This NBC article (found via Stop The Maryland Unsafe Driver) highlights speed camera violations in just a couple of locations. Unlike those who point out just cyclists violations as if cyclists are something other then human, we like to point out people are people and traffic enforcement is a joke across the board. Yes we would like to see ALL road users pay closer attention to safety and the rules of the road, as it is only when the rules of cooperation are clear can the roads be made safer and this goal can never be accomplished by focusing on just one group (or mode of transportation.)
Continue reading “I’ll take your scofflaw cyclists and raise you 57,000 scofflaw motorists”
[Presumed unlawful] Cyclists a menace in Poolesville [for not riding in non-existent bike lanes]
B’ Spokes: This uneducated opinion piece in the Gazette should never have been printed IMHO.
Quoting from https://www.gazette.net/article/20110720/OPINION/707209871/1014/cyclists-a-menace-in-poolesville&template=gazette
"giving the middle fingers to drivers that try to alert them when driving up behind them because they are too far out in the road and not using the tax-paid bike lanes."
1) In Maryland’s Drivers’ Handbook: https://www.mva.maryland.gov/resources/dl-002a.pdf
"As you approach a bicyclist, slow down. Avoid honking your horn. Bicyclists can usually hear an approaching vehicle and loud noises can startle bicyclists, causing a crash."
— And —
Expect Bicyclists on the Road
Expect to find a bicyclist on all types of roads (except interstate highways and toll facilities), at all intersections and roundabouts, in all types of weather, and at all times of the day and night. Bicyclists may ride out in the travel lane for their own safety due to narrow roads, or to avoid obstacles or pavement hazards. On roads without shoulders, or with cars parked along the right side, often the safest place for a bicyclist to ride is in the center of the lane. In Maryland, a bicyclist may use the full lane even while traveling substantially below the speed of traffic if the lane is too narrow for a car to safely pass a bicycle within the lane
2) We are not restricted to roads with bike lanes. If there is no bike lane .. well read above.
Quoting again: "They need to pay road taxes, have an ID tag on their bike, so that we can contact the police and report them when they break the road rules."
1) Road tax ??? They must mean the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 that created a tax on motoring for interstates (not local roads.) Ummm.. cyclists are not allowed on the interstates and we pay into the system that pays for local roads, just like motorists.
2) Moving violations can only be enforced when witnessed by a trained police officer, there are exceptions for the most grievous of cases but those are not mentioned here so no demonstrable need for bike IDs.
3) Related; But cars pay for roads… https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100301134330599
Western Maryland Rail Trail extension may bypass all tunnels
from TheWashCycle by washcycle
NPS is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding the proposed extension of the Western Maryland Rail Trail from Pearre Station, Washington County, MD to the Paw Paw Tunnel area of the park, near Paw Paw, West Virginia. As part of that they’ve released four preliminary alternatives for the trail. These alternatives vary primarily in the distance the trail will be extended.
Alternative 4 (see below) builds the trail all the way to the Paw Paw Tunnel Access/Campground Parking Area. So really it is a matter of how much then can afford to do. Alternative 4 is the best option though.
The bad news is about the tunnels. It was already decided that the trail would bypass the Indigo Tunnel to preserve bat habitat. Now, they’re considering bypassing both the Stickpile Tunnel and the Kessler Tunnel for the same reason.
Bypass options to avoid use of the tunnels and install bat gates are being considered because the tunnels provide habitat (called hibernacula) for many species of bat. Additionally, White Nose Syndrome (WNS) has killed more than a million bats in the Northeast United States. Human activities in the tunnels could cause stress to bats and increase the risk to spread WNS. WNS is a relatively new condition and the NPS in consultation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and United States Fish and Wildlife Service, will examine the potential effects of different options as it relates to the use of tunnels for the extension of the WMRT.
I’m no biologist so I can’t tell you how legitimate a threat this is, but it would be a bummer to lose the tunnels as part of the trail. It would, of course, also be a bummer to kill all the bats. Even with closed tunnels, it would still create an interesting alternative to the C&O Canal Towpath and allow for some amazing views of the Potomac River on the 6 new crossings. But I vote for trails open if possible.
There are further options about parking locations and about crossover trail design from the WMRT to the C&O Canal towpath. I don’t care too much about the former, but on the later I’d like to see the more direct options chosen as opposed to switchbacks. That’s Option 1 on the east side of Indigo Tunnel and Option 3 on the west side (which has the most gradual slope and more paving, but probably does the most damage since it includes a retaining wall).
