The driver was hospitalized with serious injuries, and being held in custody as she receives treatment. At least one report indicated she wasn’t tested for drugs or alcohol, because they wouldn’t have shown up after the emergency medications she received at the scene and in the ER.
As others have noted, the design of the wide, multilane intersection and straight roadways engineered for high-speed traffic have to be seen as major contributory factors, along with cars capable of exceeding the speed limit to such a degree.
The technology exists to reign in speeding drivers; we just refuse to use it. And fail to demand it.
On a personal note, I have only watched the video above a single time. But that’s all it took to burn it into my consciousness; I’ve been unable to stop seeing that image as it plays over and over in my head.
And with it comes a renewed sense of failure and despair. I’ve been working for safer streets for a decade and a half now, while others have struggled for much longer. We’ve all seen decades of promises from city officials to do something.
But it’s always too little, too late. If they do anything at all.
LA’s Vision Zero program will be seven years old later this month, just three years from that magic date when we were promised traffic deaths would be eliminated, once and for all. Instead, they have steadily increased, with bike riders and pedestrians paying a disproportionate cost.
La Brea was one of the the first streets identified as part of the city’s High Injury Network, and should have seen significant efforts to tame traffic violence.
Yet it has been allowed to languish as an over-designed, high-speed car sewer. And now six people have paid the price for that inaction in a single fiery incident.
Six innocent people.
We’re bound to hear more about it in the days to come, as city officials mourn the victims and make more promises that they will inevitably fail to fulfill.
I’m disgusted and angry with it all.
I hope you are, too.
We’ll be back on Monday with our usual Morning Links. But right now, I don’t even want to think about it.
August 1, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Alleged DUI Michigan driver kills 2 fundraising riders and injures 3 others, and Culver City remakes Culver Blvd bike path
Once again, a motor vehicle in the wrong hands has become a weapon of mass destruction.
Now, for the first time, the Militant is asking you to send a little much-deserved love his way, in the form of a PayPal donation.
So I hope you’ll join me in opening your heart and wallet to support one of the city’s most loved personalities.
The Militant Angeleno has been doin' his thang as a strictly volunteer endeavor since 2007. But it's time to take things to another level! If you're inclined, show some love & support his future Militant adventures, maps, posts & #EpicCicLAviaTour guides!https://t.co/Y928GPssFmpic.twitter.com/wagVtnCs66
lost two people in my circle to vehicular violence this weekend in separate incidents. one crossing the street. one riding a scooter. that shouldn't be possible.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
They clearly don’t get it. A Staten Island website complains about plans for a road diet and removing parking spaces, saying bike lanes aren’t the answer to speeding drivers. Except that’s exactly what road diets are for, and bike lanes are just a tool to narrow traffic lanes and force drivers to slow down.
You’ve got to be kidding. A New Jersey columnist sides with a Jersey City councilmember who fled the scene after crashing into a bike rider, saying the crash shows bicyclists think they’re above the law. I’d say hit-and-run is just a tad more serious than mistakenly thinking you’ve got the green light, as the rider claimed. But that’s just me.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Two Minnesota bike riders were collateral damage when a driver’s SUV rolled over following a collision, and crashed into them as they waited at an intersection; both victims were hospitalized with serious injuries.
When you’re riding your bike with a joint and a couple stolen social security cards, put a damn light on it. Or when you’ve got an open beer, meth and three ounces of weed on your bike, maybe try riding with traffic, instead.
The victim, who wasn’t publicly identified, was riding his bike near Van Nuys Boulevard and Tupper Street when he was struck by a pickup driven by 38-year old Ottoniel Mendoza.
Mendoza got out of his truck, identified himself as a cop while flashing a badge, and ordered the boy to get into his truck. He was arrested nearby after a witness called police and followed Mendoza as he drove away.
He was booked on suspicion of kidnapping; other counts likely to be added later after the DA reviews the case.
His victim was taken to a hospital with minor injuries from the crash, lucky to escape safe and unharmed.
The paper also notes that 70% of drivers admit to using their cellphones behind the wheel, a figure that rises to 86% for people who use their cars for work.
Just in case you’re wondering why they don’t seem to see you.
If you're planning on 'riding' at this Sunday's @CicLAvia, the men and women of @LAFD encourage you to wear a helmet, and follow these safety guidelines:
And yes, I plan to give what little I can to support their vital work reporting on LA transportation issues.
