Tag Archive for car vs. bike

Today’s post, in which I direct your attention elsewhere

May 11, 2010 / / 3 comments

I read a lot about bicycling.

Between keeping up with local bike news and searching the internet for insights into infrastructure, advocacy and safety, I probably scan a few hundred stories each day. And stop to actually read through maybe a quarter to half of those — the best of which I try to share with you on here.

It’s not often, though, that I find something that stops me in my tracks, and causes me to go back and read it again to catch every detail.

Usually when that happens, it’s because I think the writer got it wrong in some way, whether it’s a misguided attempt to say the right things, or yet another motorhead rant demanding that we get off their precious pavement. It’s not often that I find someone who seems to get it just right, and says it so eloquently that I wish I’d written it.

But that’s what I found last night, as Google carried me north of the border to the small city of Guelph, Ontario, where a writer tried to explain why drivers need to give cyclists one meter of space when passing — roughly equivalent to our three-foot passing distance.

And got it exactly, precisely right.

If you were driving and saw your child walking on the road, how close would you go? Four inches?

The cyclist on the road is someone’s child, a fragile human life.

I know. We are in a hurry. We have somewhere to be. The bike is so slow. Won’t the driver behind me get annoyed if I slow down?

He goes on to note that any time he writes about bicycling, he gets mail saying that cyclists would get more respect if they behaved better — in other words, the same sort of comments you’ll see on just about any online article about cycling, as motorists write in to complain about cyclists, neglecting to mention that most drivers speed, fail to signal and roll through stop signs.

Consider these dangerous cyclists. The way they ride risks their lives and scares the rest of us. Would the world be a better place if they drove a car instead? For now, let’s leave them riding a bike, where the greatest risk is to themselves.

When the roads are safer, careful people will ride bikes on the road. The secret about riding a bike is that, aside from the fear of early death, it is fun — and fast. For now, cyclists often retreat to the sidewalk. It is illegal, but they are scared and feel safer there.

And he concludes by gently humanizing the cyclist on the road ahead, reminding impatient drivers that it’s up to them whether another person will get home safely.

I know. We are commuting, traffic is slow already and we are late. We are all working hard to pay the bills, giving a better life to our children, for whom we would do anything to keep them safe.

Now look ahead. See that wobbly cyclist on the road in front of you. Picture him as your child at eight years old. Now decide. Squeeze through or give him space? Slowing down could delay you by 30 seconds. Picture the eight-year-old child. His life is in your hands.

It’s a quick read.

One that won’t take more than a couple minutes out of your day, and definitely worth clicking on the link.

And one that I wish I could tape to the steering wheel of every car in L.A. before their drivers hit the road today.

………

Alex Thompson shares a moving recount of witnessing the aftermath of a hit-and-run collision, noting that it affects even more drivers than cyclists — in fact, he notes that 38% of all L.A. collisions are hit-and-run. And yes, something needs to be done.

Now.

………

Bike Week Pasadena, or more precisely, Bike Weekend — rolls on May 20. A great look at biking on the (real) Eastside; for a change, the comments are as good as story. Metro offers an all-day symposium Wednesday for those who move on two feet instead of two wheels, along with the follow-up to February’s Metro Bicycle Roundtable. Flying Pigeon offers a midweek Cargo Bike Date Night Ride tonight. LADOT notes that locking your bike to a parking meter is illegal, but rarely enforced; on the other hand, it’s also not smart since a thief can slide your bike and lock over the top of the meter. Dancer a la Mode sings the praises of her LBS. San Francisco cycling goes green. Ten dollars could help make the U.S. Bicycle Route System a reality. Bicyclists have officially infiltrated the White House Press Room. A Columbus writer observes that biking improves his reflexes and awareness. A Massachusetts woman runs down Jesus Christ in a crosswalk, no, really. As an experiment, a cyclist comes to a full, foot down stop every time. A well-reasoned response to last weekend’s article saying cyclists need to earn respect. Headline of the day: Are business folks really swapping Ping for Pinarello?

Finally, maybe it’s time for a mandatory helmet law — for motorists. And the four worst drivers you’re likely to encounter on a daily basis; including the DYPMDB (Don’t You Pass Me Douche Bag) driver.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

East Coast AAA goes on the PR warpath; Chicago drivers think assault is OK

May 10, 2010 / / 5 comments

The Mid-Atlantic AAA went into full PR defense mode after earlier declaring that a new bike lane on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC – that little street that goes past the White House — is part of a “war on drivers.” After getting an earful from bicyclists and bloggers, including some of their own members who apparently have cancelled their memberships, they now want to make it very clear that they are only concerned about the environment and the safety of cyclists. Oh, and following the proper processes, which they could have been a part of, if they had only bothered to participate.

Why does this matter here?

Consider it a cautionary tale of the battles we’ll have to fight here if the newly revised bike plan comes back with any real teeth. Or do we dare hope that Southern California’s leading drivers’ organization more enlightened than their eastern counterparts?

At least the north-of-the-border equivalent of AAA understands that bikes use the roads, too.

………

Somehow, this one went under the radar last week. A Chicago-area driver fled the scene after hitting a cyclist with her car, then backing up and hitting him again — in front of at least four witnesses — after a dispute over road space. Amazingly, there’s no follow-up on whether the driver was arrested. And not surprisingly, many of the comments suggest the rider had it coming.

So me get this straight.

If a driver gets mad at someone and responds by pulling out a gun and shooting them, would there really be any question about whether a crime occurred or if the victim deserved it?

So what difference should it make if the weapon of choice is two tons of steel and glass?

