October 17, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on 67-year old Eugene Arayata killed riding bike in rear-end Hesperia collision; 8th SoCal bike rider killed in 10 days
There seems to be no end to the recent carnage on the mean streets of Southern California.
For the eighth time in just ten days, someone was killed by a driver while riding a bike, this time in Hesperia Thursday evening.
The newspaper places the time of the crash at around 5:30 pm on Thursday, October 12th.
Arayata was riding next to the curb when the westbound driver apparently drifted over to the right to strike him, throwing Arayata several feet through the air.
He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where he died sometime later.
The driver, who was not publicly identified, remained at the scene, the windshield of his Lexus shattered.
An earlier story shows the remains of Arayata’s bicycle crumpled in the gutter, a green shopping bag dangling to the street, as a police investigator photographs it.
A nearby resident complained about speeding on Cedar, noting the lack of painted lane markers on the narrow residential street contribute to drivers traveling all over the roadway. However, there is nothing to indicate at this time that the driver was speeding at the time of the crash.
According to family members, Arayata had retired just three months earlier, but continued working to pay property taxes on his home of 20 years, and loved riding his bike around the town.
It’s unclear if he was riding home from work when he was killed.
This is at least the 43rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
Just ten days ago, that total stood at just 35 for the seven county region, exceptionally low for this late in the year.
But SoCal drivers seem to be making up for lost time.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Eugenio R. “Eugene” Arayata and his loved ones.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the victim had lights on their bike, or if the driver of the SUV was distracted. Or if there was some other reason why the driver were apparently unable to see someone on a bicycle directly in front of them.
Anyone with information is urged to call Deputy M. Lee or Deputy R. Castillo at the Victorville Police Station at 760/241-2911.
This is at least the 43rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all their loved ones.
December 15, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on San Diego bike rider gravely injured, waking the two-wheeled giant of LA politics, and biking to school in the rain
Thanks to Michael W and Dan W — no relation — for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
I often ask you to support other people and causes throughout the year. But this is the only time all year I actively ask for your financial support for this site.
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Including bike lanes already been approved by Metro, Los Angeles and/or Caltrans, but never installed.
Even when the cost is nothing more than a few cans of paint.
Recently, there has been a frustratingly continuous drumbeat of planned bikeways being left off of large-scale southern California construction projects.
There are a host of reasons for the omissions. Numerous agencies are involved, though it’s mostly Metro, Caltrans, and L.A. City Public Works Department bureaus. The effect is the same: missed opportunities for interconnected facilities that would move the southland closer to becoming a safe and convenient place to get around by bike.
He goes on to cite a long list of recent projects where previously approved bike lanes were either downgraded or omitted entirely.
From the infamous Northvale Gap in the E Line — nee Expo — bike path, to the upcoming Van Nuys Blvd light rail project, which was supposed to include nine-miles of bike lanes along the rail route, but will now preserve that road space for cars.
And that doesn’t include countless other bike lanes that government officials have already committed to, but which have been unceremoniously shelved, often with little or no fanfare.
Bike riders press to get bikeway facilities included during project planning processes, often to be told that there just isn’t space or funding or staffing or something-or-other for bikeways. Then, even when agencies (often reluctantly) approve bikeways as part of larger plans, they are dropped in full or in part during construction – as if bicycling is just not a valid way to get around, and as if the safety of bicyclists just isn’t quite worth following through on.
The bottom line, though, is that crap like this only happens because we let them get away with it.
Never mind the estimated 786,918 people who ride every summer, or the 1,356,754 who ride sometimes. Let alone the overwhelming majority of people in Los Angeles who say they’d like to ride a bike more, if they only felt safer on the streets.
So let’s wake that sleeping Giant.
We have the perfect opportunity to be heard, and to make a real difference in this city with the upcoming 2022 elections — the first time since 2013 we will be electing someone other than the disappointing, and soon to be disappearing, Garcetti. Not to mention half of the city council, including a number of open and contested seats.
It’s up to us to make enough noise that we can’t be ignored.
And then hold their feet to the fire once they get elected.
………
As George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.”
Which applies perfectly to all those drivers who insist you can’t ride a bike in the rain. Let alone drop off your kids at school.
And to which Streets For All founder Michael Schneider responds with actions, not words.