The website also announced the August 3rd date for their first in-person Streetsie Awards party in three years, honoring L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Drivers in Austin, Texas can’t seem to avoid a new curb-protected bike lane, with a local resident reporting at least one blown tire there every day; city officials say it’s needed on a section of roadway where the previous painted bike lane failed to prevent several traffic deaths and serious injuries.
June 21, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Updating traffic violence news, Healthy Streets LA turns in 120,000 signatures, and OC applies for bikeway grant
Happy first day of summer! And belated Juneteenth and Father’s Day greetings!
Maybe one of these days I’ll actually catch up to the calendar.
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Let’s start by updating a pair of tragedies we mentioned yesterday.
Lionel Mares forwards photos from Saturday’s ride along the LA River with LACBC and California Sate Senator Maria Elena Durazo and LACBC Executive Director Eli Akira Kaufman.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Denver area sheriff’s deputies are looking for a man with a long criminal record who allegedly swerved his pickup onto the shoulder of a highway to attack a group of bicyclists Sunday morning, critically injuring one woman; deputies found his abandoned truck that night, after he had stopped briefly to dislodge a bicycle stuck underneath it.
The star of the documentary Q Ball was released from prison after 24 long years; he had been sentenced to life behind bars for his third strike conviction after Long Beach police found him in possession of a gun when they stopped him for riding his bike without a light. Otherwise known as a pretext stop, giving cops an excuse to stop and search someone.
File this one under bad ideas. President Biden is considering a temporary pause in the already too low federal gas tax, which hasn’t been raised in 29 years. There are better ways to address the pain of high gas taxes than cutting funds that support transportation spending. Like tax rebates funded by a windfall profits tax on oil companies.
A Portland man has filed suit against the city, alleging he was injured by a flashbang grenade and beaten by police during the 2020 racial justice protests, and unable to reclaim his bicycle after it was seized by officers.
This is who we share the road with. Six people were injured, three critically, when a New York cabbie hit a bike rider after rounding a corner, then jumped the curb, slamming into several pedestrians and pinning two women against a wall; once again, police suspect the driver may have suffered some sort of medical episode.
And once again, a bike rider is a hero. If only to our feathered friends.
This little pigeon walked right up to me as I was getting my bike out of the car and jumped up on to my arm. Seemed to be seeking shade and since it’s hot I filled a cap from my WD-40 can with my mix of water and cranberry juice I drink on rides, and now he’s a happy avian! pic.twitter.com/JaUOJZtVui
March 28, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Young siblings victims of traffic violence in Sylmar crash, LA traffic violence spikes, and modest bike gains in Beverly Hills
Sadly, traffic violence continues to climb on Los Angeles streets.
And just three years from the date he promised to end LA traffic deaths once and for all.
Maybe someone should have warned him that it would require actually taking bold action and making the tough decisions to tame traffic and reduce motor vehicle use.
Oh wait, we did.
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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Mark Elliot of Better Bike Beverly Hills, who almost single-handedly led a shockingly successful fight to transform the former Biking Black Hole into something far friendlier to people on two wheels. Although there’s still a long way to go. .
Despite the evident disinterest among our City Council majority (3-2) for multimodal mobility, the city has nevertheless notched a couple of modest wins for safer streets in Beverly Hills.
New leadership at the Transportation Division marks a new era. Mobility planning in Beverly Hills effectively cleared two kidney stones with the retirements of Aaron Kunz and Susan Healey Keene last year. Subsequently the mobility function was moved to Public Works from Community Development. Each change represented a big step forward. Daren Grilley and Jessie Holzer now are in charge of the transportation division and each understands the importance of safe streets. They walk the walk too, so to speak, as they both ride.
New commissioners have revitalized the Traffic & Parking Commission. For too long this commission sat idly by as crash injuries increased year-after-year. Commissioners for too long didn’t even ask why traffic enforcement in Beverly Hills took a ten-year holiday. But starting a few years ago, new appointments to the commission changed the dynamic. Now we have a safety-minded commission and a new chair: Sharon Ignarro. She really walks the walk. But hold on, we are hardly out of the woods yet: one of our councilmembers seems intent on defanging this commission. We beat-back that effort last month.
Elliot also calls on the biking and walking communities to support bike-friendly Mayor Robert Wunderlich and Councilmember John Mirisch in their campaigns for re-election to the Beverly Hills City Council.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Before you try to intimidate a woman riding a bicycle by revving your engine and honking your horn during a close pass, maybe make sure she’s not a plainclothes cop, first.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Carlsbad imposes a draconian crackdown on ebikes and e-scooters, banning them from “public sidewalks, drainage ditches, culverts, channels, athletic courts or gyms,” as well as requiring riders to walk their bikes within 50 feet of a pedestrian on any trail less than five-feet wide; the city blames bike riders for 70% of all bike collisions, which defies logic.