………

Can bikes bring life to Chinatown after dark? Getting hit on — instead of hit — by the driver you started out arguing with. A Lake Elsinore cyclist died Sunday, three weeks after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. A look at this past weekend’s Long Beach Bike Festival. The Daily Breeze looks at the South Bay Bicycle Coalition. A master in the fine art of bicycle forensics; I only wish he worked for the LAPD crime lab. A visit to Santa Barbara’s first bike fashion show. The rider who took the podium for last year’s Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race wasn’t the one who entered, criminal charges are pending. Bespoke bikes on display at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design. Memphis prepares to become more bike-friendly. An Arkansas cyclist is killed on a group ride, just a month after her husband died while riding. A Missouri cyclist says newly bike-friendly Springfield needs bikes. Riding from brewpubs to wineries on Missouri’s Katy Trail. Riding to raise money for stroke victims. American Tyler Farrar takes stage two of the Giro D’Italia, Cadel Evans Vinokourov wears the leader’s jersey. A reporter rides along with London’s pedaling paramedics, while a London writer takes a very pessimistic look at the city’s new bike share program. After bike officers made over 100 arrests last year, a UK police chief orders his officers onto two wheels. The four British bike team members injured in Belgium are improving. For some reason, I suddenly want to ride through Scotland. Sydney’s mayor says cycling could save the city’s commuters from chronic diseases. Athens bicyclists ride to demand their rights. Eight cyclists are robbed at gunpoint in South Africa. A Danish right-side left turn lane just for bikes.

Finally, a Boston rider says it’s a cyclist’s responsibility to avoid collisions with drivers, not the other way around; just like when someone gets shot, it’s the victim’s fault for standing in front of the damn bullet. A Las Cruces, NM rider offers much better advice for both sides.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Unsafe at any speed

May 5, 2010 / / 9 comments

Just one day after I got back in the saddle, I found myself sitting in an L.A. courthouse, a winner — or loser, depending on your perspective — in the annual jury duty lottery.

It quickly became clear I wouldn’t be serving on the case for which I was called.

It was a simple traffic case, resulting in injury. And I was just a little too knowledgeable about traffic issues, and too open in expressing my opinions, for the comfort of either attorney.

What struck me, though, was when the judge asked if anyone in the jury pool, or a close friend or relative, had ever been involved in a collision resulting in significant injury. Almost every hand shot up; the only one that didn’t belonged to the only person in the room who had never held a drivers license.

What followed was a litany of auto-involved mayhem. A grandfather killed while bicycling, a neighbor who died behind the wheel just last week. Others spoke of undergoing years of physical therapy, while some were still undergoing treatment.

I told about the time my car was rear-ended while waiting at a red light, resulting in recurring back problems that continue two decades later. Yet somehow, I forgot about the injuries from the road rage incident that happened while I was riding.

I purposely left out the childhood case in which my cousin fell, or tried to escape, a car driven by her intoxicated father, landing in directly in front of the rear wheel and resulting in a death no one in her family ever recovered from.

Or another incident my senior year of high school, when a lifelong friend was killed after a drunk driver crossed a 20’ wide highway median to hit his car head on.

As a cyclist, I’ve never been anti-car. The truth is, I love to drive; the only thing that approaches the joy I feel on a good ride is cruising down an open road in the middle of the night with the radio playing and the dark filled with endless possibilities.

Yet yesterday’s experience drove home, once and for all, just how extensive the harm caused by cars truly is, touching virtually everyone in our society.

We’ve spent half a century making safety improvements that increase the survivability of the auto occupants, yet have done virtually nothing to reduce the frequency of collisions or the risk to those outside the vehicle.

The focus always seems to be on making the car safer, even though the overwhelming majority of collisions are caused, as my dad liked to say, by the loose nut behind the wheel.

As a society, we’ve become far too comfortable in our cars, losing the sense that the vehicles we rely on every day are dangerous machines.

We text and talk on cell phones, believing we can still drive safely even while acknowledging that others can’t. And routinely ignore laws designed for everyone’s safety — including our own — to the point that a gas company decides it’s a good marketing position to insist they’re on the drivers’ side by creating an app to get out of tickets.

Yes, it’s a joke.

But the problem is that violating the law is so commonplace that we’re all in on the joke.

And did you notice the disclaimer — in white on a light colored background — that says the best way to avoid a ticket is not to speed? I didn’t until I watched it online several times, despite seeing this same spot on TV countless times each day.

The problem is, as traffic-meister Tom Vanderbilt noted the other day, that a drivers license is too easy to get and too hard to lose.

Yet stiffer penalties that would get bad drivers off the road — or cause most drivers to change their behavior behind the wheel — are unlikely to pass anytime soon because most people don’t see a problem, or any viable alternatives to driving.

And instead of focusing on the harm caused by dangerous drivers, auto organizations have a knee-jerk reaction to any loss of pavement that creates space for other road users.

But we have to do something.

Because we’ve reached the point where 40,000 +/- deaths each year is considered an acceptable cost just to get from here to there.

………

I’m really starting to like the idea of DIY group rides; after all, you need something to do while you wait for next month’s River Ride. Next up is Will Campbell’s Watts Happening Ride, while L.A. Cycle Chic plans the Moms Ride for May 16.