The comment period runs to August 15th, so if you have opinions, let them be known now. The whole process is to be complete by the end of the year.
One last tidbit
A separate study is being performed by the Maryland State Highway Administration involving widening the US-51 Bridge and creating a bike lane/path between the NPS Paw Paw Tunnel Access and the town of Paw Paw, WV. This project would provide for better pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between the C&O Canal NHP and the town of Paw Paw, WV. The study team will consider this improvement in the planning process for the WMRT Extension.
Continue reading “Western Maryland Rail Trail extension may bypass all tunnels”
How modern traffic signs are born: ‘Bikes may use full lane’
From TBD On Foot
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Maryland’s state policy on the "Bikes May Use Full Lane" sign is still very much evolving. Earlier this summer came what appears to now be mistaken news that Maryland had rejected the sign, as this May 2011 letter from Maryland’s statewide studies team shows (PDF). The team leader states that Maryland will not adopt the R4-11 sign and points to the reasoning that New York used: the sign "could mislead inexperienced bicyciists [sic] into occupying inappropriate, and unsafe, positions within a roadway." Instead, the official preference would be for Shared Lane markings or the yellow "Share the Road" signs. A strong reaction from the Washington Area Bicycle Association — in which a purported 625 e-mails were sent to Maryland officials advocating for the sign — have reopened the question. The last word was that Maryland officials did plan to "develop appropriate guidelines" for the traffic sign.
So much emotion over the road! It’s a fun look into what’s really a serious (if painstakingly long-term) process that continues the traditions I first described arising in the 1920s. This "Bikes May Use Full Lane" example is especially relevant to D.C. area bikers given the intensity that surrounds the different types of riders out there. We saw some of that earlier this month when WABA’s Shane Farthing suggested new legislation allowing cyclists to fight back against angry, aggressive drivers more easily. There’s a lot of vehicles out there sharing these roads, from cars to bikes to Segways, and the need for new, clear traffic signs is always evolving.
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Continue reading “How modern traffic signs are born: ‘Bikes may use full lane’”
Bikes strengthen community ties
Cpl. James Beasock, a community police officer for Prince George’s County District 6, bikes with a crowd of young West Laurel residents July 11. (Photo by Noah Scialom, Patuxent Publishing / July 10, 2011)
By Amanda Yeager
Squad car sirens wailed and traffic temporarily came to a halt on West Laurel streets July 11, but not because of crime: Police officers were going for an evening bike ride with local kids as part of an event called Biking with Beasock.
Cpl. James Beasock, a community police officer for District 6 in Prince George’s County; and his partner, Cpl. Gerald Knight, organize neighborhood walks and train crime watch groups throughout the district. The biking program is their latest effort to connect with Laurel’s youngest residents.
“It seems like a lot of kids today are afraid of police officers,” said Beasock. He explained that sirens and flashing lights can make police seem intimidating to young people. His aim is for children to know him by his name and not by his uniform.
The idea behind the bike ride was to come up with an activity that police and children could enjoy together.
“We decided, let’s do a bike ride, because all kids like to bike,” said Knight.
A ride scheduled in June had to be canceled due to rain.
A group of 40 kids, parents and police officers gathered at Bond Mill Elementary Monday at 6 p.m. for the ride. Knight gave a brief speech about bike safety — telling everyone to wear helmets, stick together and keep to the right of the road — and then they were off, a colorful cluster of kids on two-wheelers, bikes with training wheels, a wheelchair and even a motorized four-wheel mini truck.
Bikes on Amtrak — Why Such an Ordeal?
[B’ Spokes: Just to note NJ Transit lets bikes on their trains off-peek hours. Basically if the car can handle handicap it can hand a bike. Some photos after the fold.]
By Virginia Bicycling Federation
For several years, the Virginia Bicycling Federation been asking Amtrak to make it easier to take our bikes on their trains. We think its a win for Amtrak by increasing ridership and a win for cyclists who would like to carry their bikes to destinations for touring, recreation, or making the final connection on their trips, excursions and vacations.
As things stand now, if a person wants to carry their bike on a train in Virginia, they must disassemble the bike and box it — a hassle at best, but a deal breaker for someone who isn’t handy with a wrench. For someone not mechanically inclined, they would need to take a trip to a bike shop to break their bike down and box it – which, of course, precludes riding your bike to the train station — and do the same at their destination. A deal breaker for all but the most dedicated.
You then must pay a special handling fee to Amtrak to transport the bike.
Multiply all this by two for the return trip home.
I think most would agree this is a hassle.
