Tag Archive for hit-and-run

LAPD looks for killer Koreatown hit-and-run scooter rider, and Vermont Knolls hit-and-run driver who injured bike rider

September 23, 2024 / / 3 comments
Just 98 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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The LAPD is on the lookout for a killer hit-and-run driver.

But in this case, she was driving an e-scooter.

The victim was walking down a Koreatown sidewalk with his wife around 4:50 this past Thursday when the woman came barreling down the sidewalk, along with a man on a second scooter, knocking him down.

Sixty-five-year old Donny Kim fell backwards, striking his head. He refused treatment, but his condition worsened after going home; two days later, he was dead.

After stopping briefly, the woman rode off on her scooter, despite the efforts of Kim’s wife to get her to stay.

And yes, it’s illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk in Los Angeles — just like the sticker on every e-scooter in the city says.

And e-scooter riders are legally required to stick around and exchange personal information following a crash, just like bike riders, drivers or anyone else.

Thanks to Christian for the heads-up. 

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The LAPD is also on the lookout for the hit-and-run driver who left a 63-year old man lying in the street suffering from severe injuries, after crashing into his bike in LA’s Vermont Knolls neighborhood.

And speaking of the LAPD, the cops are trying to identify a group of around 50 teenagers who swarmed a West LA 7-11, looting the store within minutes.

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While we were gone, West Hollywood narrowly reaffirmed plans for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes on busy Fountain Ave, accepting an $8.2 million grant from the California Air Resources Board to remake the roadway by a 3-to-2 vote in a contentious city council meeting.

On a related note, WeHo Online recaps the recent Streets For All mobility forum for the candidates running for WeHo city council — not all of whom approve of the decision.

And the city could lower the speed limit on a number of streets, while WeHo Online whines it could make driving in the city even slower. Which someone should tell them is actually a good thing.

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North OC Bikes will host their monthly family friendly bike ride in Fullerton this Friday.

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Now you, too, can own one of the vintage Colnago road bikes belonging to Steve Tesich, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Breaking Away, who died in 1996.

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It’s now 278 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, San Gabriel Valley residents will soon be eligible for vouchers for up to $3,000 off on the purchase of a ped-assist ebike or cargo bikes, courtesy of ActiveSGV and the SGV Council of Governments.

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

They’re onto us, comrades. A Washington state letter writer argues that the area’s new bike lanes are nothing more than a commie plot. “Bicycles are tools of commies and socialists. These paths and lanes are for only one thing: to usher in their left wing, ‘green energy,’ fossil fuel-hating, automobile-loathing, bird-killing wind farm, solar power loving agenda.”

No bias here. A Colorado woman confronted a pair of hungry bike riders who made the mistake of stopping for a snack while riding on a path near her home in Summit County, eventually shoving one of their bikes to the ground; she later told police she doesn’t like tourists.

Business owners in an industrial section of Queens complain that gentrification is going too far, with plans for a new bike lane that they insist will put the people who use it at risk, along with their truckers.

A Gloucestershire, England police official is deservedly under fire after arguing that a lot of people who ride bikes “don’t realize that…a close pass itself isn’t an offense,” despite reminding drivers that they’re required to give bicyclists at least a 1.5 meter passing distance, the equivalent of nearly five feet.

Authorities in Edinburg, Scotland are on the hunt for a man who was caught on security cam getting out of a car and throttling a bike rider who was arguing with the woman driving the car, throwing him to the ground.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 30-year old Hoboken NJ man could face charges after he was arrested for deliberately ramming a goose with his ebike at a waterfront park; no word on the condition of the goose.

The NYPD is on the hunt for a bikeshare rider who maced a 17-year old boy for reasons known only to him after their bikes collided in Central Park.

No bias here, either. A 24-year old man in Northern Ireland walked with the equivalent of a lousy $465 fine for riding a bike at twice the legal alcohol limit, while carrying coke and failing to stop until the cops knocked him off his bike; meanwhile, his defense attorney joked that riding a bicycle or wearing Lycra while overweight should be a crime.

A woman in Singapore will spend the next four weeks behind bars for riding a bicycle she knew had faulty brakes, after killing a 63-year old woman when she crashed into her.

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Local  

NBC Los Angeles talks with the esteemed Jimmy Lizama, the founder of LA’s Bicycle Kitchen.

Streetsblog visits the new extension to Santa Monica’s MANGo bikeway, as well as bike lanes being installed on Reseda Boulevard, Mason Ave, Avenue 51 and Townsend Ave. And yes, that’s Avenue 51, not Area 51. 

Caltrans is looking for input on a proposed reconfiguration of busy Rosemead Blvd between Rosemead and Temple City.

About damn time. Caltrans also proposed plans to improve safety on PCH through Malibu include bike lanes and wider sidewalks, with 90% of commenters calling for better protecting bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as landscaping the center median, and adding more parking on the beach side of the highway so people won’t have to cross it.

Manhattan Beach approved plans to give the city’s Sand Dune Park a $3.5 million makeover, but removed a planned bike path at the urging of local residents.

Long Beach received a $25 million federal grant for protected bike lanes along Pacific Ave.

 

State

Fountain Valley followed the lead of other Orange County cities by tightening regulations for ebike riders; however, it’s questionable whether any changes that conflict with the California vehicle code will withstand judicial review.

A college student in Orange used an AirTag to get her stolen bike back, as cops  tracked down and arrested the suspected thief.