“But what about when it rains!?” “But I can’t bike I have kids!”
Here’s your chance to ask for bike lanes in Larchmont.
Do you live near Larchmont or go there to shop/play/eat? Take this survey and ask for more outdoor dining, bike lanes, and people space!https://t.co/ZhCacrXlEr
Good to hear from our old friend Opus the Poet, even if the news he shared wasn’t.
There was a YouTube creator hit on an e-bike in a hit and run.
Suspect vehicle was a black SUV of unknown make, model, and year. Victim’s insulin pump was destroyed in the wreck, to give an idea of how violent the wreck was.
It starts around the one minute mark. Unfortunately, while Hartford lives in California, she doesn’t say where the crash happened.
………
The war on cars may be myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Rudick discovers that some Sprouts security guards didn’t get the memo when it comes to letting shoppers into the store with a bicycle. Adding insult to injury, one even told him to get a car.
The founder of Bike Index says OfferUp refuses to do anything to curb scammers, after a man ran off with a San Marcos man’s bike in response to an OfferUp ad, after handing him a bag supposedly full of cash to buy it.
National
A new report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America says the US must build back bike manufacturing in this country if we want the pandemic-induced bike boom to continue; over 97% of bikes sold in the US come from outside the country, with over 86% coming from China alone. Just like virtually every other American industry these days. Thanks again to Keith Johnson.
No bias here. Politico says Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has lost the love of Parisians in her efforts to transform the city into a “green cyclist’s utopia.” Even though she was just re-elected last year after already setting much of the changes in motion.
March 18, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Ex-NBA star Shawn Bradley paralyzed in bike crash, Lime gets colorful, and calls for all bikes to be included in Fed rebate plan
He suffered a traumatic injury to his spinal cord and underwent surgery to fuse vertebra in his neck. There’s no word on where the paralysis starts, but it implies he may be paralyzed from the neck down.
There’s also no word on whether his condition is permanent. Doctors predict an extremely difficult recovery, while the eight week delay in announcing the injury suggests he may have waited in vain for signs of improvement before going public.
And there’s no mention made of the driver, or whether any charges will be filed.
But as many people have commented on social media, it would have been very hard not to see a seven and a half foot man on a bicycle directly in front of his or her car.
Bradley now plans to use his injury to promote bicycle safety.
And yes, this is exactly the cost of traffic violence.
Thanks to Opus the Poet and Anthony D. Morrow for the heads-up.
………
Lime is unveiling colorful, new and improved e-scooters in the City of Angels.
The new Lime scooter features upgrades that make it slightly heavier than the current G2.5 fleet, leading to more stability and durability during rides. Larger wheels and improved suspension lend to a smoother ride, particularly when riding over bumps. The upgraded battery can support up to 18.6 miles on a single charge, versus 14 miles with the older fleet. Other features include:
Dynamic brake on front wheel and drum brake on rear wheel
Bicycle-style brake lever on handle bars
Motor lock on front wheel when not in use
Bluetooth-enabled locking cable that can be attached
Folding kickstand, optimized for stability
The company also wants to give you a deal to check it out.
To help riders get acclimated to its new scooter fleet, Lime is running a promotion for those who spot one of the first scooters to be deployed this week. From today until Wednesday, March 24th, if riders in LA share a photo of the new scooter design on social media with #LimeisRedLA, Lime will provide the rider a promocode for a free unlock.
Because regular bikes offer exactly the same social and economic benefits as ebikes, with less damage to the environment from power generation and discarded batteries.
Although more ebikes still represents a massive improvement compared to motor vehicles.
………
This is what can be done with a little imagination.
Better late than never. Livermore police have belatedly decided that a fallen bike rider wasn’t at fault after all when she was fatally right hooked by a truck driver, who fled the scene following the crash; they had originally blamed her for riding in the crosswalk, which is perfectly legal under California law.
Kindhearted cops in Walla Walla, Washington gave a new bike to a high school student who needed transportation to get to his job; the Walla Walla Area Crime Watch has donated 180 bicycles to people in need in the last six years. And yes, it’s entirely possible that I included this item just for the chance to keep repeating Walla Walla.