Proving it can be done, Seattle is taking steps to remake a major state highway that cuts through the city, with a $50 million plan to revive the corridor dying from cut-through traffic, and make the seven lane roadway welcoming to people on riding bikes and on foot. Maybe Malibu can take note before LA’s killer highway claims another innocent victim.
Nice way to bury the lede. A Hudson Valley newspaper reports a 69-year old man was charged with wearing earbuds while riding a bike, and failing to signal his turn. Neither of which would have likely come to the attention of the police if he hadn’t been hit by a driver, first.
The New York press is quick to paint bike riders as outrageous scofflaws endangering pedestrians, but it’s just as likely the rider will suffer serious injuries in any collision with someone on foot. The latest case in point is a Harlem ebike rider who was gravely injured when he struck someone crossing the street and flew over his handlebars.
No bias here. Wackadoodle rightwing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told a crowd that ”Pete Buttigieg can take his electric vehicles and his bicycle, and he and his husband can stay out of our girls bathrooms. Yup.” Not that they were planning to take their electric cars and bicycles into one.
Canadian Cycling Magazine celebrates the Oscars with their picks for the best and worst bicycling movies. Although nothing matches the action of an open-handed Will Smith slap delivered to the face of a stunned Chris Rock.
London is facing a bikelash from Conservative councilmembers, who have taken steps to remove popup bike lanes and pedestrianized areas before they had a chance to change transportation behavior; the city’s transportation agency has responded by cutting funding to their districts.
We’re less than one week away from the world’s biggest little bike race, as men’s and women’s teams were announced for Indiana University’s famed Little 500, made famous in Breaking Away.
February 28, 2022 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on More proof bike lanes reduce traffic congestion, and Caltrans commits to non-Vision Zero Vision Zero by 2050
A new study confirms what we already knew.
Bike lanes reduce congestion.
The Carnegie Mellon University study demonstrates how increasing bicycle and micromobility use can lead to a notable decrease in traffic congestion.
But only if there is sufficient infrastructure in place to support increased ridership.
And even if they gave themselves nearly 30 years to get there, which effective absolves the agency of the need to take immediate action, giving them every opportunity to kick the can down the road.
But it’s a start.
Maybe someday, someone will actually do more than just start.
The initiative would improve street safety and transportation by requiring the city to build out the mobility plan as streets are repaved, rather than the current policy of just pretending the plan doesn’t exist.
Nguyen was rushed to the ER by bike rider and corgi owner Kenneth Mejia, who’s running for city controller and has been endorsed by this site.
Fortunately, she wasn’t seriously injured.
And no, I didn’t endorse Mejia just because he rides a bike and has a couple corgis. But it didn’t hurt.
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If you know, or are, a Pasadena public school student, here’s your chance to learn how to fix a bike. And maybe even win a new one.
Attention all PUSD students! We have Free Bike Repair Workshops every Monday and Wednesday of February and March at La Pintoresca Teen Education Center (1415 N. Raymond Avenue) from 3:00 – 5:00PM.
This Monday 2/28 is the LAST day to apply for the first-ever LA City Youth Council!
Angelenos aged 16-25 are encouraged to apply for this exciting opportunity to impact the City and represent young voices. For more info and to apply, go to https://t.co/Id1p7JdQvH. pic.twitter.com/BtUaSgEO2p
San Diego opened a pair of bikeways on Fourth and Fifth Avenues through the Bankers Hill and Hillcrest neighborhoods. Which would have allowed me to safely ride to work when I lived down there. But they only came about three decades too late.
Road Bike Actionwants to talk about your varicose veins.Mine came courtesy of a road raging driver who intentionally slammed into my bike, driving the front cog into my calf.
Business owners in Columbus, Ohio and Cambridge, Massachusetts insist on shooting themselves in the foot by fighting plans to remove parking spaces to install bike lanes, even though studies show bike riders spend more than drivers on a monthly basis, and that bike lanes encourage shopping while increasing local sales.
Spanish motorcycle racer Aleix Espargaró says he nearly joined a pro cycling team after taking up the sport following a bad motorbike crash, calling bicycling the worst drug in the world because “the more you go, the more you want.” Although some of us would say that’s why it’s the best drug.
They found the rest of the 57-year old victim’s body in the back of a man’s pickup, where it had been since the driver had crashed into his bike around 12 hours earlier.