Police in San Marcos have yet to arrest the hit-and-run driver who left a teenaged boy riding an ebike in critical condition suffering from major injuries, after impounding the driver’s massive GMC pickup, which showed signs of an attempted coverup.

Sad news from Newark, where a 60-year old man was killed by a driver in a left-cross crash while riding in a painted bike lane. Another reminder that pain’t ain’t protection. 

More sad news, this time from Ukiah, where a man was killed after crashing his ebike at an “extremely high-rate of speed” on a local trail.

 

National

Portland bicyclists rode naked through the city to protest Big Oil, months after the city’s “official” World Naked Bike Ride was cancelled.

A bighearted little girl in Colorado will forward the new bicycle a cop gave her to another kid in need, after police recovered her stolen bike.

Austin Monthly questions whether the capital city of auto-centric Texas can truly become a bicycling utopia by investing millions in new infrastructure.

What do you do after shattering the old record for riding around the world? Go for a family bike ride near your Chicago home, of course.

New York bicyclists raced across the city’s Williamsburg Bridge for a $1,000 prize — on bikeshare bikes.

After a DC driver was sentenced to eight years behind bars for killing a 45-year old man riding a bicycle, his survivors complain that his sentence was just a slap on the wrist. Just wait until they learn what most drivers get for killing one of us. 

Now even the weather is out to get us. A Florida teenager was killed when he was apparently struck by lightening while riding his bike; local residents pointed to a hole in the pavement that wasn’t there before he was hit.

 

International

A Road.cc reader is on a campaign to design a new type of road cycling cleat, so bike riders no longer have to “walk like ducks.”

Momentum highlights ten “stunning and unique bike routes” around the world they say you have to see to believe — but the only one in North America is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through the US and Canada.

Speaking of Momentum, the magazine argues that Ontario, Canada is playing petty politics, as the provincial premier calls for banning any new bike lane that would replace a traffic lane.

No real surprise here, as a study from a London college shows that price has no bearing on bike helmet protection.

British bike advocates warn that plans for remaking an “incredibly popular” multi-use path are too narrow and will lead to safety issues, with bats — yes, bats — given twice as much space as bicycles.

A “heartless hit-and-run driver” will spend the next six years behind bars, on his return to the UK after fleeing the country for four years.

A Brussels, Belgium newspaper examines what’s holding bicycling back in the city, arguing that it isn’t productive to frame it as just bikes versus cars.

A carfree man finds himself called the “Bicycle-Karen” upon moving back to Iceland after years in more bike-friendly European cities, because of his complaints about the way bike riders are treated in the country.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian cycling star Wout van Aert signed sport’s first-ever lifetime contract, committing to ride for Team Visma – Lease a Bike until he quits professional cycling.

 

Finally…

Who needs a lawnmower when you have a bicycle? Your next ebike could come from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

And maybe bike shops could stop shaming people with poorly maintained bikes.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Update: Man riding bicycle killed by two hit-and-run drivers in Northridge; nearly 40% of all 2024 SoCal bike deaths hit-and-runs

September 21, 2024 / / 12 comments

Once again, a heartless coward left a helpless bike rider lying injured in the street for someone else to kill.

And someone did.

And that one fled the scene, too.

Multiple sources are reporting that a person on a bicycle, publicly identified only as a man in his early 50s, was struck from behind by the driver of a gray Honda around 9:15 pm Thursday on Lindley Ave near Napa Street in LA’s Northridge neighborhood.

He was thrown into the street, landing back in the right lane, where he was hit again by the driver of a gray pickup.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both drivers fled the scene without stopping to render aid or identify themselves, as required by law.

Witnesses reported that several vehicles had struck the victim, but video from the scene showed only two drivers actually hit him, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division at 818/644-8025 or 818/644-8117, or call 877/527-3247 after hours or on the weekend.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles, which presumably would apply to information leading to the conviction of either of these drivers.

This is at least the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 11th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the sixth that we know about in the City of Los Angeles.

Fourteen of those SoCal deaths — over 38% — have now come at the hands of heartless cowards who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around afterward.

According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly one third of all traffic deaths in Los Angeles last year were hit-and-runs; no word on how many of those drivers were eventually arrested and charged, let alone convicted.

Update: The following was posted to Nextdoor in Northridge Village on Friday. 

Did anyone last night after 9 pm possibly see a man on a bike get killed by a hit and run driver near Lindley at Parthenia? That was my friend Dan. They didn’t stop. He was coming back from the Dollar store. He was a father and son and a good friend. He was on his bike. Please if anyone saw anything or knows anything. At least he deserves some justice. Just to hit him and leave him to die is too much.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as Danny Oerlemans. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Danny Oerlemans and his loved ones.

Thanks to Glenn Bailey for the heads-up. 

 

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

Update: Man riding BMX on sidewalk killed by wrong-way, hit-and-run driver in South LA’s Florence-Firestone neighborhood

August 28, 2024 / / Comments Off on Update: Man riding BMX on sidewalk killed by wrong-way, hit-and-run driver in South LA’s Florence-Firestone neighborhood

Nope.

Nothing suspicious here.

A man was struck and killed by a wrong-way, hit-and-run driver while riding his bike on a South LA sidewalk early Thursday morning.

According to Fox-11, the man was riding on the 7900 block of Alameda Street in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood just after 1 am Thursday, when an unknown driver jumped the curb on the opposite side of the roadway, traveling against traffic, and striking the victim on the sidewalk.

The driver sped off following the crash, leaving the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, to die at the scene.

My News LA places the location at 7927 Alameda.

