Traffic fatalities in Long Beach have more than doubled in the ten years since the city vowed to eliminate traffic deaths within a decade, rising to the highest level in the last ten years.
That corresponds with the City of Los Angeles, which adopted a Vision Zero program that promised to end traffic deaths by last year.
And you know how that worked out.
Now LA’s Vision Zero is a forgotten program, trotted out only when the city wants to assure us that they are really, truly doing something to reduce traffic violence, without actually holding themselves accountable for it.
Like Los Angeles, most of Long Beach’s traffic deaths have been inflicted on people who weren’t encased in a couple tons of steel and glass.
According to the Long Beach Post story in the above link,
Their greatest toll has been on people outside of cars. Last year, 32 people were killed while walking, biking or riding an e-scooter. That eclipses the number of people murdered here last year: 29.
At least in LA, it’s only the total number of traffic deaths that exceeds the city’s murders.
Including a rather underwhelming, if not pathetic, total of 31 lane miles of new bikeways installed during the last fiscal year. Which includes 1.3 lane miles of sharrows, which studies have shown are literally worse than nothing.
According to the judge, the law in Idaho defines a bicycle as a “human-powered” vehicle, and it wasn’t clear to his or her honor if an ebike is actually human powered.
And that’s the problem. Some ebikes are human powered with an electrical assist, while others are strictly throttle controlled, or a combination thereof.
So defining an ebike as human powered could be the solution to the current dilemma of cities cracking down on ped-assist ebike riders for the problems caused by people on electric motorbikes and dirt bikes.
Now Marvin forwards word that Trumed will be the source you’ll have to use.
He adds,
The reason I really like this is because it supports the middle class. if I was poor, I could get help purchasing an e-bike. If I was rich, I could get help purchasing an EV. Finally, with FSA/HSA benefits, I can finally qualify for something that helps me.
The only downside I see is that no one can establish a new or add to an existing FSA/HSA until Nov 2026.
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Streets Are For Everyone will hold a die-in on the steps of City Hall this Saturday to protest the unacceptable level of traffic violence in this city.
In 2025 alone, 286 people were killed on our streets — deaths that were preventable.
This Saturday, SAFE and partner nonprofits will gather to honor lives lost and demand action after a decade-old City pledge to eliminate traffic deaths was missed.
Next City says Victoria, British Columbia is one of the best bike cities not traditionally known for it, after tripling its rate of bicycling in just 11 years. Although they can’t seem to spell Victoria correctly. Or British, for that matter.
A Scotsman resigned from the rat race, quitting his high-stress job as a communications director for a renewable energy company for a much calmer career fixing bicycles. As I know all too well after a career in advertising, the problem with the rat race is the rats usually win.
The program, which charges $9 a car for each trip into the city’s Central Business District, has raised $700 million in tolls in its first year. The money has gone to support transit, including upgrades to subway lines and station, as well as Metro bus lines.
At the same time, vehicle entries into the district have dropped, although the void was quickly filled by ride-hailing vehicles. Foot traffic is up. Pollution levels have dropped across all five boroughs, bus speeds have increased slightly, and both collisions and traffic injuries dropped.
Before the first-in-the-nation plan went into effect on Jan. 5, 2025, proponents promised that the policy would bring entrenched Manhattan gridlock to heel, while foes predicted far-reaching economic and environmental harm. Gov. Kathy Hochul, fearing electoral consequences, delayed its implementation. The then-incoming Trump administration promised to kill the program in the crib…
Those same benefits could accrue right here in Los Angeles, including the possibility of free transit, if Metro hadn’t backed down on this city’s congestion pricing proposal.
Instead, we did what LA does best, conducting yet another study instead of actually doing anything.
Maybe someone can explain why it takes seven full years to conduct one damn study.
But even then, if and when they actually complete the study, does anyone really believe the spineless Metro board will somehow find the courage to stand up to LA’s infamous angry drivers.
And if you thought the whole Playa del Rey road diet fiasco pissed local drivers off, just wait until they have to pay a toll to enter certain parts of the city or use specific roadways.
Some may dismiss Vision Zero as being uniquely achievable in Europe given different cultures. But here in the U.S., Hoboken, New Jersey — a city of almost 60,000 with a Vision Zero approach — has recently had a seven-year streak with literally zero traffic fatalities.
And Hoboken is no outlier; many U.S. jurisdictions have adopted Vision Zero policies. Napa County happens to be one of them. But as noted in a recent Washington Post investigation, Vision Zero policies are meaningless without moral commitment to making human life paramount and without commensurate political and economic investment in proven life-saving infrastructure and systems.
Which is exactly why it failed so miserably here in Los Angeles, where traffic deaths are higher now than they ten eleven years ago when it became official city policy.
The boy was found dumped at the bottom of a steep Missouri ravine, a day after he had disappeared while riding his bike to a neighbor’s home half an hour away in Kansas.
An autopsy showed he had died of dog bites.