The driver claimed he didn’t know the victim’s body was there until he got home — and then apparently just went inside and left him there to die once he did.
Graphics by tomexploresla
Which presumably would have given the man plenty of time to sober up before the cops found the body in his truck.
And how anyone could do something like that without being drunk or stoned is beyond me.
Bike Talk talks with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider about the organization’s Healthy Streets LA initiative to force Los Angeles to build out the city’s mobility plan when streets get repaved.
That’s followed by a segment with Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss discussing the Idaho Stop Law, which allows bike riders to treat stop signs like yields, and — at least in Idaho’s original version — treat red lights like stop signs.
A version of which was vetoed by California Governor Newsom last year.
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Remember what we said yesterday about the new Taylor Yard Bridge opening next month?
British singer, songwriter and producer James Blunt is one of us.
Born on this day, February 22, 1974: James Blunt, musician, here riding in aid of wounded and injured military personnel in London, UK, 2013. Happy #bicyclebirthday, James!#BOTDpic.twitter.com/gWY3kPUSJc
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A road-raging British driver walked without a single day behind bars for chasing down and ramming a bike rider who damaged his wing mirror; adding insult to injury, the driver was ordered to pay the equivalent of just $1,359 in compensation, despite totaling the victim’s $9,500 bicycle.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
New York’s legislature is considering a package of bike and pedestrian safety bills that would give cities more control over speed limits, encourage them to build safer sidewalks and bike lanes, and require drivers to study more safety topics for their license test.
September 1, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Day one of Scarpa murder trial, tell LA to stop street racing and loud engines, and CHP responsible for East LA hit-and-run
Our anonymous Orange County correspondent is back to cover this week’s trial of Stephen Taylor Scarpa for murder.
Here’s what she had to say about the lead-up to the long-delayed trial.
Stephen Taylor Scarpa‘s jury trial starts on Monday. So far, Judge Patrick Donahue has decided to allow the video of Scarpa’s participation in his high school’s “Every 15 Minutes” event, as well as testimony from fellow personnel of the rehab centers he worked at. The People’s exhibits will probably also include the DMV’s letter of license revocation and a diagram (but no photographs) of the victim’s many injuries.
Since Scarpa has a long-standing association with drugs, his medical records might be presented as well. The judge finds that this is not in violation of HIPAA. Despite the lack of a previous arrest for DUI, there is sooo much other evidence, strong evidence, that Scarpa knew the dangers of impaired driving, the DA might not even bother to present these records. Scarpa had jaw-dropping levels of assorted drugs in his system, and his blood was not drawn until 4 hours after the collision.
His Honor has forbidden Kreza’s fellow firefighters to attend the trial in full uniform, and friends & family will not be allowed to wear clothing or badges with the deceased’s likeness. I am sorely tempted to get a T-shirt printed up with “It’s about time” in bold letters, because according to the arresting officer, these were Scarpa’s words as the handcuffs were slapped on.
And this is how she reported on the first day of public testimony in the trial.
Oh, man, I’m not hopeful.
The Scarpa trial began Monday morning. Deputy DA Michael Feldman began opening statements by thanking the victim’s friends and family for coming. As stipulated by the judge, no uniformed firefighters were present inside the courtroom. But they were out in the hallway to provide support for the widow and other family members. There was no mention that Mr. Kreza himself had been a firefighter.
In a PowerPoint presentation bannered by the misspelled name of the defendant, Mr. Feldman tersely listed the basic facts that support the People’s charge, among them Scarpa’s participation in his high school’s “Every 15 Minutes” program, his rehab stints, and his employment as a behavioral health technician. “He’s gonna be the one to tell you first hand,” insisted Mr. Feldman, pointing at the defendant, that he was aware of the dangers and consequences of impaired driving. To this end, the People played audio files of the interrogation, in which Mr. Scarpa tells the investigating deputy, “I do it, but I don’t condone it,” a tacit and unambiguous confession. Mr. Scarpa clutched tissues as the DA played his confession that he’d driven impaired with his own young daughter in the car.
Feldman then went on to use the word “accident” several times during his opening statement. AUUUUURGH. That is the entire premise of the defense. It’s almost like he’s trying to hand Mr. Scarpa an acquittal with a big red shiny bow.
Mr. Lowenstein, for the Defense, insisted that the collision had been an “accident,” and that Mr. Scarpa’s actions did not meet the legal definition of implied malice. He stated that the prescription drugs found in Scarpa’s system do not, as opposed to Feldman’s assertion, have warning stickers telling users not to drive. The defense asked whether Scarpa acted with “conscious disregard” (without underscoring the impossibility because Scarpa was, in fact, unconscious at the time of impact).