………

Writing for CicLAvia, Joe Linton follows Janette Sadik-Khan’s comments by suggesting 12 cheap bike projects L.A. could do right now, and note also that Bikes Belong has written CicLAvia a nice big check — literally. Meanwhile, Joe also takes a spin up Orange County’s Aliso Creek. Enci Box suggests adequate bike parking would make L.A. a more bike friendly city. L.A.’s best guide to hometown tourism reminds us the Amgen Tour of California will be coming to town May 22nd. Courtesy of my friend at Altadenablog comes word that a mountain biker fell 50 feet from a Mt. Lowe trail over the weekend. The Glendale Narrows Riverwalk project is finally going to happen, including a multipurpose walk and bike trail. Bicycling tells you how to avoid five common cycling collisions; that’s just a normal ride in L.A. They take away a lane in Milwaukee, and the world doesn’t come to an end. Evidently, Germans don’t need cycle tracks, and neither do the women of Chester County, PA. A fund has been set up for a woman rider seriously injured during a Critical Mass in South Florida. Navigating New Orleans by bike. Cincinnati plans to double the number of cyclists by 2015, while L.A. has no idea how many cyclists we have now. London cyclists offer an 8-point plan to Beat the Thief.

Finally, it has nothing to do with bicycling — other than being my favorite epithet for rude drivers — but this article from the Yale Law Review, by way of LA Observed, is one of the funniest things I’ve read in years.

Category: Best of, Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Roadway Courtesy / Tags: , , ,

Can a driver be at fault if he doesn’t actually hit you?

April 26, 2010 / / 9 comments

Let’s say you’re driving your car.

I know, but just go with me here, even if you’re of the car-free persuasion.

You’re approaching an intersection and have the green light. Suddenly, a car blows through the red light on the cross street, forcing you to jam on the brakes and swerve to avoid it, only to collide with the car next to you.

So who’s at fault?

Is it your fault? The car you hit? Or the one who broke the law and caused you both to take evasive action?

I think most reasonable people would conclude that the red light-runner should be held responsible, even though he wasn’t directly involved in the collision. And based on previous cases I’ve been aware of, I think most police officers would agree.

Now consider a similar situation, in which a driver darts out of a driveway directly in front of you, causing you to collide with another car as you react to avoid it. But fortunately, someone was able to chase the driver down and urge him to return to the scene of the accident he caused.

Again, most people would conclude that the driver who broke the law by cutting you off would be responsible for causing the collision. But is it hit-and-run if he didn’t actually hit anyone?

Now let’s use your imagination one more time.

Let’s say you’re on your bike, riding in the bike lane, when that car darts out in front of you. So you try to make a panic stop, and end up flipping over your handlebars and crashing to the street with a broken collarbone, while the driver who caused it calmly drives off.

Fortunately, a witness sees it happen and chases the driver down. But the driver refuses to return to the scene, insisting that it’s not hit-and-run because she didn’t hit anyone.

That’s exactly what happened on Sunset Boulevard in Silverlake yesterday.

As Stephen Box tells the story, the witness flagged down a passing police car, and the driver ultimately returned to the scene. But the police inexplicably concluded that not only did the driver not flee the scene, but that no violation occurred. No report, no crime.

This, despite a clear violation of CVC 21804, as Box points out —

21804. (a) The driver of any vehicle about to enter or cross a highway from any public or private property, or from an alley, shall yield the right-of-way to all traffic, as defined in Section 620, approaching on the highway close enough to constitute an immediate hazard, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that traffic until he or she can proceed with reasonable safety.

And yes, a bicycle is traffic.

As he explains —

1) The motorist violated the cyclist’s right of way.
2) The violation of the cyclist’s right of way caused the cyclist to take evasive action resulting in injury.
3) The motorist left the scene of an “incident” that was her responsibility.

Of course, any cyclist could tell you that the driver was responsible. But two police officers, the division Watch Commander and a traffic division Watch Commander concluded otherwise.

Which is why police officers need better training, not only in bike rights and law, but in bicycle accident investigation. Because a driver making a panic stop without hitting anyone isn’t likely to result in any injuries. But a cyclist responding to a careless, law-breaking driver can.

And did.

It’s also one more reason why we need to change the law in California to ensure that any cyclist riding legally in a bike lane enjoys the same level of liability protection as a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

Because the mere presence of a bike lane — or sharrows, for that matter — should be adequate notice to any driver to anticipate cyclists, just as a crosswalk suggests the presence of pedestrians.

And you should have a right to be safe when you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, exactly where you’re supposed to be.

………

I’ve received an unconfirmed report that the cyclist involved in the hit-and-run on Oxnard Street April 16th has died. If anyone has more information, let me know.

………

This time, a drunken hit-and-run driver kills a teenage pedestrian and seriously injures her friend.

………

Josef Bray-Ali writes in the Los Angeles Business Journal that L.A. needs to change its parking policies to allow bike parking instead of cars.Will hears, and witnesses the aftermath, of a dooring (even though the cyclist didn’t want to involve the police, the driver could still face hit-and-run charges later if she fails to report it). Altadenablog covers the Mt. Wilson Bicycling Association’s pancake breakfast over the weekend. Courtesy of The Source, Grist’s look at what a car-free metro L.A. could look like; as The Source says, “The point is to show how much space is taken up by roadways and how little that leaves behind for those things known as pedestrians and cyclists.” A 57-year old cyclist dies of a heart attack in San Jose during the Mt. Hamilton Challenge. It seems pretty obvious that if you hit a cyclist, you didn’t observe the three-foot passing law. A Miami cyclist rear-ends a bus parked in the bike lane. A 70-year old Indiana driver turns directly into two cyclists, and swears she didn’t hit anyone. After people in a passing car throw a full drink at him, a South Bend cyclist thanks all those drivers who don’t, Experienced cyclists need to encourage less experienced riders. An Arizona woman says local drivers — and the police — just don’t understand cyclists. Tucson hands out free lights to ninja cyclists. A DC court rules it’s still drunk driving, even if you’re on a bike. The NY Times looks at the two-wheeled tribes of New York. Master framebuilder Dave Moulton writes about a 1940 Campy derailleur — which required reaching backwards and ratcheting the rear wheel. Vinokourov bounces back from a two-year doping ban with victory in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège; evidently, not everyone is pleased. Evidently, there are no fixie-riding hipsters in China. Brit bike thieves may just be joyriding, which could be why bike theft is up 8% while other crimes are down. London’s Guardian defends a new bike lane, noting that it’s standard width even if the resulting vehicle lane isn’t. An Ottawa rider gets goosed on the bike trail, literally. A Canadian widow wants to know why no ticket was written for the parked truck that killed her husband. A Vancouver cyclist turns outlaw by defying the mandatory helmet law.