The suspect faces a charge of abandoning a corpse in Missouri, and interfering with law enforcement, criminal desecration, and allowing a vicious dog to run at large in Kansas.
Sadly, it’s not hard to read between the lines.
Especially if you’ve ever been chased by an angry dog.
Let alone caught by one.
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Rush hour looks a little different in the Netherlands.
And not just because of the snow.
The Utrecht morning rush hour in the snow did not disappoint!
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Yesterday, we mentioned that London bike riders caught running red lights will have the option of paying the equivalent of a $67 fine or watching a video of a bike rider getting hit by a bus after jumping one; today we learned that the video is of a woman who voluntarily agreed to share it as a warning to others.
Still more sad news comes from Vallejo, where a man was killed when he somehow lost control and crashed his bicycle; police said there didn’t appear to be any other vehicles involved. Although there’s all kinds of things that can make someone lose control of a bike, from potholes and loose gravel to a too-close pass from a distracted driver.
A writer for Bike Radar lists ten things he wished he know when he started riding, so you can avoid making the same mistakes. Although in retrospect, I wish I’d skipped the carbon bike and stuck with steel if I couldn’t afford Ti.
A 27-year old Aussie man is suing the former premier of Victoria province for defamation, as well as ongoing injuries, a dozen years after he was struck by the ex-premier’s wife while riding a bike; she claimed he crashed into her car after she came to a complete stop, which seems kinda unbelievable given the extent of his injuries and the damage to her windshield.
Thanks to Ed for his generous support to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!
But time is quickly running out, with just three two short days left to give.
So what the hell are you waiting for?
Just stop what you’re doing, and donate right now with just a few clicks through PayPal or Venmo, or via Zelle to ted@bikinginla.com using the banking app on your smartphone.
Although his marksmanship left something to be desired, thankfully.
According to Road.cc,
The shocking attack – which miraculous resulted in no injuries – took place as members of the S.C. Padovani Polo Cherry Bank team, which races in cycling’s Continental third tier, were training on the SS12 road just outside Dolcè, near Lake Garda in northern Italy on Saturday morning, as part of their pre-Christmas training camp.
Footage of the incident, shared by the team on social media, shows a BMW driver pull up alongside the seven riders as they navigate the twisting road, located in Italy’s Val d’Adige district.
According to the squad, the motorist then rolled down his window and produced a gun, before firing two shots at the cyclists. In the footage, one of the riders can be seen ducking as a shot appears to be fired. The motorist then drives off into the distance.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to embed the video, so you’ll have to click through to see it.
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Not quite on the same level, but still demonstrating an extreme degree of assholery, is this post Megan forwarded from Mastadon, with some jerk blowing his vape pollution directly into the face of a ‘cross racer.
We’ve gone from open city data under former Mayor Eric Garcetti, to a near total statistical blackout under Mayor Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
The dearth of data hinders transparency, and means members of the public have no real sense of how well crime suppression is working at the neighborhood level. They have no idea, for example, if their neighborhood is experiencing a month to month or year to year rise in burglaries or car break-ins, information they could use to demand action from their senior lead officer or help from their local council office.
It’s not just crime, either — the LAPD’s traffic collision dataset stopped updating earlier this year. While Crosstown was previously able to break down traffic deaths by neighborhood — downtown, Sun Valley and Manchester Square topped the list of fatalities in 2023 — now that can’t happen.
This is problematic in a city where vehicular deaths exceed homicides, and as Golden State just noted, the Vision Zero effort to eliminate auto-related fatalities has been an abject failure. With functioning data we could detail which neighborhoods record the most pedestrians struck, or where the highest number of DUIs occur.
Not only is it impossible to break down traffic deaths by neighborhood, we now have no idea how many people have been killed on our streets, regardless of whether they were walking, biking or driving.
Vision Zero has long been a punchline in this city. But it’s even more ridiculous, and worthless, when city officials can’t or won’t tell us what’s happening on our own streets.
It’s worth giving the whole story a read.
Even if they’re a lot more forgiving than I am, assuming the problem stems from a switch in data systems, rather than a deliberate attempt to keep us in the dark.
Because every driver is a bad driver sometimes. And some drivers are bad drivers all the time.
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As we’ve said before, we’re not the only ones trying to raise funds before the year end, although we are the only one shamelessly exploiting a cute spokescorgi to do it.
For as little as the price of a latte each month, Giving Gears donors help BikeLA keep pushing for safer streets, stronger policies, and more equitable bike access—no matter what’s happening in Washington. ☕ Become a supporter:https://t.co/AdS2rbLV3spic.twitter.com/CrP5G4il3B
No bias here. Residents of a London borough are calling for a total ban on bikes in local parks, after a man had his ticket for exceeding the 12 mph speed limit in the park rescinded by pointing out that a) the limit is too low, b) the limit isn’t posted, and c) most bicycles don’t come with speedometers; again, riders point out that the problem isn’t people on bicycles, but the ones riding illegal electric motorbikes.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A tiny Spanish village — population around 1,000 — stopped so many people for riding the wrong way in city alleys after a Christmas market blocked the main street that they had to call in reinforcements to write tickets for lines reaching 30 or more scofflaw salmon cyclists.