The Defense told the jury that Scarpa, though drugged up after a party, drove approximately 25 miles without incident, and there was no evidence that he was speeding. He went on to loftily praise Scarpa’s parking (“snug against the curb”!) after the collision, and reiterated several times that he did not attempt to flee afterwards. The collision was merely “a split second in time, a miscalculation, a perfect storm of events.” Scarpa’s temporary inattention, “a fraction of a second,” and impaired state led to “a perfect storm of events.” (Lowenstein also mentioned something about a perfect storm of events.)
Both Feldman and Lowenstein brought up the words Mr. Scarpa uttered upon his official arrest: “It’s about time.” The People assert that this indicated Mr. Scarpa’s acceptance of a long-anticipated outcome. The Defense suggested that Mr. Scarpa had been expecting an arrest only for the duration of his lengthy interrogation.
First to testify was widow Shana Kreza, who identified a photo of her late husband, and briefly described the family’s Saturday morning, getting ready for their daughter’s soccer game. Mr. Kreza had left on his bicycle, but never arrived at the soccer field.
Next on the witness stand was the first responding officer, who described taking initial command of the scene, Mr. Kreza’s broken body, the agitation of the suspect, and the actions of the Good Samaritans.
The next two witnesses had been in the car behind Scarpa. Ragan Hill and her nephew, Cage Morgan, were putting up garage sale signs in the neighborhood. Hill saw Scarpa’s minivan leave the roadway. As it took out shrubs and saplings on the embankment to the right of the sidewalk (where Kreza was riding his bicycle, despite the adjacent bike lane), she saw a body fly off the top of the minivan.
Morgan described his aunt yell, “Oh my god, look at that car!” He diverted his attention from his phone to see Scarpa’s minivan returning to the roadway, with a trailing cloud of debris. He watched as a man fell off the minivan’s roof onto the road. Hill hit the brakes, stopping about 5-10 feet from Kreza’s prone, bloody body. Morgan called 911, and both exited the vehicle to assist.
Scarpa had parked by the curb and exited his minivan as well, but didn’t approach his victim or the witnesses. Instead, he sat on the curb, fidgeting. “My first thought,” testified Hill, “was that he was impaired.”
Both Hill and Morgan described the same aspects of the scene: Scarpa’s agitation, Kreza’s bone sticking out of his lower leg. Morgan was afraid to initiate CPR, fearing it would exacerbate Kreza’s injuries. Because Morgan was unsure the collision was accidental and did not know whether Scarpa was dangerous, he didn’t approach the suspect, but gestured questioningly from a distance, with palms up. He kept an eye on Scarpa, who appeared disoriented, because “I was afraid he would flee the scene.”
Deputy Christian Servin was called to the scene to perform a field sobriety test. He first approached the twitchy suspect and asked what was going on. He was apprehensive about asking Scarpa to perform some of the physical field sobriety testing tasks because his lack of balance and coordination might subject him to falls. Deputy Servin’s search found six 800mg gabapentin pills on Scarpa’s person, and Scarpa confirmed he had no prescription. Though Servin had difficulty with communication because Scarpa was “in and out” of it, he was able to determine that Scarpa had not slept for two days, had smoked .25g of meth 36 hours prior, had fresh tracks from injecting a fentanyl/meth mixture, had taken Suboxone at a party that morning, and had taken lorazepam. Scarpa stated that he had no medical conditions, and (and) that he was under a doctor’s care. (This doctor, perhaps?) Scarpa also stated he knew he should not have been driving, because he was “upset,” and he believed that he had crashed into a tree and several people.
At this point, court recessed for lunch, and I had to split ’cause I have graveyard shifts, but I’m all free for Day 2.
EMT students are required to attend one rotation in a hospital emergency department. I did this.
The morning started off slow, and the nurses had zero interest in talking with me, so I poked my head into an exam room and announced to the patient that I was there to check her vitals. She consented and while I took her pulse, I asked what brought her to the ER. She stated that she had passed out while making a left turn (in a major intersection, btw) and had crashed into a fire hydrant. I sympathized with her awful morning, and then asked what she’d had for breakfast. Nothing. I suggested that it was always a good idea to fuel up to start your day. Then I asked whether she was on any medications. She had taken a prescription narcotic analgesic before she took her kids to school. “And you drove?” She confirmed this. I informed her that it was dangerous to drive under the influence, and her pill bottle even had a warning sticker added to the prescription label. She insisted there was no such warning, so we pulled the bottle out of her purse to look at it.