Finally, after a cyclist is killed during his first bike race, his heart lives on in another rider, while a cyclist rides to promote blood donations three decades after receiving 110 pints to save his life. A reminder that, with a little forethought, some good can come from even the worst situations.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Yesterday’s ride, on which topography was my co-pilot

April 15, 2010 / / Comments Off on Yesterday’s ride, on which topography was my co-pilot

I had a great ride yesterday.

It was one of those rare days when I found myself communicating with the drivers and pedestrians around me — and not that way, for a change — as we waved one another through busy intersections and signaled our thanks for little roadway courtesies.

Then there was the brief, but pleasant conversation about the idiocy of passing drivers with a passing pedestrian, as six cars blew through the crosswalk after I had stopped to let him cross — despite the fact that pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right-of-way in every circumstance here in California.

And yes, that means we have to stop, too.

On the other hand, it was only a couple of hills that made the difference between making it home with a smile on my face, and maybe not making it home at all.

The first came on my way out, just over a mile from my home.

The street I take through the Westwood area, Ohio, goes up and down a brief series a hills before culminating in a short, steep climb on the last block before Westwood Blvd.

I ride with more caution than usual on that block, as drivers tend to pull out suddenly from alleys and curbs, and dart across the road in search of a highly prized parking space near the Coffee Bean. Normally, that would suggest taking the lane, but I’ve learned the hard way that drivers there will just go around me anyway as my speed slows going uphill, jumping over to the wrong side of the road and cutting around me so closely that I’d rather take my chances in the door zone.

This time, I nearly won the door prize, as a driver threw her door open directly in my path without the slightest look in her mirror.

Fortunately, I was on that section where gravity slows me from well over 25 mph at the bottom of the hill to just over 10 mph at the crest. Had it occurred on level ground, where I usually cruise at around 18 to 20 mph, her door would have nailed me, knocking me in front of the oncoming cars rushing to make the light.

But as it was, I’d slowed enough that I was able to react in time, if only barely.

And in biking, barely is usually good enough.

Then on my way back home, I was riding back up San Vicente Blvd in Santa Monica, on that long, gradual climb between 7th and 26th.

I’ve learned to keep a close eye on the cars waiting between the wide median islands in the center of the roadway — what New Orleanians call the neutral ground — because they tend to dart across once vehicular traffic clears. And often without looking for bikes first, despite one of the area’s most heavily travelled bike lanes.

Sure enough, I saw an SUV waiting beside the grassy island at the next crossroad. Once the last car passed, she gunned her engine and cut in front of me without ever looking in my direction.

On level ground, my speed would have carried me directly into her path. But as it was, the long climb had reduced my speed just enough that I was able to make a panic stop a few feet from the face of her highly startled passenger.

And instead of ending my day as a hood ornament, I put it behind me and continued home. Even if I did have to resist the temptation to chase her down and employ a few choice expletives in explaining the necessity of watching for all road users.

So sometimes, it’s skill that gets us through the most difficult situations. Sometimes it’s luck.

And sometimes, it’s just topography.

……..

Cyclists help beautify the streets they ride in Glendale. A handful of voters pick traffic calming as the factor that would most make them more comfortable riding on a major street. Has it really been a year since the infamous Hummer Incident — and almost that long since we were promised a police report? LADOT explains the thought process behind the bike corral project, which will move forward to the full City Council. Stephen Box takes on the problem of bike parking, or the lack thereof. Not to mention the lack of bike planning in Metro’s new Westlake/MacArthur Park development. Benecia approves, then cancels, a competitive pro/am bike event scheduled for June. A new car technology could see you and brake in time even if the driver doesn’t. Riders love LaHood, but truckers don’t; well maybe not all truckers. A Boston biker gets hit by a red light-running…cyclist. A man in America’s most dangerous state for cyclists is seriously injured when his bike hits a parked truck, but he doesn’t. One of my favorite Cycle Chic writers asks if the government will embrace cycling, or do we all just have to be brave? A flawed new bike lane debuts in Baltimore. A pseudo Sarah Palin rides the Tour de Fat back in my hometown. It’s spring, when cyclists fight tourists for space on the Brooklyn Bridge; sounds like summer in Santa Monica. The Brooklyn Borough President — who travels in a chauffeured SUV— say NYDOT Commissioner Janet Sadik-Khan just wants to make life harder for drivers. But despite the recent tripling of New York’s bike lanes, only 5% of the city’s streets have them. A Brooklyn man faces criminally negligent homicide charges for running down a cyclist on Flatbush Avenue, which is in that other 95%. Police threaten to cut bikes from sign posts in Brooklyn. Debunking the biking myths in Spokane. Honestly, we shouldn’t have to envy Tucson this much. Biking the first and last mile. A Brit cyclist is fined £700 plus court costs after running a red light; of course, swearing at the police and trying to ride away didn’t help. Maybe bike training for constables isn’t such a bad idea after all. Maybe the best way to talk a grandmother into biking is tell her she needs a mobility scooter. The Four Season’s says ask your concierge about biking in Budapest.