Video from Fox-11 shows the victim’s blurred body lying on the sidewalk, next to his backpack and cellphone, with his BMX bike in the street nearby.

There’s no description of the suspect vehicle at this time, let alone the person behind the wheel.

But considering that the driver struck someone on a raised sidewalk, on the opposite side of a two-way street, it suggests they may have lost control at high rate of speed, or while driving distracted or under the influence.

Or that the crash may have been intentional.

Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 35th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Thirteen of those SoCal deaths have come at the hands of heartless cowards who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around afterward.

Update: The victim has been identified as 37-year old Julio Castellon, while the location has been corrected to be the Florence-Graham neighborhood of South LA. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Julio Castellon and all his loved ones.

 

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

Breaking news: Man riding bicycle killed in Hyde Park hit-and-run; 12th SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

August 3, 2024 / / Comments Off on Breaking news: Man riding bicycle killed in Hyde Park hit-and-run; 12th SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers this year

Yet another Southern California bike rider has been killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

KABC-7 is reporting that the victim was already dead by the time police arrived following the crash at W. 63rd Street near Overhill Drive in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles, just before noon Saturday.

He was identified only as a man in his 40s. His killer was apparently nowhere to be found.

Unfortunately, there’s no word at this time just how the crash happened, or any description of the driver or suspect vehicle. Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 32nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware this year in Los Angeles County; it’s also just the fifth in the City of Los Angeles — at least that we know about.

Twelve of those SoCal deaths have been the victims of heartless cowards who didn’t have the basic human decency to stick around afterward.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

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

LA on track for massive Vision Zero fail, Glendale bike haters go berserk, and CA ebike incentive plan “screws the pooch”

August 2, 2024 / / One comment

This week certainly didn’t go as planned.

First this site went down for two full days, then I spent too much time researching and writing about the tragedy in Camarillo Wednesday night to write anything else — only to get a complaint from a member of the victim’s family that was probably better directed somewhere else.

On the other hand, I can understand the need to lash out at someone, after something like that. 

Which leaves us with a lot to catch up on. So let’s see how much we can get to before I have to pack it in for the night.

And it’s a sad commentary that I’m looking forward to shoulder surgery next week just so I can get a couple good hours of sleep.  

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Photo shows former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signing the city’s soon-forgotten Vision Zero plan behind his massive outdoor desk, courtesy of Streetsblog.

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Just 151 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

Crosstown LA reports the city is on track to once again record more than 300 deaths from traffic violence — a truly obscene total that should shame every city official into taking immediate and far-reaching action to halt it.

But if past is prologue, it probably won’t.

In fact, it’s most likely to be noticed as nothing more than just a blip in their busy schedules, if they notice at all.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Maybe we should replace the current city seal with one bearing the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” monkeys. Although, now that I think about it, trained monkeys could probably do a better job building a safer city.

The site also reports that drivers in Los Angeles continue to flee from fatal crashes in ever-rising numbers, with 62 hit-and-run deaths in the the just first six months of this year alone — more than double the total of two last pre-pandemic years, with 28 in 2018, and 29 in 2019.

Meanwhile, Helsinki, Finland, with a population of 675,000, has managed to reduce traffic deaths to a number that can usually be counted on one hand (scroll down), with fingers left over.

Which would equate to roughly 10 to 12 deaths from traffic violence in a city of LA’s size, with nearly four million people.

And that’s a hell of a lot fewer than we’re likely to endure this year.

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This is who we share the road with.

A commenter at a Glendale City Council meeting freely admits that he thinks his time is more important than the life of someone riding a bicycle, and will gladly speed to cut you off.

Maybe someone should have cut him off.

Then again, they would have had to do a lot of cutting, because an Instagram page compiled the comments in opposition to Glendale’s proposed bike plan, showing the sheer numbers and ugliness of it.

You can see the full city council discussion below, beginning at item B. You know, in case you want to fast-forward through the other stuff.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the links.

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This is who we share the road with, part two.

Family members are demanding justice, two months after a road-raging off-duty LAPD cop shot Hugo Cachua to death in a dispute that started with a fender bender.

Forty-five-year old Rigoberto R. Reyes was sentenced to 14 years and four months behind bars for the Temecula, California road rage stabbing that killed another man.

And topping this week’s Tour de Road Rage, two men in Highland, California pulled out guns and shot each other to death — in front of one victim’s kids, no less — after one man clipped the other driver’s car mirror while lane splitting on his motorcycle.

Which is all probably fair warning before you lose your top the next time a driver cuts you off or passes too close, because they may be armed and dangerous.

Then again, they’re already driving a multi-ton lethal weapon, anyway.

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People for Mobility Justice will host a “scenic bike ride highlighting local landmarks and celebrating the new bike/ped path on Slauson” from 6 to 8 pm this evening.

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Gravel Bike California marks this weekend’s Tour de Big Bear with a series of single-track jewels guided by local host and Dirty Bear organizer Robin Brown.

 

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It’s now 225 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 38 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Electrek examines how California “screwed the pooch so badly” in developing its own $30 million ebike incentive program.

A large part of the problem seems to come from issues with the program’s administrator, a program known as Pedal Ahead. It was selected under raised eyebrows by CARB back in 2022 and tasked with managing the program. However, (Streetsblog’s Melanie) Curr) insinuates that personal connections between a former CARB board member and the founder of Pedal Ahead may have led to its application being granted extra weight despite proposing a significantly different incentive program than that envisioned by the state…

But a slew of complicated issues still needed to be solved, ranging from how the vouchers would be distributed to what types of e-bikes would be eligible and whether online retailers would be allowed to participate, just to name a few.