I read the warning out loud: “Do not operate heavy machinery.”
She protested, with frustration at my stupidity, “I wasn’t operating heavy machinery. I was just driving my car.”
(Ed. note: Because evidently multi-ton cars aren’t, well, you know…)
There are warnings of “Don’t drive until you know how this drug affects you,” even though said drug impairs your cognitive abilities such that you cannot ascertain how the drug impairs you. In the absence of quantification and/or memory, your brain just lies to you: “Everything’s fine.”
Why appropriate phrasing hasn’t been legislated, I don’t know.
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Streets For All is urging you to take action to support a couple of motions on the agenda for this afternoon’s meeting of the LA City Council Public Safety Committee.
Make your voice heard on two key issues this week.
There are two key issues being considered this week at City of Los Angeles Public Safety Committee.
1 – The first (Council File 21-0870) is a motion at the Public Safety Committee to consider re-designing streets to prevent illegal street racing. As much as we fight for lower speed limits, the best way to slow cars down is by redesigning streets all together.
2 – The second (Council File 20-1267) is a motion to reduce illegal exhaust noise in the City of Los Angeles. Modified mufflers disturb the peace and evenincrease our stress hormones and risk of heart disease. While we don’t want more armed officers doing traffic stops, we can solve this by clamping down on the shops that make these illegal modifications.
Here’s how you can help in 2 easy steps:
1) Make public comment using the council file system
If you are unable to make live public comment, the next best thing is writing a message in the council file management system. We have made this easy with a pre-filled template and links.
2) Make public comment live at the committee meetings
The Public Safety Committee is on Wednesday, September 1, at 330pm. Here is the agenda. Call into this meeting to comment on the re-designing streets to curb racing and the illegal exhaust noise issue.
Despite catching the crash on video, and multiple news reports, they’ve apparently done nothing to hold the officer responsible, or compensate the bike-riding boy for his injuries.
About as nice as this dude in a school zone on the 2nd day of school. Me biking thru (labeled bike route) little kids in the crosswalk, and a school bus unloading with barricades ahead dividing the road because of drivers like this. pic.twitter.com/nRmLXlRO6M
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Utah’s Zion National Park is looking for public input on new bike and ebike regulations that would allow bikes in groups of no more than six spread at least a quarter-mile apart, require riders to pull off to the side of the road for buses, and have a bell on your bike to warn people and wildlife. Because everyone knows cougars, skunks and bighorn sheep will politely move aside to let you pass if they hear the dulcet tones of a bike bell announce your presence.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds teams with San Francisco Transportation Director Jeffrey Tumlin to pen an op-ed for CalMatters in support of AB 43, arguing that speeding drivers should not set speed limits.
National
It looks like Outside and VeloNews are joining Bicycling in hiding their stories behind a draconian paywall, on the mistaken assumption that preventing people from reading them will make more people want to. However, unlike Bicycling, the Outside and VeloNews stories don’t appear to be available on Yahoo.
This is who we share the road with, part two. South Dakota’s killer Attorney General was hit with yet another speeding ticket — his seventh in seven years — just days before he was scheduled to go on trial for the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian while on his way home from a fundraiser last year. Yet he’s still allowed to stay on the roads to kill someone else, never mind that the $177.50 fine for a simple speeding ticket is nearly a fifth of what he was fined for actually killing someone.
Wired says Covid-19 means it’s finally time for the 15-minute city, where living, shopping and work are all within walking distance in the same neighborhood. Unless you live in Los Angeles, that is, where city leaders seem to be firmly committed to keeping everything within an hour and a half drive. Except at rush hour, of course.
August 27, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Scarpa trial Monday for killing Costa Mesa fire captain, wrist slap for killer SD AG, and Malibu postpones PCH meeting
The allegedly stoned driver who killed a popular Costa Mesa fire captain will finally face justice next week.
Kreza was off duty and riding his bike in Mission Viejo on Nov. 3 when a van driven by Scarpa drove off the roadway at Alicia Parkway and traveled 8 feet across the curb line, a sidewalk and an embankment, striking Kreza.
Police found Scarpa sitting on a curb following the crash, apparently intoxicated. He admitted to investigators he had shot up a combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl while at a party, along with taking an anxiety medication.
Kreza died two days later, leaving behind his wife and three young children.
The murder charge suggests this wasn’t Scarpa’s first DUI arrest, and that he had probably signed a Watson advisement indicating he could be charged with murder if he killed someone while intoxicated, following a previous conviction.