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Local
Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition takes a deep dive into refuting the “big lie about bikes,” aka BLAB, t,o wit “Most people don’t want to ride bikes! If we built a safe bike network, no one will use it.” Something that is demonstrably false.
This is who we share the road with. A post office in San Diego’s Mira Mesa neighborhood was the victim of an 81-year old driver when the woman slammed her car into it for some unknown reason; several people suffered minor injuries, while one person was hospitalized. Which should once again raise the question of how old is too old to drive, but probably won’t.
The DMV has wide latitude to take dangerous drivers off the road. But it routinely allows drivers with extreme histories of dangerous driving to continue to operate on our roadways, where many go on to kill.
Speeding is one of the biggest causes of fatal crashes. For two years in a row, bills that would have required the use of speed-limiting technology on vehicles have failed. Newsom vetoed one of them.
California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the nation. Here, DUI-related deaths have been rising more than twice as fast as the rest of the country. But this fall, a state bill to strengthen DUI penalties was gutted at the last minute.
Because despite Vision Zero laws throughout the state, things have only gotten worse. And they will continue to, until we finally see some long overdue major action.
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Tiny City of Industry, which true to its name is home to far more business and warehouses than its 264 residents, is building an ambitious ten-mile long bike path spanning the entire city.
The project will begin with a 1.5-mile bike path located between bike and pedestrian unfriendly Valley Blvd and the adjacent railroad tracks, a kind of project termed “rail-with-trail.”
Burbank Bike Angels held their annual display at Burbank City Hall to show off dozens of newly refurbished bicycles that will be donated to local nonprofits to distribute to children in need in time for the holidays; the project has donated more than 3,200 bicycles since it’s 2008 founding.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. The UK’s Ministry of Defense is defending itself against accusations of pettiness for fencing off a lousy 50-foot section of pathway in Fife, Scotland, blocking completion of new path for kids walking and biking to school. After all, you never know when one of those seven-year olds could be spying for the reds.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, who don’t suspect drug or alcohol use played a role in crash.
There’s no information at this time on how the collision occurred, or if the victim was wearing a helmet. This is one of the few times when that might have mattered, since we know he suffered a head injury, although we don’t know if that was his cause of death.
Anyone with information is urged to call Traffic Investigator Gomez of the Oceanside Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team at 760/435-4952.
This is at least the 54th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Day 317 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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KNBC-4 reported late last night that someone riding a bicycle was killed by a motorcyclist in a South LA hit-and-run.
According to the station, the crash happened around 7:30 pm at Vernon and Stanford.
Unfortunately, the story hasn’t been posted online, and that’s all we know right now. Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
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About damn time.
Calbike says there’s no time to waste to reach out to your Los Angeles County Supervisor, and demand completion of the LA River Bike Path by 2028.
Don’t let Metro miss our last chance to finish the LA River bike path by 2028.
LA Metro has approximately $400 million to complete the LA River bike path through central Los Angeles. Approved by voters in 2016 as part of Measure M, the funding is more than enough to build an in-channel path in the entire 8-mile gap from Arroyo Seco to Vernon. If completed by 2028 as predicted in Metro’s original schedule, the LA River bike path will connect Olympic venues as part of the Festival Trail and provide safe and affordable transportation to the residents who need it most. It will be transformative.
Unfortunately, LA Metro has only considered “above channel” versions of the path that cost $1.1 billion, $700 million more than is available. They have not identified additional funding and have said in public meetings they will not deliver the path by the summer of 2028.
You can change that by helping to get Metro to approve the following two decisions.
Adopt the in-channel design that can be built with available funds. Except for a few weeks each year in the rainy season, it would give Angelenos an amazing river-level experience and a transportation facility that is especially valuable to low-income residents.
Create a Joint Powers Authority dedicated solely to delivering the project by 2028. Independent agencies focused exclusively on specific projects with the power to build and maintain the infrastructure are proven nationwide to expedite construction.
The Metro Board has only one more meeting in 2025. There is no time to waste. Right now, contact your Los Angeles County Supervisor, in their capacity as an LA Metro Board member, and ask them to support the change to an in-channel design and create a Joint Powers Authority.
The AP kindly listed exactly the reasons for that, in bite-sized, easy to digest chunks.
California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country, allowing repeat drunk and drugged drivers to stay on the road with little punishment.
The state gives repeat drunk drivers their licenses back faster than other states.
Even when the state does take their license, many drivers stay on the road for years — racking up more tickets or new DUIs — with few consequences until they eventually kill.
Courts and lawmakers don’t treat DUI deaths as violent crimes.
California has fallen behind on a simple solution embraced by many other states: in-car breathalyzers.
Despite the mounting death toll, state leaders have shown little willingness to address the issue.
Which goes a long way towards explaining why people keep dying on our streets.
And why every Vision Zero program enacted in the state has failed.
Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette reminds us about the need to maximize your uninsured motorist coverage on your car insurance, to ensure you’re protected if you’re injured by a driver with the minimal coverage mandated by the state.
Ted, Im so tired of seeing the bicyclist victims going uncompensated in bad crashes.
I now have a couple of said cases. I also reviewed another case, after a hit & run. Low insurance limits again. It’s just not that much more money if you’re bicycling the mean streets to buy big limits of UM/UIM coverage. But I know money is tight for many I get it. But a while ago, I read an article in the WSJ that said 4.9 Million Motorists are either Uninsured or Underinsured in CA.
The Eastsider says plans are starting to come into focus for a $10.5 million Complete Streets remake of Huntington Drive through El Sereno, including dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lanes, with two traffic lanes in each direction, a thin median, and wider sidewalks.
State
A writer on the San Francisco Peninsula makes the case for why ebike bans are unenforceable, from federal regulations to the fact that there’s nothing to prevent anyone from claiming their ebike is a mobility device.
A 29-year old man is suing Salt Lake City and a local cop, accusing the officer of a blindside tackle during a popular bike ride, resulting in torn ligaments in both knees; the cop accused him of fleeing after he told a group of riders he was going to cite them for traffic violations, but the plaintiff says he didn’t think the officer was talking to him, and simply rode off when the light changed.
If you build it, they will come. Bicycling rates in Paris have doubled in just the last year, thanks to the city’s commitment to building new bicycling infrastructure, and is continuing to trend upward.
November 12, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Judge dismisses bid to drop PCH murder counts; and felony hit-and-run charges in crash that injured CD5 staffer, killed dog
Day 316 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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I somehow neglected to wish a happy Veterans Day yesterday to all those who have served this county. So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
LA County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson ruled that Bohm knew, or should have known, that driving more than 100 mph “had a high degree of probability of causing death.”
Partly because Bohm had told police investigators after the crash that two of his friends had died in high-speed crashes.
Data from his car’s airbags showed he was doing 104 mph when he lost control of his BMW on the bend known locally as Dead Man’s Curve, crashing into three parked cars and slamming them into the four young women as they walked on the shoulder of the road.
Just four more victims of SoCal’s killer highway.
Rubinson also rejected Bohm’s defense that he was fleeing from a road raging driver, saying there was no evidence of a second car chasing him. Something that would have logically shown up on at least one of the many security cams along the celebrity-studded street.
According to the story from the Los Angeles Times, the murder charges were “based on the concept of implied malice, suggesting a conscious disregard for human life.”
The ruling means there’s enough evidence to proceed to trial on all four counts of murder and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
Twentynine-year old Koreatown resident Ana Larasalguero turned herself into police hours after the 8:30 am crash on Sunday, October 5th, as Tran and her dog were crossing were crossing Eight Street at Cloverdale Ave.
Larasalguero was charged with felony counts of hit and run driving resulting in injury to another person, and cruelty to an animal. As was the passenger in her car, Josue Santiago, her longtime boyfriend, who allegedly switched places with Larasalguero and fled the scene after the crash.
The Beverly Press also reports that Tran is already back at work, despite her injuries.
Tran, who serves as Yaroslavsky’s business development deputy, was taken to a hospital after the collision with multiple fractures. Yaroslavsky’s spokesman Leo Daube said on Nov. 5 Tran has returned to work.
“Thao is recovering well from her physical injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. But this accident has undoubtedly changed her life forever,” Daube said. “She’s focused on healing and moving forward, and our office is supporting her in every way we can.”
Sheesh. As a math guy who went to law school and who has studied crash/death numbers for some decades now this really drives me crazy. This looks like a law firm trolling for “bike” cases that took some random advice from a web site development firm that said “we’ll create some clever, catchy click bait for you…”
Yes, FL is the worst- I agree 100% with that assessment.
How do you assess “risk” or “danger” though?
FL is a “big” state but… if you look at the “rate” of fatal bike crashes… the number of deaths per, say 100,000 people, you get a better gauge of “safety”
FL had a total of almost 3,400 TOTAL traffic deaths and 234 BIKE deaths, which was 6.9% of all the traffic deaths… that’s a HIGH figure as the national average is 2.9%, which is UP from the 2.0% or so that was norm prior to 2009.
FL’s “rate” of Fatal Bicycle Crashes is also high – 1.03 deaths per 100,000 people.
That’s the WORST in the US, by far.
Because of smaller numbers of people it is “easier” for a smaller state to have a bad number in a bad year. Maine, for example, had 0 bike deaths in 2023. IF they suddenly had 2 their rate would be significant.
FL had 234 deaths with a total population of 22+M
Compare OH, which had 22 deaths with a population of 11.7M.
So Ohio has slightly more than half the population of FL but only 10% of the number of cycling deaths!
One could argue that OH is 10x “safer” or FL is 10x more “dangerous” than OH… or you are 10x more likely to be killed in FL than if you ride in OH
So yea, FL leads the league
Also, if you look at the Big 3 – FL, CA, TX – you see that 234+145+106 =485 deaths. These 3 states have 485/1166=0.416 or 42% of ALL US Cycling deaths.