Finally, the rookie NYPD cop who pushed a Critical Mass cyclist off his bike — then brought bogus charges against the biker — goes on trial in New York.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

16-year old Orange County cyclist critically injured

March 28, 2010 / / 3 comments

This hasn’t been a good weekend for teenage cyclists in Southern California.

Just two days after a Pacoima rider was shot in an apparent gang-related attack, a 16-year old Orange County cyclist was critically injured after a collision with a car in Santa Ana Sunday afternoon. According to the Orange County Register, the cyclist was riding across Lacy Street between Fifth Street and Santa Ana Blvd when he collided with a vehicle traveling north on Lacy — the story subtly assigns blame to the cyclist while noting the accident is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, Gustavo Arellano of the Orange County Weekly, author of the popular Ask A Mexican column, was on the scene to witness the aftermath of the collision.

Arelleno said that the car hit the rider — rather than the other way around — with enough force to shatter the windshield, leaving a massive dent in the vehicle and breaking the bicycle in two. While no blood was visible, Arelleno did not see the rider move his hands or legs, and says “the teen’s tortured gasps for air were a sound I hope to never hear again.”

He credits police and fire personnel for arriving on the scene within minutes of the 1pm collision, and places blame on the conflict between the city’s “ambitious plans to remake its downtown core and the head-in-the-sand approach to the area’s actual needs.”

“This is already a neighborhood that’s way overcrowded,” said a lady who identified herself only as Yuri. She had no idea of the city’s plans for her neighborhood, which include squeezing in high-rise apartments. “We need parks, not more buildings–there’s already too many apartments! With more people and more cars on these small streets, there’s going to be more accidents!”

………

Even after everything, Murrieta’s Floyd Landis still loves cycling. San Diego’s San Louis Rey River Trail is extended three more miles. Get your free Ride a Fucking Bike sticker here. A Georgia insurance executive says bike riders face risks on the road, and there’s not much consolation in saying “it wasn’t my fault.” A 60-something cyclist in my home town is critically injured in a collision; no information on his name, direction or travel, whether the driver was distracted, wearing a seatbelt or whether charges might be filed. An 11-year old Iowa cyclist is critically injured in a hit-and-run; police say the driver may not even know she hit anything. Cell phone use while driving is even more dangerous than previously thought. Over 2300 riders roll the roads of New Zealand, despite warnings from police. Brisbane’s shared bike/pedestrian paths turn into danger zones as both users compete for space. Will a better water bottle holder revolutionize cycling? A 19-year old Brit cyclist hopes to raise £1 million to thank a hospital for saving his life. Instead of charging cyclists to use the roads, we should get tax cuts and the thanks of motorists.

Finally, a writer claims that most cars carrying two or more passengers have a smaller carbon footprint than the average man on a bike.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Kornheiser makes nice, Lance lets him off easy

March 19, 2010 / / 4 comments

Maybe they did a lot of talking offline, and ESPN personality Tony Kornheiser convinced Lance Armstrong just how sorry he was for urging motorists to run cyclists down with their cars.

And maybe Kornheiser truly is sorry. Maybe he meant it at the beginning of his broadcast when he reminded listeners not to take anything he says seriously.

Boys and girls, this is a comedy show. It is a often a show of outsize outrage, it is often a show of sarcasm, it is often a show of subversion. The only purpose in this show — and occasionally it’s even intellectual, occasionally, though that’s not the intent — the only reason this show exists is to entertain you and hopefully make you laugh.

But you’d think he would have enough sense to realize that some things just aren’t funny. And that some people take comments like that seriously — and I’m not talking about the reaction of the cycling community.

Especially since he says his own daughter sometimes rides a bike to work.

Personally, I think he needs a serious timeout, just like any other petulant child. And personally, I think Lance let him off way too easy.

But listen – and decide — for yourself.

Lance Armstrong on the Tony Kornheiser Show

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Is it time for ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser to go?

March 18, 2010 / / One comment

Tony Kornheiser wants to run you down.

As noted at the end of this morning’s post, Kornheiser — former sports columnist for the Washington Post, and longtime host of Pardon the Interruption on ESPN and the Tony Kornheiser Show on Washington’s ESPN980, recently went off on a more than six minute anti-cyclist rant.

Evidently, he doesn’t have many listeners. Even though the show aired a week ago, it didn’t make any waves until word reached Lance Armstrong — who responded by tweeting his 2.4 million followers on Twitter, calling Kornheiser a “complete, f-ing idiot.”

And when Lance tweets, people listen.

The segment starts out as a rant against a planned bikeway on Pennsylvania Avenue. And quickly devolves into a vile condemnation of cyclists, including repeated suggestions to just run them over.

Yes, he actually urges his listeners to commit violence against another human being. Or rather, countless human beings, most of whom he has never met, and probably never will.

Yet he still wants to kill you. Or maim you. Or maybe just scare you and fuck up your bike, since he later backs off and says “So you tap them. I’m not saying kill them.”

In other words, he only wants his listeners to commit assault with a deadly weapon, not murder.

Well, thank God for that.

Of course, it’s still a crime to incite violence. Had he suggested that his listeners pull out a gun and shoot African Americans or Hispanics or Asians or Gays or Muslims, he would have been off the air in minutes.

And probably be standing before a judge before the day was over. Especially if anyone was fool enough to act on his suggestion.

But fortunately for him, he only suggested running down cyclists. Which makes it okay, I guess.

