Category: Biking in Maryland

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) has a article about rescissions which I will highlight:
"For example, after the last round of rescission, Washington Area Bicycle Association (WABA) members sent almost 700 emails to the DOT director to express displeasure with bike/ped rescissions. This time DC was among those that rescinded nothing for TE."
Writing works, getting involved works. Be apart of the change.
While Maryland was not specifically mentioned but LAB notes "you can send an alert to your governor asking that TE (MD’s issue is CMAQ) is spent quickly and not unfairly rescinded in the future."
Does that mean the problem is basically Maryland doesn’t spend the money and doesn’t plan to spend the money so the Feds ask for it back? Yep, that’s the basic problem. I will also note that there is nothing faster then bike/ped projects going from planning to being on the ground.
Continue reading “Rescissions hit bike programs hard”

On the positive side Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trail funding wasn’t hit as hard as they could have been. And these two funding sources are what the State uses for bike/ped programs so not too bad on that account. (Everyone has to make some sacrifices.)
But Congestion Management and Air Quality a funding source that could be used for bike/ped but currently is not, had $4,235,975.00 rescinded. That’s more then years worth of trails. Ouch!
Keep in mind rescissions come about because States are slow to utilize all their funding. Or more to the point, because of MD’s draconian policies of not allowing the full range of bicycle accommodations to qualify for these funds and by requiring the highest match in the nation an obscene amount of money (at least for bike/ped but way to small to accommodate more cars) has been left to rot.
Continue reading “Response to Rescission of Unobligated Balances”

By Bob Mionske
Like many New Yorkers, Bobby Bowen had re-discovered the joy of cycling in the city. As Bobby had explained riding everywhere made him feel happy and helped him stay fit and feel alive. It’s a feeling we all know. The simple act of traveling somewhere is transformed into a moving celebration of life.
For Bowen, that celebration came crashing to a sudden and tragic end on August 26. Sometime around 11 p.m., as he was riding to a friend’s house, a truck hauling a flatbed trailer struck Bowen, injuring him so badly that doctors couldn’t even perform surgery. Still, Bowen hung on, clinging to life throughout the weekend. Despite his valiant struggle to live, his fight ended just before midnight on August 30.
An accomplished jazz bassist and music professor at Hofstra University, Bowen left behind a devastated family, and stunned friends, students and colleagues.
The driver never even stopped, and although there were cameras at the scene of the crash, there was nothing conclusive in the footage that would allow the police to identify the truck.
I wish I could say that a driver hitting another human being and leaving the scene is an aberration. I wish I could say that drivers are careful and conscientious, and that when there’s an accident and somebody is injured, they always stop and render assistance. I wish I could say those things, but I can’t, because they’re not true. When apologists for negligent drivers assure us that we don’t need penalties for vehicular homicide, because the remorse that drivers feel is punishment enough, I wonder what planet these apologists live on. Certainly not this one, where drivers can apparently hit, injure and perhaps even kill another human being, and keep on driving, as if they had just driven over nothing more consequential than a stick in the road. If you think that’s too harsh an indictment, consider just two of the many incidents of hit and run we have seen in the news:
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On September 20, 2010, Natasha Pettigrew , a law student at the University of Miami, and the Green Party candidate for the US Senate seat currently held by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, was training for a triathlon on an early Sunday morning. At 5:30 a.m., she was struck and critically injured by an SUV; the driver was reported to have momentarily slowed after impact, but did not stop, reportedly driving nearly three miles with a flat tire and sparks flying from under her SUV. Pettigrew was rushed to the hospital, and while police were investigating the scene, the driver called police, reporting that she had thought she had hit a dog, or a deer, but after arriving at home, had found a bicycle lodged under her vehicle. The next day, Pettigrew succumbed to her injuries. The driver was not charged.
In most crashes, I think there is no question that the driver is absolutely aware that there has been a collision, even if the driver is unsure of exactly what has happened. We all know how berserk drivers can get when a cyclist slaps the side of their car to let the driver know that the cyclist is about to be crushed. There is simply no way that a driver can be completely unaware that there has been an impact to the vehicle when the driver hits a cyclist with enough force to kill. It might be true that the driver didn’t see the cyclist, and thus, didn’t know that it was a cyclist that had been hit, but a person on a bike is big; and a bike contains lots of hard metal that will make noise. Even if you mistakenly run over a small animal, like ground hog, or something larger, like a dog, it’s an event. Hitting a person is a far bigger, louder collision, one that can cause serious damage to the car, too.
Applying Ockham’s razor—the theory that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one—the explanation is that these drivers did feel the impact, but kept on driving. And again applying Ockham’s razor, the reason is that the driver didn’t want to face the consequences of hitting another human being.
And that’s understandable. After all, the consequences are serious, and in that split second after the sickening thud that we all know that they feel, the driver must decide what to do. Some drivers stop and render assistance. Some panic and keep driving.
And I think the reality is that all too often, hit and run drivers do know what happened, but in that split moment after impact, they panic, because they are driving drunk, or without a license, and they realize the seriousness of the consequences if they stop. After all, if the driver hasn’t done anything wrong, there’s no reason to flee, and risk the felony charges that apply. I think that what we are often witnessing is the driver making a split-second calculation, weighing the risks of facing a DUI with homicide charge, against the risks involved in fleeing the scene, and as long as the risks of stopping are greater than the risks of fleeing, some drivers will choose the lesser risk and flee.
Did the driver who hit and killed Natasha Pettigrew know the awful truth of what happened when she felt the impact? Did she see the unfolding horror of Pettigrew disappearing under her SUV too late to react and save her? Did she give in to a moment of panic, only to be confronted later with the grim reality of Pettigrew’s bike wedged firmly under her SUV?
Or did she truly believe that she had only hit a dog or a deer, and continue driving home ? All we know at this point is that after hitting Pettigrew, the driver of the SUV went home and contacted police. But even if we take what the driver had to say at face value—that she didn’t see a cyclist who was directly in front of her and equipped with lights, on a lighted road, and that she thought that her flat tire and the shower of sparks coming from under her vehicle were caused by a collision with a dog, or perhaps a deer—we should be asking some very serious questions about whether this driver exhibits the basic level of competence that should be expected of motor vehicle operators.
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Continue reading “Hit and Run”