The paper reports Scarpa has remained in county jail for 1,032 days since his arrest — nearly three years — by the time he goes on trial Monday.
Chance are, he’ll end up serving a lot more than that.
The judge gave Ravnsborg a gentle caress on the wrist, allowing him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts for a total of $1,000 in fines.
Which is apparently what a human life goes for in South Dakota these days.
Even an order to do some sort of public service to mark the anniversary of the victim’s death was put on hold, when Ravnsborg’s attorney argued it wasn’t allowed under the statute.
Authorities allowed Ravnsborg to claim he kept driving because he thought he hit a deer, rather than a man walking along the roadway. Even though the victim did a face plant in the AG’s windshield, leaving his glasses in the car where investigators found them the next day.
You’d think most people would have recognized a human face staring back at them through the windshield. Or at the very least, stopped to see what they hit.
But apparently, that kind of logic isn’t required for elected office in the state.
By continuing home, Ravnsborg may also have escaped a DUI count by delaying a blood alcohol test until 15 hours after the crash, by which time any alcohol consumed at the political fundraiser he attended would have been safely out of his system.
And it was.
Ravnsborg capped it off his extremely minimal sentence with a very self-serving statement.
He said he thought he hit a deer. The dead guy’s glasses were found in his car. He remains South Dakota’s attorney general. https://t.co/Qn8S6WGOUx
Supporters describe the proposed project as improving safety for people on bicycles. But others fear it would just move us into the door zone, instead.
I’m told that the wider shoulders will allow plenty of room for both bikes and parked cars, without posing a risk to the people on two wheels.
But let’s get serious.
That would require at least seven to eight feet to the right of the roadway and the left of parked cars. Anything less would be in the door zone.
So if there’s that much space already built into this plan, why don’t they just install bike lanes, instead?
Or better yet, a parking protected bike lane.
The @CityMalibu just postponed tonight’s 630pm meeting to discuss widening PCH without adding safe bike facilities. The meeting is now scheduled for Wednesday, September 8, at 630. We will send out a reminder prior. @bikinginlapic.twitter.com/UPbOg0t0F9
Good news for anyone who walks. Or crosses the street.
LA, you did it again! 👏👏👏 Did you hear? The Freedom to Walk Act (AB1238), aka decriminalizing jaywalking, has passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee thanks to your support! @CalBike@CaliforniaWalks@lccrsfpic.twitter.com/O7Oz9OALoY
Anthony Portantino, a state senator representing some of the richest parts of LA, just killed AB1401, a bill that would make it legal to build transit-oriented housing without mandatory parking requirements.
Hey @metrolosangeles – there's some kind of glitch in the new website – a bunch of Metro highway expansion projects are mistakenly listed under the "Less Traffic" category pic.twitter.com/o4M0L3UiL4
New York is moving forward with plans for congestion pricing, after reaching an agreement with the Biden administration to conduct an environmental review of charging drivers a toll to enter central Manhattan; it would be the first such fee in the US. Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials are doing what they do best, conducting a study of Metro’s congestion pricing proposal. Which usually results in studying it to death.
July 6, 2021 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CicLAvia returns with 3 dates this year, a first-hand view of traffic violence, and bike rider shoots driver in self-defense
That’s followed by the traditional Heart of LA route in Downtown Los Angeles on October 10th — the same date as the first CicLAvia, also in DTLA, eleven years earlier.
And last but far from least, a long-awaited return to South Los Angeles on October 5th.
Here’s what our bike-riding friend at KCBS2/KCAL9 have to say on the subject.
Normally I’d read it, maybe mutter a quick prayer, and move on. Just another every day tragic occurrence.
Except this time, the details dovetailed with an email I received yesterday, in the form of a script, from fellow bike rider and corgi aficionado Mike Burk, who moved from SoCal to the cooler and cloudier clime a few years ago.
Fade in:
Late morning, driver’s POV.
Coming home from town this morning when we’re diverted off the highway to a side road because of a road block. At the intersection, noticed a truck towing a poorly loaded trailer carrying an old backhoe. The truck was stopped, the driver getting a ticket by a couple of sheriff’s deputies.
Finally back on the highway and two or three miles down the road. Flashing lights ahead. As we inched along I noticed a bicycle on its side and no rider around. Whatever happened is over (it had been only 90 minutes since we came that way into town).
Seeing the bike and the emergency vehicles, I got a picture.
Photo by Mike Burk
Dissolve to:
Early afternoon, POV over shoulder, sitting at computer.