Now Lance says he just got off the phone with Kornheiser, who is “very sorry for his comments re: cyclists.”

Yeah, I’m sure he is.

So was Dr. Thompson after he was convicted. And I’m sure all those cyclists who have been the victims of road raging drivers take comfort in that.

Myself included.

Armstrong says he’s going on Kornheiser’s show in the morning to talk about it. If you want to listen in, you can hear it by clicking on the Listen Live tab at the ESPN980 website between 7 am and 10 am PDT.

Then again, if you’ve already had enough, you can tweet them at @ESPNRadio980 to express your displeasure, or call Red Zebra Broadcasting — owners of ESPN980 — at 301/562-3776. Or just email them through the station’s website; I already did.

And some people are already taking more direct action; however, despite my earlier comments, while Disney owns ESPN, they don’t own the radio station where Kornheiser made his comments.

We’ll have to see what he has to say to Lance tomorrow. And just how much he’s willing to work with local cyclists to make up for the damage he’s already caused.

My guess is, not much.

Or at least, not enough.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

A little this, a little that — Sadik-Khan, Street Summit, bike stats, bike art, Lance rants

March 18, 2010 / / One comment

First up, drop whatever you had planned, and ride, walk, bus or drive to Occidental College for tonight’s lecture by Janette Sadik-Khan, New York’s Commissioner of Transportation.

This is the woman most responsible for transforming NYC from one of the most bike-hostile places on the planet to what is rapidly becoming one of the world’s most bike-friendly metropolises, adding 200 miles of bike lanes in just three years.

And afterwards, you can ride over to nearby Disney headquarters in Burbank to protest the on-air anti-bike rant from ESPN idiot commentator Tony Kornheiser (see below).

The lecture is the kickoff event for L.A. StreetSummit 2010, which resumes this Saturday at Downtown’s LA Trade Tech College.

On Saturday, you’ll have a chance to hear speakers including Carl Anthony of Breakthrough Communications, Charlie Gandy, the Mobility Coordinator currently transforming the City of Long Beach, and Lydia Avila of the East LA Community Corporation.

In this afternoon, you can attend three sets of workshops on subjects ranging from the new bike plan, CicLAvia, LACBC’s bike count and increasing diversity in the biking community. Along with about 26 others.

And I’ll be hosting a session on bikes and politics at 1pm:

Session 1: 1pm-1:50pm
Room: tba

Presenters:

Ted Rogers, LACBC Board Member and author of BikingInLA

David Vahedi, Attorney, co-founder of the Westside Neighborhood Council and recent candidate for the 5th Council District

Aurisha Smolarski, LACBCCampaigns and Communications Director

Marcel Porras, cyclist and Transportation Director for L.A.’s 13th City Council District

Kent Strumpell, 11th District representative for L.A.’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and member of the California Bicycle Coalition’s Legislative Committee

Short Summary:

The bicycling community is the sleeping giant of local politics, with an estimated 2.7 million cyclists in Los Angeles County. This informal discussion will explore how to wake that giant to make positive changes in our state and community, and offer an insider’s perspective on how bicyclists can impact the political process to influence elected officials and elect bike-friendly candidates.

I hope to see you there.

The organizers of StreetSummit are asking that each workshop be video recorded for future use; unfortunately, I don’t have a video camera. So if anyone would like to volunteer to record the session, just let me know.

………

Exactly what L.A. cyclists have been missing.

Bikeside’s LA Bike Map provides the city’s first searchable database enabling you to submit, track and study near misses, collisions, harassment and bike theft. This will give cyclists the information we need to spot and avoid dangerous areas, and argue for much needed road improvements and police protection.

And yes, the link will soon find a permanent prominent home over there on the right.

………

A suicidal cyclist riding the wrong way evidently picked a Desperate Housewives star to run into, judging by press reports. Shawn Pyfrom, who plays Andrew Van De Kamp on the show, was driving somewhere in the San Fernando Valley when an elderly man riding against traffic made a sudden turn into the path of his vehicle.

To his credit, Pyfrom reportedly assisted the bloodied biker until help could arrive, and no one has yet been cited by police.

However, it does beg the question of why a cyclist riding the wrong way — one of just 4% of local riders who risk their lives that way, according to the LACBC’s bike count, despite what many drivers will tell you — would turn directly into the path of what had to be a clearly visible oncoming vehicle.

Then again, so far, the only reports are coming from the actor’s publicists.

Maybe that explains it.

………

A couple quick notes from the Santa Monica Museum of Art.

Over the course of the next four Saturdays, German artists Folke Koebberling and Martin Kaltwasser will dismantle an old car and turn it into two fully operational bicycles at the Bermot Station Arts Center.

And mark your calendar for the Cause for Creativity: Tour de Arts, Vol. 2 workshop, bike tour, exhibition and closing party on August 22nd.

………

A New York cyclist is knocked into a bus and killed after getting doored by a driver; as Cyclelicious points out in a well-deserved rant, at least some of the city’s press clearly doesn’t get it. One paper describes it as a freak accident and another — which evidently doesn’t know how to construct a sentence, had this to say:

Cops issued the unidentified driver of the Camry a summons, though it was not immediately clear why, police said.

Streetsblog reminds readers about the video from the Chicago Bicycle Program that explains how bikes and buses can safely share the roads; more important would be teaching drivers the dangers of opening their doors without looking.