BUT
When you look at RATES
FL – 1.03 per 100K
CA – 0.37 per 100K
TX – 0.35 per 100K
US Average is 0.35 people killed on bikes per 100K population so CA and TX are pretty much “average” compared other states but FL is WAY out of whack.
Ohio is, by contrast, well below the national average with a “rate” of 0.19
Steve Magas
This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said that if you ever need a good bike lawyer in the Midwest, tell Magas I sent you.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A British cycling coach says he was shocked at the hatred he encountered after posting video of a near-collateral damage crash, when a driver skidded out of control following a three-car crash, missing him and another rider by mere inches — yet somehow, some people still blamed them for it.
Sad news from Fullerton, where 19-year old Lauren Turner, a member of the Cal State Fullerton women’s soccer team, died six weeks after she and a teammate suffered life-threatening injuries when a truck driver struck the e-scooter they were sharing. Although maybe someone could tell the OC Register that the box truck that hit them probably had a driver.
October 28, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Tell LADOT to build the Ohio Ave protected bike lanes HLA demands, and keep traffic violence from ruining your Halloween
Day 301 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
As someone who used to ride that stretch of Ohio several times a week, I can attest it would be a huge improvement over the current situation, which varies from wholly inadequate painted bike lanes to nothing.
Unless they’ve added sharrows to Ohio in the years since I stopped riding there, which studies show are literally worse than nothing.
Tell LADOT to add protected bike lanes on Ohio Ave!
LADOT’s Ohio Ave Safety and Mobility Project looks to reimagine Ohio Ave between Westwood and Westgate, as well as surrounding streets, to provide better connectivity between UCLA and areas West of the 405.
The Mobility Plan 2035 – now required under Measure HLA – mandates protected bike lanes between Federal and Westwood. Unfortunately, due to lack of political will, there are no planned bike facilities on Westgate, Rochester, Saltair, or Texas.
Take their survey and ask for protected bike lanes for the entire stretch
Which is something to remember before you get behind the wheel this Friday. Or better yet, a damn good reason not to.
Walk or ride a bike if you can, take transit if you can’t. Or at least try to get home before all the little rugrats hit the pavement just before or after dark.
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The open streets event Active Streets: Corazón del Valle rolls this Sunday, transforming five miles of El Monte and South El Monte streets into a vibrant community space, just in time for Dia de los Muertos.
Thanks to Megan for forwarding this story of a family’s fight to keep their rail bike business going, which she says is a way to preserve rail corridors for future transit use.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Pasadena was set to adopt a Vision Zero plan in all but name at yesterday’s city council meeting, pledging to eliminate traffic deaths and significantly reduce serious injuries by 2035. Let’s just hope they take it more seriously than a certain nearby megalopolis we could name, which only managed to make things worse in a decade of neglect.
Sad news from Bakersfield, where a man riding a bicycle was killed Saturday afternoon when he was run down from behind by a 32-year old woman, who tried to take evasive action after she “suddenly noticed” him while traveling up to 50 mph. Even though a grown man riding a bicycle in broad daylight should have been pretty easy to spot.
Horrible news from San Luis Obispo, where the Executive Director of Bike SLO County has been charged with a single count of a lewd act upon a child, with the victim reportedly under the age of ten; he’s pled not guilty. Let’s hope it’s just a misunderstanding, because there’s not a pit in hell deep enough if he actually did it.
A Seattle bicyclist has launched what he calls a AAA service for ebikes, promising to come to your rescue if you get stranded on your ebike; however, it currently only serves the Seattle area. Although it sounds like reinventing the wheel, since the Better World Club and some regional AAA clubs have done that for years with conventional bikes, and probably now with ebikes, as well.
Close, but no cigar. A Colorado Springs, Colorado TV station repeatedly gets it wrong, saying that bikes aren’t allowed on most streets with a few exceptions, then saying they are — but apparently meant to say it’s only legal to ride on the sidewalk on a handful of streets. I’d say the story was written by AI, but most AI systems would have done a much better job.
Denver opens their final round of ebike rebates for this year, offering qualified residents vouchers up to $950, which can be combined with a state tax rebate of $450. That compares favorably to California’s one successful round of ebike rebates, period.
Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene on foot.
Witnesses described the driver passing other vehicles on the wrong side of the road at a very high rate of speed, and repeatedly going on and off the sidewalk before the crash.
So the question remains whether this was “merely” a very dangerous driver who lost control of his car, or someone acting with murderous intent.
We may never know, unless and until the driver is caught.
But either way, it’s a prime example of what happens when a high-powered, lightly regulated machine is in the wrong hands.
By lightly regulated, I mean anyone can buy — or steal — one. And almost anyone can get a license to operate one, which is too easy to get, and too hard to lose.
And there’s nothing to stop you from continuing to drive, even if you do.