Over a year was spent trying to work out answers to these questions and many more, often complicated by rethinking earlier decisions and creating new project proposals.

All in favor of just scrapping the damn thing and starting over say “aye!”

After a good criminal investigation or two, that is.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Phoenix, Arizona man faces a second-degree murder charge after he was allegedly caught on video beating a homeless man to death and stealing his bicycle.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Bend, Oregon family discovered the hard way that the law isn’t always clear-cut when it comes to ebikes, after a middle school student suffered a fractured collarbone and elbow when she was struck by a 17-year old boy riding one — and the cops said there’s nothing they could do.

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Local 

Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, asks if the new bike lanes mean formerly unsafe Hollywood Blvd is finally ready for its closeup. Which depends a lot on how well LA maintains it going forward. 

Ouch. Jalopnik says LA’s plan for a carfree ’28 Olympics was laughable when it was announced, and sounds even more laughable now after the city’s miserable failure to invest in bike lanes and other clean infrastructure.

KCBS-2 looks forward to the Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia when it returns to Hollywood and West Hollywood on August 17th

 

State

Good news from behind the Orange Curtain, as the Irvine city council voted to make this year’s inaugural CicloIrvine open streets fest an annual affair.

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara will use a $480,000 Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant to train AI to design a bicycle and wayfinding network for Santa Barbara County, while San Jose will get a similar, if considerably smaller,  grant from Toyota to use AI to improve traffic safety. Never mind that we’re talking about the same advanced tech that draws people with three legs, thinks some Nazi soldiers were Black, and suggests shows Netflix couldn’t pay you to watch. Or maybe that’s just me. 

 

National

Speaking of SAFE, as we did above, the LA-based traffic safety organization offers a recap of how the auto industry killed speed governors 101 years ago, as part of their series on Why the Auto Industry Opposes Safety Improvements.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Chicago has now installed a spacious curb-protected bike lane on a deadly street where drivers killed two teenagers riding bikes in separate crashes recently, and is in the process of building a nearby neighborhood greenway.

Boston’s new CargoB bikeshare represents what is probably the nation’s first on-demand cargo bike system.

Join the nearly 2,000 people who ride their bikes to the iconic Newport Jazz Fest each day.

 

International

A new survey shows that while a third of UK residents now bike to work, up from just 19% last year, nearly half say they can’t afford a bike, and a quarter would have to save up for six months to buy one.

Copenhagen’s new ‘CopenPay’ plan rewards tourists for choosing green activities and transportation options, like bicycling. But the BBC questions whether it actually works.

Makes sense to me. Service workers at the international airport in Frankfurt, Germany get around the massive structure on bicycles. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

Amazon is expanding it’s e-cargo bike delivery program Berlin, which look like cute-little pedal-powered cargo vans.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 81-year old man from Goa, India could be one of the country’s oldest people to bike 100 kilometers — about 62 miles.

The widow of a fallen Aussie bicyclist has filed suit against the local government, claiming that a bare metal rail blocking access to a parking lot from a shared-use path was virtually invisible and camouflaged; it’s now been covered in yellow safety stickers.

 

Competitive Cycling

A writer for Cycling Weekly rode the cobbled Paris road cycling course on a 44-pound, three-speed bikeshare bike.

 

Finally…

When you’re carrying heroin and meth on your bike, and riding with an outstanding warrant, just put a damn light on it. Inflate your bike tires electronically, without deflating your wallet.

And when you’re a wanted fugitive riding your bike despite being on the lam for the last 30 years after escaping a Wisconsin rape conviction, put a rear reflector on it, already.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

58-year old bike rider killed in Camarillo hit-and-run during police chase Saturday; medical examiner says it’s an “oopsie”

July 31, 2024 / / 7 comments

You’ve got to be kidding.

A man riding a bicycle was killed by an armed robber fleeing from police in Camarillo on Saturday — something which could reasonably be expected to result in a murder charge.

Except the Ventura County medical examiner said it was just an “oopsie.”

You know, big harm, no foul.

While this site was down for the last few days, news broke that the victim was killed, and several other people injured in a separate collision, when they were struck by the robber as he tried to escape the cops in an SUV shortly after 4 pm.

Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies began chasing the alleged robber, identified as 21-year-old Makare Toliver of Lancaster, and his partner after they reportedly stole a gun from a man at the Good Nite Inn on Ventura Boulevard.

Toliver initially yielded to the cops after pausing at a gas station, before taking off again and running down the victim as he rode on Central Ave between Beardsley Road and Santa Clara Ave.

The victim, later identified as 58-year old Ventura resident Robert Pierret, died after being taken to a local hospital.

There’s no word at this time on just how the crash occurred.

Toliver continued without stopping until he crashed into another car, injuring a number of people in that car, and was arrested at gunpoint along with another man.

Fortunately, none of those victims were seriously injured.

Toliver was booked on suspicion of armed robbery, as well as evasion of law enforcement and second-degree murder.

However, the murder charge was dropped after the medical examiner inexplicably ruled Pierret’s death an accident, explaining that traffic deaths are usually considered accidents “unless there is some unusual circumstance.”

Apparently, killing someone while evading police after robbing someone is perfectly normal in Ventura County.

Instead, Toliver was charged with two counts of second degree robbery, evading an officer causing death, fleeing the scene of an accident aausing death, grand theft of a firearm, and assault with a semi-automatic firearm, along with a whopping 21 special allegations.

