By Ashley Halsey III – Washington Post Staff Writer
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The United States is far behind other developed countries when it comes to pursuing strategies that reduce traffic fatalities. Since 1995, France has cut deaths by 52 percent, Great Britain by 38 percent and Australia by 25 percent. In the United States, they’ve dropped by 19 percent.
"The lack of progress in reducing the highway casualty toll might suggest that Americans have resigned themselves to this burden of deaths and injuries as the inevitable consequence of the mobility provided by the road system," the report says. "In other countries, public officials . . . have declared that this human and economic cost is neither inevitable or acceptable."
The number of traffic fatalities in the United States last year – 33,808 – was the lowest since 1949, but other countries saw far more significant drops. If the United States had made the same progress in reducing deaths as Britain did between 1997 and 2008, 29,000 more Americans would still be alive.
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Continue reading “Study: U.S. could avert thousands of traffic deaths with tougher enforcement”
Can cyclists be charged with impeding traffic
A legal brief from a higher court in Florida about a cyclists wrongfully charged with impeding traffic. The Summary of Argument starts on page 10.
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bz89fSgmFcbnZTNjYzY4YzEtMTIzOS00N2ViLTk3NDQtZjk2YjhjYzAwZTA5&sort=name&layout=list&num=50
I hope this clarifies what the law says and does not say and as proof MVA is flat out wrong, MVA is in the business of offering guidance not legal opinions, so while guidance encourages us to use space outside the flow of motoring traffic, law also qualifies that space must be safe for us to ride. It seems that some approach this as an analog problem and cyclists need to find an exception for each foot from the edge of the roadway they ride but they law is more quantitative, if there is not enough space engineered for cyclists to be wholly outside the flow of traffic then they have the right to the entire lane. While what constitutes a safe place to ride wholly outside the flow of motoring traffic is a whole discussion in and of itself but my point here is on narrow country roads there is no legal obligation to "ride the stripe" or "to move aside" and let motorists pass. Courtesy in this situation is negotiated, that is as much as motorists would like to see the cyclists move right, cyclists would like to see motorists move left and that is an aspect of the 3′ law we would like to get across… if a cyclists is being courteous by riding far right, motorists now have a legal obligation to move left in order to pass but either way a motorist must move at least partially into an adjacent lane as it is often a physical impossibility to "get out of the way." It is just a shame that MVA totally missed this point and put the onus on cyclists to "get out of the way."
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Giant Recalls Anthem X 29er Bicycles Due to Fall Hazarda
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of Product: 2011 Model Year Anthem Giant Bicycles
Units: About 370
Importer: Giant Bicycle Inc., of Newbury Park, Calif.
Manufacturer: Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd., of Taiwan
Hazard: The frame can crack at the junction of the seat post and top tube, posing a fall hazard to riders.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: This recall involves 2011 model year Giant Anthem X 29er 1, 2 and 3 model bicycles. The bicycles were sold in small, medium and large. “Giant” and the model name are printed on the bicycle.
Sold by: Authorized Giant Bicycle dealers nationwide during August 2010 for between $2,200 and $3,500.
Manufactured in: Taiwan
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop riding the recalled bicycles and contact any authorized Giant Bicycle dealer for a free inspection and repair.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Giant Bicycle toll-free at (866) 458-2555 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.giant-bicycles.com
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Continue reading “Giant Recalls Anthem X 29er Bicycles Due to Fall Hazarda”
Members hope to ‘rescue’ Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club
The twists and turns to the bike advocacy drama up in Seattle just keep on coming. After Cascade Bicycle Club — a non-profit bike event and advocacy group with 13,000 members — abruptly fired its longtime leader Chuck Ayers back in October, it set off of a messy feud between the Board of Directors and the group’s membership base.
The firing, said the Board, was a result of Cascade wanting to take a different, less aggressive and confrontational tone in its advocacy work. Much of that tone was set by Ayers’ right hand man, advocacy director David Hiller. Hiller is a confident advocate who understands the trench warfare it takes to make change against the status quo. His style is self-assured and sometimes rough around the edges; but it’s effective.
Members claim that the Board fired Ayers because he refused to fire Hiller. After the firing and a few tense days, Ayers got his job back on an interim basis. Ayers and Hiller are now back at work but there’s a new twist in the story.
A group of members have organized in the "Bike Club Rescue Squad." Their goal is to collect the 690 signatures from Cascade members required to recall the entire board. An article published today on Publicola by one of the Rescue Squad’s leaders states lays out the reason for their concerns:
– "If this board stays in power… Seattle cyclists will lose a strong and successful advocate at the time they need one most.
– No lobbyist can function when his own organization is undermining him in the press and has little stomach for the rough and tumble world of politics. No organization should expect its lobbyist to serve the same functions as its public relations director.
– The only way to rescue Cascade is to recall the entire board, rewrite the bylaws, and elect new board members who want Cascade to succeed."
Continue reading “Members hope to ‘rescue’ Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club”
L.A. plans crackdown on harassment of bicyclists. Are new laws necessary? [Updated]
The council this week asked its attorneys to draw up an ordinance that would make it a civil violation to harass or assault bicyclists. The proposed law, which the council could consider in two months, would make it easier for cyclists to sue those who allegedly harass them and recover a cash settlement. [Updated: In response to readers who asked for more information on the proposal, here are city documents on the issue.]