The project includes pavement rehabilitation, new bus priority lanes, and accessibility improvements across three major sections:
West Los Angeles: Santa Monica Boulevard between Centinela Avenue and the I-405 freeway.
Hollywood: Santa Monica Boulevard between La Brea Avenue and the U.S. 101.
Echo Park: Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard between the U.S. 101 on- and off-ramps and the SR-2 terminus.
What’s missing is any mention of bike lanes.
And while bikes are legally allowed to use bus lanes in Los Angeles, that’s not the same as providing a separate lane for bikes, which would seem to be necessitated by state and agency rules requiring them to consider the needs of all road users in any work on state highways.
There’s no actual law requiring Caltrans to build Complete Streets, after a bill to do just that failed in the legislature.
But it’s hard to argue that any work that excludes bike lanes on any portion of the Santa Monica Blvd/SR2 corridor in the City of Los Angeles has reasonably considered the needs of everyone.
Cyclists face severe injury and death risks in both urban and rural settings. A safe system approach recognizes human vulnerability and the inevitability of mistakes. Engineering countermeasures, such as road separation, better lighting in rural areas, traffic calming, and vehicle safety features (i.e., guard rails, advanced headlights, and cyclist detection), support CMVC prevention. Public health campaigns and legislative action, along with equitable implementation across urban and rural areas, facilitate improving cyclists’ safety.
The study also notes that of the 83 people killed riding bikes, excluding children, head trauma was the most common injury across all age groups, and 62% of the victims weren’t wearing helmets.
However, they don’t say whether the victims actually died of head injuries, and whether the injuries could have been survivable, with or without one.
Until we know that, we still won’t know the true value or necessity of bike helmets.
The un-cleverly named Long Beach “E-BIKES” law (Electric Bicycle Interventions to Keep Everyone Safe) proposal cites a non-existent gap in state and federal regulations requiring the city to step in.
Except ped-assist and other relatively low-speed ebikes are required to follow the same rules as any other bicycles, while faster ebike riders must follow rules for mo-peds or motorbikes, depending on their speeds.
And off-road dirt bikes aren’t legally allowed to ride on city streets, regardless of how they’re powered.
So if there’s a gap there, I can’t see it.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has placed a bet on the Dodgers to win the World Series that will require her to ride a bike if they don’t.
Although any baseball fan can tell you that could be a negative figure, since the losing team could have a high margin in the games they win, and a have a close score in the ones they lose.
But it’s almost enough to make you pull for the Blue Jays, just to actually see Bass on a bike.
Almost.
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Thanks to Jim for forwarding a reminder that you can now legally ride your bicycle through a red light on the leading pedestrian interval.
And yes, that includes all-way stops.
California vehicle code allows bikes to ride through an intersection when the pedestrian signal says “walk…”
SEC. 3.
Section 21456 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:
21456.
(a) If a pedestrian control signal showing the words “WALK” or “WAIT” or “DON’T WALK” or other approved symbol is in place, the signal shall indicate as follows:
(1) A “WALK” or approved “Walking Person” symbol means a pedestrian facing the signal may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal, but shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully within the intersection at the time that signal is first shown. Except as otherwise directed by a bicycle control signal described in Section 21456.3, the operator of a bicycle facing a pedestrian control signal displaying a “WALK” or approved “Walking Person” symbol may proceed across the roadway in the direction of the signal, but shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicles or pedestrians lawfully within the intersection.
………
Megan forwards a video from British TV with this description.
Actor, writer, director Richard Ayoade is now so known for riding a Brompton (he rides it to the local London studio filmings he works on), that the most recent episode of The Last Leg is the SECOND time a show has “stolen” his Brompton as a bit of comedy for the show.
When they give it back to him on show, he actually unfolds it on camera, and rides off. The audience applauds the quick unfolding.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An 84-year old Simi Valley man suffered life-threatening injuries when he allegedly swerved his ebike into the side of a car, and was thrown off; police note that he wasn’t wearing a helmet, without saying whether he suffered a head injury. Because we all know the driver couldn’t possibly swerved into his bike, especially if they were the only witness. Although you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall if you want to read it.
That’s how you do it. Seattle took a dilapidated roadway uncomfortably shared by truckers and bicyclists, and turned it into a three-lane road rebuilt to carry up to 80,000 pounds, and a beautiful new, fully separated bike path with a wide median in between. Although there’s still a damn freeway on the other side, so there’s that.
A North Carolina teenager was collateral damage in a crash between a drunk driver and a 19-year old driver, which left the 19-year old with multiple serious injuries and killed a 14-year old bike rider; the drunk who caused it all was a mere 16-years old, with a 1.1 BAC.
Hundreds of Georgia residents turned out Saturday for a memorial ride to remember a 51-year old father of four who was killed by an accused drunk driver while riding his bike the previous weekend. If we could get that many people to show up for any victim of traffic violence, things might actually change around here.
October 17, 2025 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on The most dangerous intersections in deadly LA, injured Yaroslovsky staffer ID’d, and remembering Pepperdine PCH victims
Day 290 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
Particularly now that city officials longer seem to think we need to know such things.