………

BikesideLA tells the story of the Birdman, the survivor — barely — of yet another horrifying hit-and-run. Damien notes that authorities and the press blame once again blame the victim in a PCH hit-and-run; sort of like accidently shooting someone and blaming them for standing in front of your bullet. Another call on City Watch to dismantle LADOT. LACBC unveils the city’s first bike count, but doesn’t name the people who actually did it. DIY sharrows return to the streets of L.A., if not actually on the streets; the more or less true story behind the signs. Mega bike shop Perfomance Bicycle comes to Woodland Hills. A Cal State Fullerton cyclist examines fixies and their riders, and finds them lacking. The cyclist missing in Portland was found dead yesterday in the Willamette River; cause of death undetermined pending an autopsy. A great list of the top 10 rudest things a driver can do when encountering a cyclist. Bike Radar looks at why Florida is the nation’s most dangerous place for cyclists. The West Side Greenway in New York’s Battery Park City goes extremely high tech. Zeke takes an unexpected mostly pleasant, semi-frightening ride, only to discover Lance, Levi and Alberto are actually all good friends — and then he wakes up. London cyclists are asked about risk-taking behavior in an attempt to understand an unexpected spike in deaths; I’d start with the city’s truck drivers instead. Poland’s parliament considers making the country more bike friendly. Maybe this is why so many Dutch women ride.

Finally, Lance Armstrong calls ESPN radio host Tony Kornheiser a “complete f-ing idiot” for his recent remarks, including a suggestion that drivers should just run cyclists down. Consider this excerpt courtesy of Bike Radar:

“The last time I looked, the roads were made for automobiles…,” Kornheiser said. “We’re going to be dominated as if this was Beijing by hundreds of thousands of bicyclists …”

He’s no fan of cycling attire either, saying: “They all wear … my God … with the little water bottle in the back and the stupid hats and their shiny shorts. They are the same disgusting poseurs that in the middle of a snowstorm come out with cross-country skiing on your block. Run ’em down.

“Let them use the right, I’m okay with that. I don’t take my car and ride on the sidewalk because I understand that’s not for my car… Why do these people think that these roads were built for bicycles? … They dare you to run them down.”

Lance calls the remarks “Disgusting, ignorant, foolish.” Or maybe he was referring to Kornheiser himself, who was recently suspended for making inappropriate remarks about a female co-worker’s attire.

Road.cc suggests tweeting your displeasure to @ESPNRadio980. Or maybe we should direct our anger to ESPN’s parent company, conveniently located right here in Burbank.

Update: Thanks to Todd Mumford for sending a link to the audio of Kornheiser’s rant; and yes, it’s even worse than I thought.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The bike court beat goes on

March 9, 2010 / / 6 comments

Christian Stoehr and Ron Peterson speak outside the courthouse following the Thompson conviction last November; at left is Josh Crosby, Patrick Watson is partially visible in back. Photo courtesy of Jared Shier.

Cyclist/Attorney DJ Wheels wrote the other day to provide updates on pending court cases involving cyclists.

First up is the case of an Orange County woman charged with striking and killing a 49-year old Irvine cyclist in an early morning collision on December 9th, then driving off, leaving a 300 yard pattern of debris — yet amazingly, was forgiven by the victim’s family.

Patricia A. Izquieta (Case #09HF2198) – Victim – Don Murphy

A hearing was held February 18 for arraignment, but no plea was entered yet and arraignment was continued to March 19 at the Santa Ana Courthouse.

She is charged with:

1) one felony count of hit and run with permanent and serious injury – CVC 20001(a)(b)(2)

2) a special allegation of inflicting great bodily harm, which is attached to the hit and run – Penal Code 12022.7(a)

3) one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence – Penal Code 192(c)(2)

4) one misdemeanor count of driving without a valid driver’s license – CVC 12500(a)

Next is the underage driver with a long list of priors who was charged with killing a Santa Clarita man and injuring three others in a drunken hit-and-run; tests showed that in addition to a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit, he was also high on methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana at the time of the 11 am collision.

Marco Antonio Valencia (Case # PA065011) – Victim – Joeseph Novotny & 3 other injured cyclists

There was a pretrial conference and re-arraignment on January 22. Four separate counts for DUI — two counts of 23153(A) and two counts of 23153(B) — were dropped. I think the charges were initially filed separately for all the various substances that came up in the toxicology report. However, there are still two remaining DUI counts. He plead not guilty to all the charges in the amended complaint. Another pretrial conference is set for March 23 at the San Fernando Courthouse.

1) one felony count of murder with malice aforethought (2nd degree) – PC 187(a)

2) one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence – PC 191.5(a)

3) one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(a)

4) one felony count of driving with a BAC over .08 causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(b)

5) four felony counts of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)

6) one felony count of driving with a suspended or revoked license due to a prior DUI – 14601.2

Then there’s the case of the Malibu driver who fled the scene after running down two riders nearing the end of the L.A. Wheelmen’s 200 mile Grand Tour; killing a father and critically injuring his son. The tragedy was compounded by reports that the driver wasn’t a bad guy, but made a fatal error by driving after drinking, and destroyed two families in the process.

Robert Sam Sanchez (Case # SA071910) – Victim – Rod Armas & Chris Armas injured

A preliminary setting was heard on February 11.  The court ordered a pre plea report pursuant to PC 1203.7.  Sanchez counsel consented to an pre plea interview, but the defendant may not be interviewed about the facts of the case.  The defendant was also ordered to the probation department and also ordered to appear at the next court date, which will be March 11 for another preliminary setting hearing at the Malibu Courthouse.

Charges are still the same as previously reported:

1) one felony count of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence – PC 191.5(a)

2) one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury – CVC 23153(a)

3) one felony count of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)

In another case, the 18-year old driver who hit a cyclist in West Hollywood last December, causing “massive” injuries — including breaks to both hands and extensive facial injuries — fled the scene, but was arrested less than a half mile later; despite her age, she had a small amount of alcohol in her system at the time of her arrest.