We’ve asked Amtrak to reconsider their policy and carry unboxed bikes – heaven forbid – but have been told they would need need new, high-tech baggage cars make this difficult situation work.
According to Jay McArthur, Amtrak’s Principal Officer for Policy and Development:
Roll-on/roll-off bicycle carriage is not possible at this time on our Crescent and Silver Service routes which run through Virginia to and from New Orleans and Florida.
Those that fight traffic tickets 25% more likely to be in a car crash in 3 years
B’ Spokes: Seems rather intuitive to me, if you think you did nothing wrong when you got a speeding ticket or whatever you are going to fight it. Whoopsy, there IS a reason for those silly laws.
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The researchers, based at the University of Maryland and the National Transportation Safety Board, kept track of nearly 30,000 Maryland drivers who had been ticketed for speeding.
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Overall, those who went to court were 25 percent more likely to get in a car crash in the three years following their speeding ticket than those who paid a fine by mail, the research team reported in the Annals of Epidemiology.
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Found via Stop The Maryland Unsafe Driver
https://feedproxy.google.com/~r/StopTheMarylandUnsafeDriver/~3/uHe38zOoEfE/
Pedestrians struck in Salisbury, OC
SALISBURY — Authorities in Ocean City and Salisbury are investigating separate incidents of pedestrians struck by vehicles on Friday, including a 6-year-old boy.
Both victims were conscious and remained hospitalized late Friday.
About 2 p.m., a 34-year-old man was pinned beneath a car near 123rd Street and Coastal Highway, according to the Ocean City Fire Department.
The victim was freed after about 15 minutes by Ocean City firefighters and paramedics, the fire department said.
He was conscious when transported by helicopter to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, authorities said.
An hour later in Salisbury, a 6-year-old boy on a bicycle was struck by a commercial recycling truck, said Sgt. Jessica Hill at the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.
The boy was thrown, and the bicycle was pinned beneath the truck, Hill said. The accident happened at 3:30 p.m. on West Road between Booth and Oliver streets.
The child’s condition was uncertain Friday afternoon, the sergeant said.
Both accidents are under investigation.
Continue reading “Pedestrians struck in Salisbury, OC”
Are Traffic Ticket Guilty Pleas Admissible in Accident Cases?
[B’ Spokes: The following article really makes me wonder if our traffic fines are too low if it is just not worth the bother to fight them. If enforcement of traffic laws is a joke and the fines are a joke does anyone really think that makes our roads safer.]
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By Laura G. Zois
Should traffic ticket guilty pleas be admissible in a civil case? Most courts, including Maryland, believe that it is unfair to defendants in civil cases to allow traffic ticket guilty pleas to hover over an accident case because tickets are – for better or worse – not a big deal to most people. Maybe the defendant pled guilty because he didn’t feel like presenting a defense or taking the day off work. Or maybe the pain of sitting through all of the idiotic arguments of silly people in traffic court was just not their cup of tea. (Has anyone actually seen a decent argument made in traffic court? Does such footage even exist?)
Another school of thought – my preferred school of thought – is the "juries are not stupid" argument. Novel idea, sure. But here is how it goes. "Okay, Mr. Defendant, you skipped your criminal trial, pleading guilty, because you didn’t feel like going. Fair enough. Tell the jury that."
Makes sense, right? The defendant is free to explain the circumstances of the decision to the jury. It is not unduly prejudicial or complex. Everyone gets it. Let the jury decide how much weight should be given to the evidence.
Continue reading “Are Traffic Ticket Guilty Pleas Admissible in Accident Cases?”
Bikes May Use Full Lane sign still under consideration
Dear Bicycle Advocate:
Thank you for your email to Governor Martin O’Malley, the State Highway Administration (SHA), and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) regarding the R4-11 “Bikes May Make Use of Full Lane” sign. The Governor received your email and asked me to respond on his behalf, and I am also responding on behalf of the SHA.
Consistent with Governor O‘Malley’s policy initiatives to encourage bicycle use and accommodate bicyclists, MDOT and SHA will develop guidelines for the appropriate use of the R4-1 l sign. As we previously agreed, the SHA will consult with stakeholders before adopting a final set of guidelines. I apologize that incorrect information was communicated prior to any formal decision.
Thank you, again, for your email. The Governor appreciates hearing from you, and, on his behalf, I also thank you for your interest in this issue. If we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Tom Hicks, Director of Traffic and Safety, SHA at 410-787-5815 or, toll-free, at 1-888-963-0307.
Sincerely,
Beverley K. Swaim-Staley
Secretary
Continue reading “Bikes May Use Full Lane sign still under consideration”