Maybe because it points to what a colossal, stinking mound of crap they’ve given us when it comes to improving traffic safety here in the City of Angels.
Take Vision Zero, for instance.
Please.
In 2015, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti used an executive order to launch “Vision Zero,” an initiative designed to dramatically reduce traffic deaths through a wide-ranging set of proposed improvements to road design, education and more. Despite the aim of eliminating traffic deaths by 2025, road safety took a turn for the worse. This spring, the city released a lengthy audit of what went wrong.
Among the causes: Only half of the listed “actions” were ever completed. The plan lacked a program for accountability among city departments. There was poor coordination and diminishing participation from the LAPD’s traffic division.
In fact, traffic deaths have exceeded murders for the past three years. And already exceed the totals from 2015, with two full months to go.
The same with serious injury crashes, which have topped 1,500 for three years running, and likely will again.
The worst of the worst, though, is the notorious intersection of South Figueroa and Slauson.
Where South Figueroa crosses Slauson Avenue, bad things happen. Over the past four years, the intersection has been the scene of 17 felony hit-and-run collisions and five severe injuries. The crosswalks aren’t safe, either: seven pedestrians have been struck there.
All told, there were 66 serious collisions at the intersection, which is in the Vermont Slauson neighborhood in South Los Angeles, making it the most dangerous in the entire city during that period.
Then again, the rest of the South Figueroa corridor isn’t much better, with the intersections at Manchester, Florence and Gage also making the list.
Sepulveda makes the list three times, as does Western. Roscoe appears twice in just the top four, where it crosses Sepulveda and at Van Nuys.
Surprisingly, Sunset is only on there twice, where it crosses Highland, and a few blocks east at La Brea.
And Hollywood and Highland checks in a number 11. Which means it evidently wasn’t fixed in 2015 when all-way crossing was installed, after all.
So much for assurances from city officials.
Pedestrian deaths have exceeded the pre-Vision Zero totals for every single year after 2015, as have serious injuries and total traffic deaths.
Unfortunately, the stats don’t break out bicycling deaths, so we still don’t know how many bike riders have actually been killed on the mean streets of Los Angeles in recent years.
Tran, who serves as Yaroslavsky’s business development deputy, was taken to a hospital with multiple fractures. Kobe, who was frequently by Tran’s side at community events, died as a result of being struck by the pickup. Tran posted about the incident on Instagram on Oct. 13.
“It was one week ago on Sunday morning that a hit-and-run driver struck me and killed Kobe while starting our morning walk. I sustained three broken ribs, three fractured vertebrae, a fractured fibula and two fractures in my cheekbones that required surgery. Kobe … died at the ER vet,” Tran said. “I’m recovering at home now, mourning the loss of Kobe and trying to make sense of it all. I’ve received countless gifts of flowers, food and care packages and I’m sincerely grateful for belonging to such a generous and caring community. My injuries will eventually heal but the loss of Kobe is a heartache I’ve not felt since the loss of my parents.”
According to the paper, the driver, identified only as a Los Angeles woman in her 30s, allegedly ran the stop sign at Eighth Street and Cloverdale Ave around 8:30 am on Sunday, Oct. 5th.
She stopped briefly after striking them, then left the scene without getting out of her pickup, leaving Tran and her dog lying injured and bleeding in the street. She was released on her own recognizance after turning herself in later that day, pending charges of felony hit-and-run causing injury.
Police don’t believe she was under the influence at the time of the crash, although the delay in turning herself in means she could have had time to sober up, if she was.
If this whole damn thing has left you anywhere near as angry and heartbroken as I am, Tran asks for donations in Kobe’s memory to Queen’s Best Stumpy Dog Rescue, the corgi rescue she volunteers with.
Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, will host a press conference and remembrance today near the site of the crash, at the heartbreaking white PCH Ghost Tire Memorial.
Here is the group’s press release for the event, in case you want to attend all or part of it.
Honoring the Four Pepperdine Students
Killed on Pacific Coast Highway on the 2nd Anniversary of their Passing
October 17, 2025, Malibu, California – On October 17, 2023, four Pepperdine University seniors — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams — were struck and killed by a speeding driver on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while walking along PCH after parking their car. All four were members of the Alpha Phi sorority and beloved members of the Pepperdine community.
Their tragic deaths sparked a wave of grief and outrage throughout Malibu and beyond, renewing calls for safety improvements along PCH — one of California’s most dangerous roadways. The tragedy galvanized city, state, and community leaders to honor the memory of these four young women whose futures were cut short by taking action to prevent future loss of life.
October 17, 2025 is the 2nd anniversary of this tragedy. While the focus of the press event is to remember four young lives tragically cut short–and the work of making progress improvements will never fully measure up to the families’ grief of lives lost–the important work of paying tribute by improving public safety continues. The urgency of improving safety is never more acute than on October 17 when we pause to remember their lives.