He pled not guilty Tuesday to all charges.

The other man, also from Lancaster, was released on bail without formal charges.

This is at least the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware this year in Ventura County.

Eleven of those deaths have been hit-and-runs.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Pierret and his loved ones.

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

Study shows road diets don’t affect EMS response times, and LAPD belatedly asks for help solving Lincoln Heights hit-and-run

July 25, 2024 / / Comments Off on Study shows road diets don’t affect EMS response times, and LAPD belatedly asks for help solving Lincoln Heights hit-and-run
Just 159 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A new study shows exactly what we’ve been saying all along — that road diets don’t affect emergency response times.

The study involved Iowa road diets that converted formerly four lane roadways to two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane. It confirmed there was no difference in emergency response times from before the installation to after they were installed.

And despite what we’re usually told, most EMS responders didn’t think they did, either.

On the other hand, what did affect response times was drivers who didn’t know how the hell to yield to emergency vehicles, especially after a lane had been removed.

And from what we’ve seen here in Los Angeles, that’s most of them.

Photo by F. Muhammad for Artistic Operations from Pixabay.

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This is who we share the road with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run pickup driver who caused a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist in Lincoln Heights this past May.

The driver reportedly ran a red light, causing the 49-year old motorcyclist to lay down his bike to avoid a collision. The victim then slid under a box truck and was run over, and died after being taken to a hospital.

The pickup driver continued without stopping.

And yes, it’s considered hit-and-run if you cause a crash, even if you don’t come into actual contact with the victim or their vehicle.

Never mind that, as usual, the LA cops waited until the trail got cold and people’s memory of the event faded before bothering to ask for the public’s help.

Even though both the city and state have passed hit-and-run alert programs intended to notify the public immediately after a crash, when people are most likely to recall key details that could lead to an arrest.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of this driver, or any other driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

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It’s now 217 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Baltimore becomes just the latest city to launch an ebike voucher program before California’s moribund incentive plan gets off the ground, offering up to $2,000 off an electric bicycle.

Even though California’s program would have been the first in the nation if it had actually launched when it was originally approved by the legislature.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Four people have been arrested on murder and conspiracy charges following a West London collision that killed two men in their 20s riding bicycles. Unfortunately, given British press restrictions, there’s no information on how the crash occurred, why so many people were arrested or why police consider it a double murder.

No bias here. After yet another mass casualty crash, the BBC employs it’s most passive voice to say a “car and seven cyclists collided,” resulting in at least four serious injuries, and doesn’t even mention that the car had a driver until the next-to-last paragraph. Never mind that it’s highly unlikely the bicyclist collided with the car, rather than the driver plowing them down. 

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Local 

Bicycle owners were told to claim their bikes after a popular Marina del Rey bike locker program operated by LA County Beaches and Harbors was shut down following the theft of a dozen bicycles; the county promises to reopen it if and when they figure out how to make it theft proof.

 

State

Police in San Diego are asking for the public’s help in finding the hit-and-run driver who left a 60-year old bike rider in grave condition. The victim suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured neck and bleeding in the brain; unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver or suspect vehicle. The cops actually managed to alert the public within days of the crash, rather than waiting weeks or months after a serious hit-and-run, if they even get around to it, like the LAPD. 

A 67-year old man was shot and killed following an altercation on a Simi Valley bike path Tuesday night, although there’s no indication it had anything to do with bicycling.

Oakland bike advocates rightfully object to a call from port officials for the city to move planned bike lanes just “a few blocks over.” So the bike lanes don’t, you know, interfere with their plans, bike riders be damned.

 

National

The tiny little two-seat ELF ebike car rises zombie-like from the dead.

NACTO reports micromobility use — including standard bicycles, ebikes and scooters — climbed 16% in the US last year.

An Alaska news site questions whether anyone is actually using a new Anchorage bike path as it nears the halfway point of the pilot project — even though it’s used by up to 150 bike riders a day, and the downtown bike corral it connects to is often full, with as many as 100 bicycles.

A Minnesota writer says St. Paul needs to connect its breweries to its bike trails. I second that. And vote that we do that here, too. 

The post-pandemic bike bust claims another victim, as a 141-year old Cleveland bike shop that’s been run by the same family for three generations prepares to shutter its doors at the end of next month, a victim of supply chain problems and the difficulty finding trained workers.

New York Uber drivers complain about the city’s ever-worsening traffic congestion, while failing to recognize they’re  big part of athe problem.

A writer for an art website takes an educational 60-mile ride to Edward Hopper’s home in Nyack, New York for his 142nd birthday. And yes, Hopper was one of us.

 

International

The sister of assassinated British Member of Parliament Jo Cox celebrated the “inspirational” bike ride in her honor, with 83 people ranging from 16 to 78 completing the 288-mile ride from her hometown to London, where Cox was killed by a terrorist eight years ago.

Officials promise to “review” the narrow gate gap on a new Irish bicycle and pedestrian path  that only allows standard bicycles to pass, while blocking cargo bikes, adult tricycles and other large bikes. And the “cyclists dismount” sign doesn’t exactly help.

An Irish man credits his bike helmet with saving his life when he was struck by a driver this past weekend, and thinks because they helped him, they should be required for everyone. Even though bike helmets are designed for relatively low speed falls, not violent collisions with bigass motor vehicles.