Road.ccoffers advice on how to buy a bike cam, and recommends their picks to record your rides. Seriously, a cam mounted to your bike or helmet is the best legal protection if anything happens when you’re riding — and the best way to keep from getting blamed for it.
The helmetless victim, who has been identified only as a 32-year old man, died at the scene.
A CHP spokesman said the eastbound driver, a 48-year man from El Cajon, somehow drifted to the right, striking the victim’s bike at around 45 mph and hurling him to the roadway.
The driver remained at the scene; police don’t believe drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash. However, there’s no word on whether the driver’s phone was examined for evidence of distracted driving.
There’s also no word on whether the victim suffered a head injury; if not, it really doesn’t matter whether or not he had a helmet. And a crash at that speed was likely not survivable, with or without one.
This is at least the eighth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
There’s no word on whether the victim had lights on his bike two hours before sunrise, or if there was some other reason why the driver failed to see a grown man on a bicycle directly in front of him.
Sheriff’s deputies say the driver did not appear to be under the influence, and speed did not appear to be a factor.
Which is only partially correct; speed is always a factor in a fatal crash, even if the driver was not exceeding the posted speed limit; slower speeds make collisions both more avoidable and more survivable.
Anyone with information is urged to call Lancaster Sheriff’s Station traffic investigators at 661/948-8466.
This is at least the 42nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
It should be safe to ride a bike on the shoulder of a roadway in broad daylight.
But that wasn’t the case yesterday morning, when a man was killed while riding his bike next to Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.
According to Z107.7 News, 52-year old David DelorissesRodriguez was riding on the eastbound shoulder just east of Prescott Ave when he was rear-ended by a driver around 10:31 am.
Rodriguez was taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree in full cardiac arrest, where he died of his injuries.
The driver remained at the scene.
A street view shows a 4-lane desert highway with a crumbling paved shoulder. The roadway has a 50 mph speed limit; California drivers typically exceed such limits by 10 to 15 mph.
This is the 50th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in San Bernardino County. That compares to 61 in SoCal this time last year, and seven in the county.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for David DelorissesRodriguez and all his loved ones.
Not women on adult tricycles. Or the dogs they carry with them.
That’s exactly what happened last night in Garden Grove, as suspected DUI driver killed a cyclist, and her little dog, too.
According to the Orange County Register, a woman believed to be in her 50s was riding her adult tricycle eastbound on Chapman Ave near Faye Ave, carrying a small dog in the bike’s basket, when she was struck from behind by a pickup around 9:45 pm.
One of the Register’s photos from the scene shows damage to the hood of the truck, suggesting she was thrown onto it by the force of the impact, while KTLA-5 says the dog was thrown several feet away, still inside the basket.
No word on whether she was using lights or reflectors after dark.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene; she has not been publicly identified. Her dog died later at an Orange County Animal Services clinic.
The driver, 58-year old Rita Faye McLaughlin of Santa Ana, remained at the scene, and was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI after failing a field sobriety test.
Anyone with information is urge to call the Garden Grove Police at 714/741-5800.
This is the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Orange County; that compares with 10 in the county this time last year. It’s the first bicycling death in Garden Grove since November, 2012.
A rare three-week stretch without a SoCal cycling fatality was broken last night, when a Laguna Hills cyclist was killed while riding in Garden Grove.
According to the Orange County Register, 47-year old Brian Winfrey was riding on the right shoulder of Euclid Road near Wakefield Ave around 7 pm Monday when he was rear-ended by a white Honda CRV traveling south on Euclid. Winfrey was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
The paper reports that the 48-year old driver, who has not been publicly identified, remained at the scene. No arrest was made, and no citations have been issued; drug or alcohol use is not suspected.
Which raises the question of why the driver would not have seen and reacted to an adult cyclist wearing a bright yellow reflective vest, who should have been clearly visible and out of the way of traffic.
Hopefully, authorities will check her phone records to ensure she wasn’t driving distracted at the time of the collision.
Anyone with information is urged to call Garden Grove traffic Jason Perkins at 714/741-5823.
This is the 68th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th in Orange County; in addition, six other riders have been fatality shot this year, two in OC.
Remarkably, it’s just the second SoCal cycling fatality this month, and the first since 20-year old Jeremy Kidder was killed in Buena Park on November 5th.