Celine Mahdavi (Case #SA073459) – Victim – not named

This is the West Hollywood case, involving a young woman in a luxury SUV who made a left hook, seriously injuring a young male cyclist. Charges were filed in early February by the L.A. D.A.’s office:

1) one felony count of hit and run causing serious or permanent injury – CVC 20001(a)

2) one infraction count of a minor driving with a BAC over .01 – CVC 23136(a)

Mahdavi entered a not guilty plea to both counts on Feb. 25. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 22 at the Beverly Hills Courthouse.

In a case that largely went under the radar, an Orange County driver was convicted on the same day the Christopher Thompson verdict was announced in the Mandeville Canyon case. He was accused of killing a 14-year old Huntington Beach boy riding to school in the bike lane on the opposite side of the street, while texting and under the influence of prescription drugs.

Jeffrey Francis Woods (Case #08ZF0040) – victim – Danny Oates

Woods was found guilty by a jury after a 16 day trial.  He was sentenced to 6 years state prison, 3 years license revocation and ordered to pay restitution for:

1) one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated – PC 191.5(a)

However, according to the OC Superior Court website, the status of this case is listed as “APPEAL.”  Woods is still in custody.

He also includes an update on one strange, non-bike-related case involving a 71-year old former state legislator who ran over a USC parking attendant after being denied entry last December because he didn’t have the proper parking permit.

Walter Karabian (Case #0EA00275)

Apparently Karabian was trying to enter a lot for which he didn’t have the appropriate parking permit, and ended up hitting the parking attendant with his car, causing some minor injuries. Sheriff responded and arrested him; he was later released on $30,000 bail.

The D.A. rejected it for felony charges and gave it to the City Attorney, but they recused themselves due to a conflict of interest, and handed it back to the D.A. for misdemeanor consideration. Turns out Karabian has a son who is currently a deputy C.A. at the Metro Traffic Court on Hill St.

A single misdemeanor count for assault with a deadly weapon – PC 245(A)(1) was filed in early January at the East Los Angeles Courthouse by the D.A’s office. A motion was filed last month to have the case removed from the initial judge, Elaine Lu, because she might be prejudiced in this case, and the case is now before Judge Henry Barela in Dept. 7. On Feb. 18, Karabian’s defense attorney entered his plea of not guilty on his behalf; this is allowed in most misdemeanor cases. There is a pretrial hearing set for March 24, 2010.

The elder Karabian is a former deputy district attorney, former State Assemblyman and current named partner of a law firm in Monterey Park.

He concludes with the current status of two recently convicted prisoners — the driver accused of the intoxicated hit-and-run death of a Mexican immigrant in Echo Park last April, and the emergency room physician sentenced to 5 years in prison for intentionally injuring two cyclists in Mandeville Canyon on July 4th, 2008.

Alejandro Hidalgo (Case #BA35559301) – Victim – Jesus Castillo

According to the Sheriff’s Inmate locator page, Hidalgo was transferred to Wasco State Prison on January 26, 2010 after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence – PC 191.5(b).  The two year state prison sentence he received in his plea bargain is the middle-term sentence available for this charge.

Christopher T. Thompson (Case #SA06829701) – Victim – Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr

According to the Sheriff’s Inmate locator page, Thompson was also transferred to Wasco State Prison on January 28, 2010.

Thanks to DJ Wheels for his amazing efforts to keep us up to date on all these cases — it’s a lot of work, and very much appreciated.

On a personal note, some people have questioned why I focus on negative aspects of cycling like the cases noted above. The answer is simple. I feel there’s a need to shine a spotlight on crimes like these in order to do whatever we can to ensure that they don’t happen again. And I feel we have an obligation to the victims to make sure that justice is done and that they are not forgotten.

……….

Streetsblog plans a fundraiser next month honoring winners of this year’s Streetsie awards. A Sacramento cyclist is killed when he “somehow” gets caught beneath a bus; yeah, like that sort of thing just happens. Three thousand riders take part in a soggy Colnago Gran Fondo in San Diego. A great manifesto on feminist cycling. Trek thinks you might confuse their bikes with their with an unrelated winery. Denver prepares to kick off what they call the nation’s first city-wide bike share program, and uses stimulus funds to close gaps in their bikeway system — and they place sharrows on medium to high volume streets, rather than quiet streets where they aren’t needed. Can private businesses cut the locks of bikes parked in the public right-of-way? 1936 sounds a lot like 2010, at least as far as bikes are concerned. Eight months of riding culminates with a final leg from Guadalajara to Playa Real; the photos alone are worth a look. Cyclelicious covers the prologue of this year’s Paris – Nice race, Boom gets off to a good start while Team Sky’s Henderson takes the first stage. The Scheck brothers may leave Saxo Bank to form their own team — and take Cancellara with them. After being denied a chance to take it, a 10-year old girl with cerebral Palsy passes Britain’s Bikeability test. The first of new bike superhighways sponsored by London’s mayor don’t exactly get glowing reviews. Did Germany send the Hitler Youth as to pre-war Britain as “spyclists?” Evidently, British cycling engineers don’t ride bike routes before they select them, either. Looking at the Japanese love affair with electric bikes. A new Dutch system paces cyclists at the correct speed to avoid red lights.

Finally, L.A’s Downtown News reports on the efforts of bike messengers to fight back again bike thieves, including the infamous — and now confirmed — report of stripping two teenaged alleged rim thieves to their underwear and donating their clothes to a homeless shelter.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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