Slovenia invites you to explore the country for your next bicycling vacation, which is home to some of the world’s best bicyclists — like the newly crowned three-time Tour de France champ, for instance.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo examines who did and didn’t rake in the big bucks for the recently completed Tour de France, with three-time champ Tadej Pogačar hauling in nearly $875,000, while Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay brought a relatively paltry $58,000, despite winning three stages and the green jersey.

The Cofidis cycling team was forced to defend their Look racing bikes and Corima wheels used in the Tour de France, after team member Guillaume Martin blamed heavy bikes for their poor showing. Or, it could just be the team sucked they got beat by better teams. 

Bloomberg says Paris could be the bicycle Olympics, with virtually every venue reachable by bike.

Cyclist remembers the best cycling moments from the 2021 pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Outside profiles Olympic mountain biker Riley Amos, and the small southwest Colorado mountain town I can’t talk my wife into moving to that’s produced more top cyclists than almost any other American city.

The Daily Pilot looks at the semiannual Costa Mesa Grand Prix, saying the race has found a home in the bike-friendly city.

 

Finally…

Nothing like NFL team security blocking your son from riding his bike to training camp — even though you’re the head coach. Why let a little thing like no front wheel stop you from riding?

And that feeling when you have to backtrack 170 miles in a transcontinental race to retrieve the passport and wallet you left at a gas station.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Ramos faces up to 20 years for killing five-year old in drunken hit-and-run, and wannabe Trump assassin was one of us

July 19, 2024 / / Comments Off on Ramos faces up to 20 years for killing five-year old in drunken hit-and-run, and wannabe Trump assassin was one of us
Just 165 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

A few people have volunteered to write guest posts to help keep this site from going dark when I’m out next month for surgery on my torn rotator cuff. 

So if you’re interested in filling in here for a few days, or joining them in submitting a guest post or two, just email me at the address on the About page above.

………

Twenty years.

Charges have been refiled against Ceferino Ascencion Ramos for the alleged drunken hit-and-run that killed five-year old Jacob Ramirez, and injured his entire family, as they were enjoying an evening bike ride in Garden Grove nearly two weeks ago.

Ramos, who had a blood alcohol content of .22% at the time of his arrest, now faces a charge of vehicular manslaughter, as well as felony counts of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, driving with blood alcohol of .08% or more causing bodily injury, and hit and run with injury, with sentencing enhancements for leaving a victim comatose or paralyzed and inflicting great bodily injury.

If he is convicted on all counts, Ramos could spend the next two decades behind bars. But the most likely result is that the DA will allow him to plead to a reduced sentence in order to guarantee a conviction.

The lack of a murder charge indicates this is probably Ramos’ first DUI arrest, or he at least hasn’t been convicted before.

The good news, if there is any in this mess, is that Jacob’s six-year-old sister has been released from the hospital after undergoing surgery for her injuries. However, the children’s father is still in a coma due to a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain.

Meanwhile, Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, will install a ghost bike for Jacob Ramirez later today.

The ceremony will take place at 7:30 pm on the 12300 block of Haster Street at Twin Tree Lane in Garden Grove.

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Wannabe Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was one of us, as reports suggest he used his bicycle to scout the rally where the shooting took place last Saturday.

He then ditched his bike in full view of cops and crowds of people before climbing onto to warehouse roof and opening fire on the former president.

Which kinda raises the question of why no one noticed a man riding a bicycle while carrying a rifle at a political rally, whether it was in or out of a case.

Meanwhile, a writer for a conservative website writes, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, forget guns, it’s time to ban bicycles.

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A Seal Beach police captain answers a reader’s question to say yes, bicycles are considered vehicles under California law, subject to the same rules and regulations as drivers.

But he doesn’t get it quite right, insisting bike riders can’t use a handheld phone, even though that law specifically applies to motorists only.

And he bizarrely says bicyclists should slow and come to a complete stop at any intersection without a green light, which would mean pissing off drivers by stopping at every uncontrolled intersection.

Then again, we seem to piss off drivers if we stop for stop signs, as well as when we roll through them.

And God help you if you find yourself blocking a driver’s turn because you stopped for a red light.

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Gravel Bike California marks their 5th Anniversary by revisiting their favorite LA Area route.

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It’s now 211 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

The solemnity of a poignant Birmingham, England slow ride in memory of a fallen bicyclist was interrupted by angry drivers blaring on their horns over the momentary inconvenience of having to slow down to go around them. Which kinda made the bicyclist’ point for them.

But sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Once again, cops and the news media conflate electric motorcycles and ebikes as if they’re the same thing, with sheriff’s deputies complaining about kids on illegal off-road electric motorcycles — not electric bicycles — terrorizing customers at an Orange County mall with air-soft guns.

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Local 

LAist reports on the health effects of chronic noise, as the US Department of Transportation says Los Angeles is one of the country’s loudest counties, thanks largely to our incessant traffic.

 

State

A writer for Forbes explains how to love living carless in California. It’s long past time stories like this lost any shock value, when up to a fifth of Angelenos don’t own cars, and seem to manage okay without one. 

A San Francisco writer asks if the city’s most harrowing bikeway is about to become a thing of the past, as a new water taxi promises to replace the narrow chasm of the Posey Tube’s bike/pedestrian sidewalk, which he describes as the “ninth circle of cycling hell.”

 

National

Strong Towns looks at ways to build a biking culture to make your city stronger.

Writing for Streetsblog, former Southland resident Melissa Balmer says it’s time to revive the 1990’s Bikes Belong campaign to help deliver needed funds for active transportation infrastructure, and stop killing people.

