For well over a decade, I’ve been calling for a crackdown on hit-and-run drivers, including immediate driver’s license revocation and impounding their car.
But now, in light of Saturday’s horrific Montclair hit-and-run that killed two innocent people, I’m willing to reduce that to one very simple and achievable ask — change the law to allow DA’s to file a 2nd degree murder charge in hit-and-run cases.
It’s based on a very simple premise. Vehicular manslaughter is defined as “the unlawful killing of a human being with a motor vehicle, without premeditation or malice aforethought.”
But in a hit-and-run, the driver makes a conscious decision to leave the victim injured or dying in street — in this case dragging one victim over a mile with his car.
The defense would undoubtedly argue that the driver was too drunk to consciously choose to let the victim die rather than stop of call for help. But that’s something that a jury should be able to decide, never mind that he never should have been behind the wheel in the first place.
So what do you think? Is a murder charge appropriate in a case like this?
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He gets it.
I’m used to criticizing op-eds on WeHo Online written by opponents of bike lanes, like perennial city council candidate and store owner Larry Block. So I expected the worst when I saw yet another bike-related op-ed on the West Hollywood website.
But I was pleasantly surprised to read longtime WeHo resident, Jungian psychotherapist and avid cyclist Chris Kilbourne describe wading into local West Hollywood issues and reconsidering old political alliances to argue that the Nov. 3 election could “determine the future of safer streets, housing and the city’s broader vision for progress.”
Now I found myself researching as much as I could through online articles, documents and discussion boards when I’d hear the many terrible things Kyle Brazeal and his buddies, John Duran, and Larry Block the three front-runner anti bike-lane candidates were doing. For example, Kyle wrote a comment in response to an article in WeHo Times (https://wehotimes.com/fountain-avenue-streetscape-plans-up-for-discussion-on-tuesday-aug-19/) in which he appeared to brazenly brag that he would speed in his car along Fountain Ave., even having gotten ticketed several times, which he ignored, declaring that he would never slow down unless there were speed bumps and flashing lights, which violent car-centric attitude horrified me; as well as angry, intimidating outbursts she experienced from him in commission meetings. And regarding John Duran, his sexual harassment scandals certainly concerned me, which concern became heightened as I learned about his allyship with Kyle and Larry, whose unapologetically anti-rent control position is offensive, as are other apparent compromised ethics, especially evident in his supposed recusal from his blog, wehoonline (https://wehotimes.com/west-hollywood-council-candidate-larry-block-accused-of-abusing-ownership-of-news-site-to-attack-political-rivals/) which seems to have a terrible habit of attacking his enemies and promoting his allies.
Kilbourne describes biking to last Monday’s city council meeting, and speaking passionately in support of the city he loves, as well as the need for safe bikeways. But despite the win on Monday, it could all be for naught if the conservative NIMBY slate beats out more progressive YIMBY candidates.
Now comes the election on November 3rd. If Chelsea (Byers), Helen (Kreiger), and Stephen (Post) are not voted in, there is still a chance that the whole humanizing beautification of Fountain Ave. could end up with the same old annoying traffic, now with flashing red lights and speed bumps, after more incessant delays, relinquished state grants, and agonizing injuries and possible lawsuits. And the NIMBYs will have conserved their precious parking spots on the street, which as homeowners presumably with their own driveways, they personally probably don’t even need.
As you can see, itt’s not a quick read. But it’s worth the time it takes to read it, especially if you live and vote in West Hollywood. Or if you’re just looking for a roadmap to get more involved in your own community.
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Good for him.
A San Diego City Councilmember called for a less defensive response from city workers to a recent grand jury report calling into question the city’s approach to building bike lanes, concluding that the city’s lack of a “connected, well‑maintained bike infrastructure discourages many people from bicycling as a viable commuting option.”
According to public radio station KBPS,
City officials said they partially disagreed, and that bike infrastructure in the city is getting better. They also said transportation decisions are influenced by more than just infrastructure.
But Councilmember Kent Lee said he thinks the grand jury got it right, and that unsafe streets clearly discourage people from biking.
“I don’t know about my colleagues, but I would just agree — that’s just factually true,” Lee said. “I understand contextualizing … but to me, it just came off as we’re being very defensive.”