Me, during a Zoom meeting with our homeowner’s association Publications Committee. Going over articles for our next month’s Kala Pointer Newsletter. One of the committee members asked, “Did you hear about Stan Cummings this morning? He was riding his bike…”
You can guess the rest. Yes, that was Stan’s bike. He was medivacced (sp) to Harborview Hospital in Seattle (40 miles… if you’re a crow). He’s in their TBI unit, not expected to recover well, if at all.
It didn’t take too long for someone following to dial 911 — and then for the sheriffs, local police, and state police to locate and stop the truck.
Stan is active in the community and on his bike. We’ll see what happens.
Fade to black.
Burk adds this final thought.
I forget that this can happen anywhere. We’re in a REALLY small town. Even after all the miles I’ve put on my bike, the thought of getting out on that highway (WA19 and WA20) up here just terrifies me. I keep to the back roads.
Sadly, that’s exactly the case.
The news stories I see come from everywhere English is spoken, and many places it’s not.
From big cities and tiny towns in every state throughout the US, as well as Canada, Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean, the UK, Europe, India, Africa, New Zealand and Australia. And virtually everywhere else, on every kind of roadway.
Yet somehow, the onus for safety inevitably rests on our narrow, unprotected shoulders, rather than the people in the big, dangerous machines who pose the danger to people on bikes, and everyone else.
It’s like living in a village where monsters roam the streets, dragging people off at random. And instead of doing something about them, we merely tell the villagers to be careful and lock their doors at night.
Like this rabidly auto-centric anti-Vision Zero diatribe, in other words.
Every line is like parody. Jim Kenzie victim blaming on @TSN_Sports@MotoringTV. Because they’re the ones to die, responsibility for pedestrian safety is on pedestrians, not the people operating 2,000 kg high-speed machines, or those who design the streets that prioritize them. pic.twitter.com/2Oh0VBB14m
Apparently, Minnesota’s annual Freedom From Pants Ride went off without a…well, you get the idea.
MINNEAPOLIS: A 911 caller reports "500 bicyclists" wearing underwear and bathing suits, biking east from the intersection of Hennepin Ave. & Washington Ave. N.
— MN CRIME | Police/Fire/EMS (@MN_CRIME) July 5, 2021
Thanks to Tim Rutt for the heads-up.
………
Megan Lynch forwards this piece about a man seven years into a diagnosis of dementia, yet still riding his bike across Nova Scotia to fight the disease.
WATCH: Dr. John Archibald’s father was diagnosed with dementia in 2014. There’s no cure but Archibald has decided bike across Nova Scotia to raise awareness and funds for dementia research and support. Alicia Draus talks with him about his ride which started on July 1. pic.twitter.com/eePQrf5h9r
British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid explores England’s old Great North Road from London to Newcastle, traveling in style in a classic Morgan sports car, accompanied by a Brompton foldie in the passenger seat.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
In a truly bizarre case, a man on a bike shot a road raging Houston driver in self-defense when the male driver told a bike-riding couple they couldn’t ride in that neighborhood, then deliberately knocked the woman off her bike; her pistol-packing partner was let go, while the driver was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
Seriously? There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for a 23-year old English man who was caught masturbating on his bicycle, riding one-handed as he pursued women and young girls. Yet the bike-riding perv somehow avoided jail despite doing it not once, not twice or even thrice, but four times, apparently because the judge thought he’s a “promising student.”
A Singapore bicyclist was criticized for leaving a painted bike lane to draft behind a trio of dump trucks. Although that would be perfectly legal in the US, though not necessarily smart, where most, if not all, states allow bike riders to take the lane if they’re riding the speed of traffic.
Boulder CO police say there’s a nationwide bike shortage, so use a damn U-lock, already. Although they may not have said it quite that way.
More proof that collisions with pedestrians are just as dangerous for the person on the bike, as a 28-year old New York woman was left clinging to life after she crashed into a pedestrian walking in a Prospect Park crosswalk while she was riding in the bike lane. Seriously, ride carefully around pedestrians, who are just as unpredictable as people on bikes. And in cars.
Mashable offers tips on what to think about before entering the ebike world. But they get the first tip wrong, suggesting that ebiking is just a seasonal thing for everyone but the most extreme bicyclists.
A Singapore bike rider unfairly gets the blame for riding in the traffic lane when a driver slams into him from behind, throwing him onto the windshield before landing in the roadway; the victim sat up following the crash, so hopefully he’s okay. Warning: The dashcam video of the crash is absolutely horrifying, so be sure you really want to see it before you click on it.