Planetizen says specially equipped data bikes can help government agencies better understand conditions on bike paths by collecting information on trail accessibility and pavement conditions to prioritize maintenance projects. That’s if anyone actually cares about conditions on bike paths once they’re built, let alone budget for it.

PeopleForBikes says a simple bike bus helped transform a south Tempe, Arizona neighborhood, while reconnecting students and their parents with joy.

Emergency responders were caught off guard when they found themselves in the middle of a Colorado gravel race as they responded to a bicyclist injured in a multi-rider crash, with competitors reportedly swerving in front of the ambulance. Seriously guys, give emergency vehicles a wide berth, regardless of whether you’re competing in a race or just riding to the corner market. Someone’s life could depend on it. 

Boston officials refute claims that new bike lanes and road diets are slowing ambulance response times, saying roadways are engineered to provide room for emergency vehicles, and ambulances can drive through bike lanes when necessary to get around stalled traffic.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The woman killed in a Philadelphia collision while riding her bike Wednesday night has been identified as a 30-year old medical resident specializing in pediatric cancer patients at a Philly children’s hospital.

 

International

Momentum says the health benefits of bike commuting mean it could be one of the best decisions you ever make, cutting your risk of dying from any cause nearly in half.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever tethered an 18-month old horse to an old bicycle wrapped in barbed wire in an English field, without food or water, leaving the horse emaciated and covered in lice; fortunately, it has made an “astonishing” recovery since after it was rescued five months ago.

Heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora is accused of headbutting a food delivery rider outside a London restaurant, after the victim refused Chisora’s demands that he dismount instead of riding near the fighter’s kids.

Business is booming for a British man who launched a cargo bike sandwich delivery service last month, saying he just used his bike to deliver a few ham sandwiches, and things took off from there.

 

Competitive Cycling

Thursday’s stage of the Tour de France went to former hour record holder Victor Campenaerts, who came out in front of a three man sprint to the finish, while the race leaders held back for the day.

Road.cc says Tadej Pogačar could have ridden a heavier mid-tier bicycle and still matched the time of second-place finisher Remco Evenepoel over the Galibier.

 

Finally..

That feeling when they won’t let you use the drive-thru, so you ride your bike up to the counter inside, instead. Why settle for single wheel propulsion when you can ride a two-wheel drive ebike?

And why steal one bike, when you can use a fork lift to make off with four at once?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Five-year old Jacob Ramirez dead following Garden Grove DUI hit-and-run; his father and sister remain in comas

July 16, 2024 / / 2 comments

I really didn’t want to write this one.

For over a week now, we’ve followed the story of the Garden Grove family who  were run down by an allegedly drunken hit-and-run driver as the parents rode their bikes, towing their children behind in child trailers.

The crash left the father and two of the kids critically injured, while the mother and their eight-month old baby were hospitalized in stable condition, and released a few days later.

However, the news about their five-year old son, Jacob Ramirez, continued to get worse; by Friday, we learned he had been declared brain dead.

Now KABC-7 is reporting that Jacob has been discontinued from life support.

The crash occurred shortly after 7:30 pm on Sunday, July 7th, on the 12300 block of Haster Street near Twin Tree Lane, when they were apparently run down from behind by Santa Ana resident Ceferino Ascencion Ramos.

Ramos fled the scene, but was arrested shortly later after he was followed by a witness to the crash.

He reportedly had a .22 blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest — nearly three times the .08 legal limit. The station reports he was on his way to buy more beer at an Anaheim liquor store when he slammed into the family.

He has been charged with felony counts of hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, failing to stop at a hit-and-run accident with injury, and driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, with sentencing enhancements for leaving a victim comatose or paralyzed and inflicting great bodily injury.

More charges will be pending now, including a likely murder charge if Ramos has a previous DUI on his record.

It’s also possible that the news could get worse.

The story reports that Jacob’s father, 27-year old Angel Hernandez Mejia and his seven-year old sister remain in comas over a week after the crash.

A crowdfunding campaign for the family has raised over $64,000 of the $100,000 goal, though it’s likely they’ll need a lot more than that before this is over.

This is at least the 29th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County.

It’s also worth noting that reports have indicated none of the family members were wearing bike helmets, which are legally required for children under 18.

However, there’s no way to know whether that would have been enough to prevent their injuries in this collision.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jacob Ramirez and all his family and loved ones. 

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

Woman critical after hit-and-run in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos, and guilty plea in Tracey Gross hit-and-run death

July 15, 2024 / / One comment
Just 169 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

I’m still looking for anyone interested in filling in here after my shoulder surgery next month, whether you’re willing to take over for a day or two a week, or simply submitting a guest post or two. 

Just email me at the address on the About page, above. 

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

A hit-and-run driver left a 60-year old woman with life-threatening injuries in in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood Sunday morning.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding her mountain bike eastbound in the 13100 block of Rancho Peñasquitos Blvd around 8:40 am, when a driver traveling in the same direction swerved into her.

Police are looking for a mid-sized, silver or charcoal gray SUV of an undetermined make. There’s no description of the driver, who was reportedly driving erratically prior to the crash.

The victim suffered injuries including bleeding in the brain, as well as a broken neck.

Anyone with information is urged to call the traffic division of the San Diego Police Department 858/495-7823; or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 888/580-8477.

Hopefully, the victim will recover from her injuries, and they’ll find — and prosecute — the heartless coward who did it to her.

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A 26-year old Riverside man faces sentencing in September after pleading guilty to killing an Oceanside woman.

