in Palmdale collision; 60th SoCal cycling death this year

October 2, 2012 / / One comment

The L.A. Daily News is reporting that a man was killed riding his bike in Palmdale last night.

Details are still very sketchy at this point. However, according to the paper, he was riding his bike south on or near 30th Street East around 9:15 pm, and was hit by an eastbound Chevy Tahoe as he was crossing Palmdale Blvd.

No word on how the collision occurred, whether it took place at the intersection or if the rider, who has not been publicly identified, was crossing the street at another location. And no information is given on whether his bike had lights, or the speed of the SUV that hit him or whether the collision may have been avoidable.

A Sheriff’s spokesperson said the investigation is still ongoing, and that alcohol did not seem to be a factor in the collision.

This is the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, putting us well ahead of this same time last year, when the region had suffered 53 traffic-related bicycling fatalities on the way to a total of 71 deaths for all of 2011.

It also marks the 17th cycling death in Los Angeles County since January 1st, which is an improvement over the total of 19 at this time last year.

My deepest sympathy for the victim and his loved ones.

Update: The Daily News has identified the victim as 19-year old  Raymond Paris Amadea of Palmdale. Still no details on how the collision occurred.

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

The terrible tyranny of two-wheel tribal wear

October 1, 2012 / / 17 comments

One day last winter, I found myself riding Downtown to attend an early morning press conference.

And something I’ve learned in recent years is that the press likes to talk to people who look like their preconceived notions of a cyclist.

It doesn’t matter if the guy next to you is the head of a bicycling organization, a professional cyclist or someone who’s been riding for decades. If he or she is dressed in street clothes and you’re in spandex, you can expect the camera in your face.

Since there were things I wanted to say on the day’s subject, I put on my best road gear and set out on a rush hour ride to City Hall.

On the way, though, I noticed an interesting thing.

Despite the chilly early hour, there were a lot of other riders on the road.

Some, like me, were dressed in spandex. Many of whom nodded in my direction as they passed, acknowledging me as one of their own.

Others were clad in jeans or business attire, apparently on their way to work or school. And not one of whom seemed to take any notice of me, as if we were members of two separate species.

More interesting, though, was what happened later that same evening as the situation was reversed.

I had a business party to attend that night, starting just after working hours. And since it was located in an office building on Wilshire Blvd, in an area where parking is virtually non-existent — or unaffordable — during the evening rush, I concluded that riding was once again the most viable option.

So I threw on my jeans and a button-down shirt, along with a semi-professional looking jacket, and set out along the same route I’d taken earlier that day.

Except this time, the situation was reversed.

Many of the bike commuters I encountered threw a brief nod in my direction; a couple even struck up a conversation as we waited for red lights to change.

Yet the spandex-clad riders I passed hardly cast a glance in my direction. The way I was dressed marked me as a member of another tribe.

And that, my friend, is when it finally sank through my thick helmet-covered skull.

I was exactly the same rider on both the morning and evening rides. I was on the same bike and riding the same way. Let alone the same direction.

But I was seen in a completely different manner by different people, strictly because of what I was wearing.

The clothing we bike in isn’t just what feels comfortable as we pedal to our destination, or what will be appropriate once we get there.

It’s what connects us to others like us, identifying us as members of our own cycling tribe. And more importantly, what separates us from all the other self-selected cycling tribes, whispering — or sometimes shouting — in the unmistakable language of bicycle fashion, I’m not like you.

And probably don’t want to be.

Divide, and self conquer.

No wonder we can’t even present enough of a unified front to get the governor to sign a damn three-foot passing bill.

Too often we’ve seen the spandex crowd turn up their noses at the fixie riders in our midst. Or the cycle chic and citizen cyclists, to borrow a phrase or two from Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic fame, criticizing those who insist on donning specialized bicycling attire instead of regular street clothes, let alone helmets.

Or haute couture and drop dead heels, in some cases.

Then there are the women who wonder why they should have to dress to the nines just to ride a bike. The hipsters who wouldn’t be caught dead wrapped in a skin-tight logo-covered road jersey.

And the great mass of casual riders who just want to go for a bike ride, and don’t know what all the fuss is about.

Or even that there is a fuss.

Of course, there are reasons for what we wear.

When I first started riding, I saw no reason to wear anything other than the T-shirt and cut-off jeans I wore for any other physical activity.

Until a couple of more experienced riders explained that bike shorts and jerseys actually made for cycling would dramatically cut down on the wicked wind resistance that wore me out before I barely got going. Not to mention eliminating those aggravating sweat and chafing issues, while offering the support necessary to help ensure the existence of any potential future generations.

If you get my drift.

And so I rode for over twenty years; eventually the concept that I could ride in something else, even for a quick trip to the market or out for coffee, lost in the deep dark depths of bike days long past.

As my fellow cycling advocates and colleagues can attest, it took me a couple years of riding to various meetings — and the embarrassment of usually being the only one sitting through them just a stretchy microthread’s-width away from near nudity — before I worked up the courage to bike in regular clothes like they did. And dress for the destination rather than the ride.