When:
Friday, October 17, 2025
Press Conference: 2:30 – 3:00 PM
Remembrance Event: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
Where:
PCH Ghost Tire Memorial
Pacific Coast Highway and Webb Way
Roughly 23661 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90265
PRESS CONFERENCE (2:30 – 3:00 PM)
Officials and advocates will honor the memory of the four Pepperdine students whose lives were tragically lost in 2023 and report on efforts to make the Pacific Coast Highway safer.
Confirmed Speakers:
Bridget Thompson, Roommate and close friends with Niamh, Peyton, Asha, and Deslyn (Opening remarks and emcee)
Senator Ben Allen, California State Senate
Lee Habor, Caltrans Representative
Rep for Supervisor Lindsey Horvath
Captain Jared I. Perry, CHP West Valley Area
Captain Dustin Carr, Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department
Councilmember Doug Stewart, City of Malibu
Michel Shane, Emily Shane Foundation & Fix PCH
David Rolston, Father of Niamh Rolston
REMEMBRANCE EVENT (4:00 – 5:00 PM)
Who: Open to the public — friends, families, students from Pepperdine University, and community members are all invited to attend.
Program:
Moment of Silence
Release of Four White Doves
Music by Skyla Woodward (vocals) and Alima Ovali (guitar), Pepperdine University students
Words of Remembrance: An open mic will be available for anyone wishing to share memories or reflections, guided by an emcee.
This project began as Vinita Weir’s wish, in memory of her daughter, and has since been expanded — at the request of all family members — to honor all four Pepperdine students.
The meeting will take place at the Pacoima City Hall at 13520 Van Nuys Blvd.
Among their primary priorities are,
1. Make LADOT a chartered department that has responsibility to construct and maintain streets property line to property line, moving the Bureau of Street Services under LADOT.
Since being formed in 1979 under City administrative code, LADOT is responsible for planning nearly all of LA’s transportation projects without the ability to construct streets or sidewalks – a responsibility currently given to Public Works in the City Charter. Giving LADOT this authority would align LA with most large cities in the nation, where the department that manages streets safety and traffic flow also has the ability to effectively build and maintain streets and sidewalks.
2. Shore up street funding with a regular percent of city assessed property values.
LADOT and BSS have lost a significant number of staff in recent budgets and do not have the capacity to effectively deliver services in a timely manner. Currently in the City Charter, Parks and Rec and the Library departments are unique in receiving a dedicated percent of all taxable property values which ensures reliable funding for some of LA’s most vital public services. We believe streets, the City’s largest public space, should also be granted this privilege.
3. Change the City budget to a 2 year cycle and formalize a 5 year Capital Improvement Plan.
The benefits of both of these suggestions have been well researched and proposed by other groups, for the simple reason that not all infrastructure projects are going to fit neatly in a single city fiscal year. Long term planning can reduce costs and improve efficiency in delivering projects. While not every City formalizes a CIP in the City Charter, other large peer cities such as NYC, Houston, and San Jose do. A 2-year city budget and 5-year CIP process would allow departments to improve management of projects, staff capacity, and delivery timelines.
4. Replace the board of public works with a director position similar to other City departments.
The Board of Public Works is over 100 years old and has a unique management structure compared to other departments inside the City of LA by reporting to both a board and a director. It is also unique as a vehicle for structuring Public Works. The department should be run by a single director with a clear line of authority between the Mayor’s office, the department, and the Bureaus inside.
City leaders in Leeds, England are calling for banning bicycles and ebikes from one of the busiest main streets in West Yorkshire, even though bikes represent just three percent of the 250,000 people who use the street every week. And once again, bicycles of every kind — both regular bikes and ped-assist ebikes — are lumped together with electric motorbikes, as one woman calls ebikes “a fatality waiting to happen.”
Westminster police busted a man with seven open felony warrants after a brief pursuit on his bicycle, and discovered he was carrying 200 grams of meth, 15 grams of fentanyl and “other items indicative of drug sales,” as well as being a convicted felon in possession of a gun. Although they don’t explain what justification they used to initiate a stop, let alone a police chase.
A pair of San Raphael men were termed “prolific bike thieves” after they were busted for stealing a number high-end ebikes, with police saying they had been arrested many times before for bike theft and drug possession.
A new lawsuit alleges an NYPD officer intentionally swerved into a man as he was riding a mo-ped against traffic in a bike lane; the cop reported he swerved to avoid the victim, but surveillance video exactly the opposite.
The fiancée of a fallen North Carolina bicyclist tries to turn tragedy into life saving by urging the city council to use his death, as well as two other bicyclists who were also killed by a dump truck driver, as a catalyst to improve safety on local roads.
Don’t let Metro miss our last chance to finish the LA River bike path by 2028.
Twentynine-year old Koreatown resident Ana Larasalguero turned herself into police hours after the 8:30 am crash on Sunday, October 5th, as Tran and her dog were crossing were crossing Eight Street at Cloverdale Ave.
More on the hit-and-run crash that severely injured a staffer for CD5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, and killed her beloved corgi.