According to the San Diego County DA’s office, Christian Joshua Howard pled guilty on Thursday to a single felony count of hit-and-run causing death, along with a misdemeanor count of destroying or concealing evidence for the March 17th collision that killed 51-year old Oceanside postal carrier Tracey Gross.

Howard reportedly dragged Gross’ bike two miles underneath his car as he fled the scene, running her down as she rode her bike home after going into work at the post office on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Gross’ family stands just $55 short of the $20,000 goal.

………

It’s now 207 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Chicago letter writer pushes back on a bicyclist’s assertion that people drive aggressively and angrily and are actively hostile to people on bicycles, arguing that from a driver’s and pedestrian’s perspective, bike riders are no different.

Yet another Conservative British city councilmember called for license plates for bicycles to put them on a level playing field with trucks, vans and cars, as if bicyclists somehow pose the same risk to others as motor vehicles; meanwhile, another Conservative councilmember complains that no one will ride a hilly bike route — yet at the same time, warns of anti-social behavior by bike riders on their way down.

A Singapore car columnist argues for bicyclists to have to pay the same road taxes as motorists, insisting that “bicycles are not ‘bigger’ than cars, but some cyclists ride like big idiots.”

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Authorities in Montreal have installed new speed bumps — not for drivers, but to slow down people on bicycles.

Police were called when teenagers were observed riding bikes and smoking week in the aisles of a UK supermarket, searching them and obtaining “their details.”

Police in Dubai confiscated nearly 650 bicycles and e-escooters from lawbreaking bicyclists. Which sounds like a lot, until you consider it’s a country of 3.5 million people. 

………

Local 

Writing for a Santa Clarita paper, a retired LAPD motorcycle cop somehow feels the need to remind bike riders that the law applies to them, too. Funny how no one ever seems to feel the need to remind drivers about that, even though they break the law just as often, with far deadlier consequences.

Long Beach leads the way when it comes to SoCal traffic circles.

 

State

Simi Valley will get a new bike plan, after the city awarded a nearly quarter-million-dollar contract to develop a new plan, including an outreach program featuring at least three community workshops, 10 local events, and web and social media engagement. Although as we’ve learned the hard way here in Los Angeles, even the best plan is only as good as the commitment of city leaders to actually build the damn thing.

 

National

A travel website recommends ten beautiful rail trails across the US that they say you need to ride at least once. None of which are in Los Angeles. Or California, for that matter. 

The author of Seattle Bike Blog rode his ebike 30 miles to Everett, Washington to play night hockey, then rode another 30 miles back home.

A Utah man explains what he’s learned from riding the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail nearly 4,000 miles across the US to raise funds for college scholarships in the state.

A 22-year old Florida woman was killed by a Sarasota County sheriff’s deputy as she was just walking her bicycle across the street, raising the question of why the hell the cop couldn’t manage to avoid her.

 

International

Momentum offers ten ways bicycles “deliver the freedom that cars can only promise.”

A petition urging Toronto food delivery riders to obey the law has drawn less than 300 signatures in two weeks, despite being featured in the city’s main newspaper.

Lila Moss is one of us, as the model daughter of former supermodel Kate Moss went for a bikeshare ebike ride through London.

The head of English foldie-maker Brompton warns that contraction in the bike industry isn’t over, predicting that more bicycle businesses will go belly up this winter.

Velo says famed British designer Paul Smilth has the biggest, best and most extensive collection of bicycle memorabilia you’ll ever see.

Bicyclists in the UK are less satisfied with bike lane design and maintenance, feel less safe, and face more barriers to riding than bicyclists in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

A 26-year old British woman will spend a well-deserved eight years and eight months behind bars for the drunken and stoned hit-and-run that killed a 40-year old bike rider

The best bike routes for your next trip to Andalucía, Spain.

Kim Kardashian is one of us, going for a nearly naked, lightless bikini-clad ride after a nighttime swim in Puglia, Italy.

A writer for The Guardian describes how he found his bliss bicycling along the coast of Estonia. Raise your hand if you didn’t even know Estonia had a coast. 

An Aussie bicycle advocacy group looks to tax receipts from San Francisco’s Valencia Street to argue that bike lanes don’t have a negative effect on local businesses.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar won his second consecutive stage on Sunday over fellow two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard; Pogačar enters today’s rest day with a three minute, nine second lead over his chief rival.

The New York Times says forget the rest of the peloton, the Tour de France is down to a two-man race between Pogačar and Vingegaard, between them winners of the past four Tours.

Slovenia’s Primož Roglič is out of the Tour de France after crashing hard and losing time in stage 12.

Covid is taking a toll in the race, with several riders dropping out, while Geraint Thomas is continuing to race despite the illness, and members of the press face a mask mandate.

The pro cyclists union plans to take legal action against a “fan” who assaulted the race leaders — with potato chips.

An Egyptian cyclist was kicked off the country’s Olympic team following uproar over her selection, despite knocking a competitor off her bike in a sprint.

 

Finally…

Why just ride a bike when you can pedal a canoe across Scotland? Who needs tires when your bike can wear slippers?

And you can see a lot of things riding a bike — like a Patagonian rodent as big as a medium-sized dog, thousands of miles from its normal South American range.

https://www.tiktok.com/@accuweather/video/7388563615881661727?embed_source=121374463%2C121442748%2C121439635%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121351166%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.msn.com%2Fen-us%2Flifestyle%2Fpets%2Fcolorado-resident-out-on-a-bike-ride-stumbles-across-a-rodent-native-to-south-america%2Far-BB1pXIhm&referer_video_id=7388563615881661727

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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