The bike rights campaign has been galvanized by the case of an L.A. doctor convicted a few weeks ago of purposely hitting bikers in Brentwood.
More people are turning to two wheels for commuting and recreation. Cyclists are asserting their rights as never before. In Los Angeles, advocates are pushing for more bike lanes and other road improvements, a cyclists’ bill of rights and more protection from police.
Nimbike 2000
I thought this was kinda cool (note the steering linkage to the broom.)
Continue reading “Nimbike 2000”
Ignition Interlock Summit helps states in the fight against drunk driving (but not in MD)
Bits from Welcome to the Fast Lane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation by Ray LaHood
This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control met with members of the Governors Highway Safety Association for a National Ignition Interlock Summit. This was a full-day work session to help state safety professionals figure out how to get a handle on drunk driving.
That’s why 13 states have passed mandatory ignition interlock laws for all drunk drivers–including first offenders.
And that’s why DOT is providing technical assistance and support to help states move toward increasing their interlock use and strengthening their laws and interlock programs.
Counter point: JOSEPH F. VALLARIO JR., chairman of the House Judiciary Comittee in Maryland and a defense attorney by profession, has made a career of making problems go away for drunk drivers — both in the courthouse and in the legislature.
Continue reading “Ignition Interlock Summit helps states in the fight against drunk driving (but not in MD)”
Driver gets 90 days in jail for hit-and-run involving bicyclist
Angelina Everett hit Ed Magos with her SUV in downtown L.A., kept driving and called police more than an hour later. The jail time — rare for bike hit-and-runs — is a victory for cycling-safety advocates.
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
A driver who hit a bicyclist in downtown Los Angeles and then fled the scene was sentenced to 90 days in jail Wednesday, a verdict celebrated by cycling activists who hope it will set a new precedent for the way such cases are prosecuted.
"This is huge," said Ross Hirsch, an attorney for Ed Magos, 32, who was injured in the Jan. 6 crash. "You don’t often see jail time for hit-and-runs. This could change that."
The case has been closely watched by many in the city’s cycling community.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office and the city attorney at first declined to press charges against Angelina Everett, the 37-year-old fashion designer who, witnesses said, struck Magos with her white Porsche SUV while making a left turn onto 2nd Street, just west of Figueroa.
Activists said the incident — and the city’s response — proved that officials didn’t take bicycle safety seriously. On Feb. 24, they organized a protest ride that traced the route Magos took each morning on his commute from East Hollywood to City Hall, where he works as a computer programmer.
The next day, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck responded to their charges in a news conference in which he announced new department-wide training on cyclists’ rights and promised a new investigation into the crash. The city attorney’s office later decided to take up the case.
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"No, ma’am," responded the [911] operator, who went on to tell Everett that people didn’t go to jail for hit-and-runs involving cyclists.
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Earlier this year, the LAPD convened a bicycle task force, which now meets every month. The new LAPD training acquaints officers with laws that protect cyclists, including traffic codes that relate to bicycle lanes and rights of way, according to Cmdr. Jorge Villegas, the LAPD’s liaison with the cycling community.
"We’re teaching them that these are enforceable violations," Villegas said.
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Continue reading “Driver gets 90 days in jail for hit-and-run involving bicyclist”
Here a Door , There a Door, everywhere a Door Door
“People have been injured and even killed by riding in what is ostensibly a ‘safe’ space. Suddenly a door opens in front of them and they either have to swerve into motor traffic or hit the door itself.”
Photo: Joshua Hart
San Fransisco Streetsblog, by Joshua Hart states that “getting ‘doored’ is the single most common cause of injury by motor vehicle users to people riding bikes in San Francisco.”
This concerns me as the picture could just as easily be in Baltimore as San Fransisco. Elsewhere on the net center lane placement of Sharrows are being discussed. Why? Glad you asked (slides by Dan Gutierrez.)
Solutions may look like this:
Or
House passes bill in Michigan requiring drivers education to include bicycle laws
By Diane Ursu – Michigan Mountain Biking Examiner
Michigan drivers education courses do not currently include instruction on laws regarding bicycles. The League of Michigan Bicyclists is working to change that by promoting a bill that will require classroom instruction of bicycle laws and "awareness of the operation of bicycles on the streets, roads, and highways of this state."
The final reading of House Bill 4960, which was originally introduced in May 2009 to both the House and Senate, was voted on and passed by the Michigan House of Representatives on November 9, 2010. The bill was introduced in the Senate as Senate Bill 0531. The Senate has yet to vote on the bill.
In their article, "Bicycle Safety in Drivers Ed," the League of Michigan Bicyclists warns of the lack of education. "This leads many motorists to insist incorrectly—and too often violently—that bicyclists belong on sidewalks. Angry motorists regularly threaten cyclists both verbally and physically. Hundreds of Michigan bicyclists are injured or killed each year in automobile/bicycle collisions."
Continue reading “House passes bill in Michigan requiring drivers education to include bicycle laws”