It just seemed oddly foreign to me after all those years in spandex.

Just as it would to many fixie or casual riders to wear the brightly colored skin-tight attire most roadies wrap around themselves before they hit the road. Even if they would likely be far more comfortable on long rides, as I learned myself so many years ago.

Now I still wear spandex for long, fast rides demanding physical exertion. And jeans and casual shorts and shirts — some made for bicycling, some not — for transportation and more relaxed riding.

The bottom line is, clothes don’t make the bike rider.

It doesn’t matter who you are, how you ride, what you ride, where you ride, or what you wear. Especially not what you wear.

The only thing that really matters that you ride.

The rest is just details.

And once we finally figure that out, once we realize that the one thing that links us all together is more important than all our tribes and differences, we’ll be a social and political force no one can resist.

Not even Jerry Brown.

……..

On a related subject, Melissa Balmer of Long Beach-based Women on Bikes SoCal offers a must-read look at women, bicycling and cycle chic — and whether bike advocacy has to make room, not just for all the many types of women who already ride, but all those who might want to.

If we don’t agree with one and other’s approach could we step back and and try and understand where she is coming from rather than attacking first? Is there something we could learn from each other? Could we find the places where we agree and be cordial in our agreeing-to-disagree where we disagree? If we become known as a movement of great diversity yet united in our good will towards getting women and girls on bikes won’t we be much much stronger and powerful for it?

Seriously. It’s an important topic for anyone who cares about bike advocacy and reaching out to women — and potential bike riders — of all sorts. And not just because she mentions me in it.

So read it, already.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Best of / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Bike rider killed by Metrolink train in Baldwin Park

September 29, 2012 / / 8 comments

Multiple sources are reporting that a man was killed by a Metrolink train while walking his bike in Baldwin Park Friday night.

Carlos Jacinto DeSantiago, a 49-year old Norwalk resident, was walking his bike west on Ramona Blvd at Downey Avenue at 7:28 pm when he stepped under a railroad crossing arm, and walked onto the tracks in front of the oncoming train.

No explanation was given for why he stepped in front of the train, Metrolink #335 on the San Bernardino  line. Witnesses reported that he went under the train after he was hit; Baldwin Park police say he suffered multiple injuries, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:01 pm.

With all due respect to the victim, there is no collision easier for a cyclist to avoid than a wreck with a train.

Unlike motor vehicles, which can roam freely throughout the roadway, trains are confined to a set space and a predetermined schedule. All you have to do is stay off those tracks at that time to avoid getting hit.

And the easiest way to do that is to never, ever ride or walk under, around or through the warning gates, or cross the tracks when warning signals are on.

Why DeSantiago didn’t do that will probably never be known.

This is the 59th cycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th in Los Angeles County. DeSantiago was the second cyclist killed in Baldwin Park in 2012, and the second SoCal rider killed in a collision with a train this year, both in L.A. County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Carlos Jacinto DeSantiago, and all his family and loved ones.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

San Diego hit-and-run nearly carried live on local TV

September 29, 2012 / / One comment

TV stations in San Diego just missed broadcasting a hit-and-run that appeared to leave a cyclist seriously injured as it happened on Thursday night.

San Diego cyclist Bill Davidson sends word that San Diego’s XETV-6 reported the collision occurred just before 10 pm as news vans were gathered to report on flooding from a broken water main in the parking lot of this shopping center at Rosecrans and Cauby Streets.

Multiple news vans were on the scene BEFORE the collision because there was flooding in the area. They were parked in the shopping center maybe 50 yards inside the driveway. The news crews were still in their vans preparing to do live coverage of the flooding at 10pm when they heard a loud thump. They called 911.  EMT’s on the scene in approximately 6-7 minutes.

Victim appeared to be in his 50’s or 60’s.  He had lights and a reflective safety vest. He was alive and conscious but obviously seriously hurt. No helmet.

Two witnesses. California plate 717229, sliver truck. Mirror on the truck broke off and was lying in the road.

Davidson adds that the reporters said they didn’t hear skidding before the collision, though the heavy insulation on the trucks could have masked the sound. The victim’s bike was resting just steps away, directly in the entrance to the shopping center.

Unfortunately, the story hasn’t been posted online, and there doesn’t seem to be any update on the condition of the victim or whether the driver has been apprehended.

If anyone has additional information, let us know.

……..

Friday’s breaking news kept me from updating this weekend’s events.

However, the big weekend bike news is Carmageddon.

Not that the end of the world is nigh, as cars will once again be banned from from the 405, but that bikes are taking over the streets presumably abandoned by motor vehicles. Streetsblog has all the information you need on the weekend’s three remaining major rides, while ARTmageddonLA starts on Saturday.

And if you’re bold enough to brave the freeways, the 2012 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships will be taking place all weekend at the Home Depot Center VELO Sports Center.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,
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