It takes courage for a city leader to publicly defend bike lanes given the level of bikelash seen in San Diego lately, as drivers decry the loss of traffic lanes and parking required to build the kind of safe, connected bike network the grand jury called for.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Always happy to fan the flames of any New York bikelash, the conservative and contrarian New York Post highlights a coalition of Brooklyn groups opposing a ballot measure that would change the city charter to make it easier to build bike lanes, as the groups somewhat disingenuously say they’re “against decisions being made about our communities without meaningful participation from the people who live and work here,” since they literally get a vote on it.
No bias here. An English town councilor complained that new “nightmare” bike lanes are unwanted and an “utter disaster” for the town, arguing that safer pedestrian crossings would have been better because the local population isn’t exactly young. Maybe someone should tell him that older people bike, too.
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Local
The Los Angeles Times considers whether the ebike backlash is an overreaction. Yes and no — it’s an overreaction if you lump all ebikes, legal and otherwise, together.
Streetsblog discovers new bike lanes on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, and near Expo Park on Broadway Place and 39th Street in South LA.
A man riding an ebike suffered non-life threatening injuries when he was struck by a driver in Long Beach Friday night.
State
A 12-year old Orange County boy calls for “common sense ebike safety reform,” which would ban anyone under 16 from riding anything other than Class 1 ped-assist ebikes, while requiring testing and licensing for ebike riders. Never mind that New Jersey has already found a similar law unworkable, less than a year after it was implemented.
Speaking of which, LAist talks with OC DA Todd Spitzer about charging parents and guardians for usage of illegal ebikes by children.
A 35-year old Ocean Beach man was arrested for DUI after hitting a 52-year old woman riding an ebike as she rode in a bike lane, as the driver was attempting to make a U-turn, leaving the victim with multiple facial fractures.
The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition teamed with local organizations to host an ebike safety class for more that 50 kids, after 14-year old Owen Harris was killed while riding an ebike in the city last month.
Kern County is on the verge of completing a new bikeway connecting Northwest Bakersfield to the Kern River trail, with the final railroad crossing expected to be finished next spring.
A Santa Cruz op-ed says it’s time to stop mourning bicyclists and start protecting them on local highways.
A Lodi bike rider was injured when he was struck by a community cop, after allegedly crossing against the red light.
National
A Utah man flew to the Netherlands to recreate a more than 100-mile bike ride his father took on a bicycle with no tires, after hitchhiking with Nazi soldiers to deliver food to his father during the famine of 1944-45.
You’ve got to be kidding. A Republican running for Congress told President Trump that Iowans don’t ride bicycles, apparently forgetting the iconic RAGBRAI ride across the state, supported annually by Iowa’s roughly 900,000 bicyclists; officials with RAGBRAI, aka the world’s largest bicycle tour, said au contraire, mon frère. Actually, that’s a little highfalutin for down-to-earth Iowans, but still.
A Chicago bike route was renamed in honor of a three-year old little girl who was killed by a driver while riding on the back of his mother’s bicycle.
A quaint little Hudson River town wants to build out a bicycle network to connect with a new rail trail along the river. But, you know, parking.
Bighearted DC TV viewers dug into their own pockets to replace an ebike a single mother used to support her family, after she had been robbed by masked teens.
Good idea. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana bike parade raised funds for a local bike co-op.
International
A columnist for Road.cc digs into disturbing efforts to “martyr” Georgia hit-and-run driver Jerry Ross, who freely admits to driving into a group ride while blaming the bicyclists for the crash, and warns that the trend could be headed to the UK.
A reviewer for Bike Radar says forget wind tunnels and AI, the best bicycles are still designed by people.
He gets it, too. A Toronto writer says stop calling him a “biker,” as if bicyclists were one big tribe all with the same interests, because bike riders aren’t all the same, and we’re not the enemy. Not to mention that most people think of bikers as big hairy guys with matching leathers on Harley Davidsons.
British bike hero Chris Boardman, now the country’s active travel commissioner, says that police are right to focus on drivers rather than bicyclists, because bicycles don’t pose the same risk as two-ton motor vehicles.
Competitive Cycling
If you thought you saw pro cyclists Remco Evenepoel and Demi Vollering riding the streets of Los Angeles recently, you may have been right as they flew in to promote Specialized and scout out possible routes for the ’28 LA Olympics.
Finally…
Yes, ebike jousting is a thing now. Then again, so is an annual Cemetery Creep bike ride.
And the obvious key to celebrity bike dating is matching ebikes.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