We all should be familiar with Natasha Pettigrew the Green Party candidate for US Senate killed by a driver of a Cadillac Escalade, which is not exactly known for being environmentally friendly. But Natasha isn’t the only high profile person killed while riding a bicycle by an SUV in PG County with questionable ruling not to charge the motorist. Yoram Kaufman, a leading scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center whose research has led to greater understanding of global warming was also killed while riding his bike by an SUV. In Yoram’s case the driver was doing 55mph in a 25mph but Yoram might have done a "Suicide Swerve" (yes we have a name for this to point out the ridiculousness of the charge.) Despite the fact that if the driver was doing the speed limit Yoram would probably be alive today even if he did a "Suicide Swerve" the driver was not charged.
How many good people have to die before we take drivers to task that people are not just road kill?
Take action here: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20100927212802234
and here: https://environment.change.org/petitions/view/no_more_senseless_bicycle_deaths_2
Continue reading “Big honking SUVs vs. environmentalists”

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.
Jury Verdict Research conducted a study of its database of verdicts and found that the average jury award in a bicycle accident case is $279,970. Underscoring how high jury verdicts distort the average verdict, the overall median money awarded in bike accident cases is $50,000. Moreover, Plaintiff’s only prevail in 41% of the cases that go to trial.
I think the relatively low success rate of bicycle accident cases at trial is a general bias against bikes that may be even stronger than the bias against motorcycles. Many jurors, who typically drive cars, simply think bicycles shouldn’t be on the road.
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Continue reading “Average Bicycle Accident Verdict”

Green Party candidate’s death underscores county’s high pedestrian fatality rate
by Liz Skalski | Staff Writer | Gazette
A new state bicycle safety law is poised to take effect less than two weeks after a recent deadly crash in the county involving a bicyclist and a sport utility vehicle.
The new law, which goes into effect Friday, requires at least a 3-foot buffer between vehicles and bicycles and that motorists yield right-of-way to bicyclists.
Prince George’s County — with its high population, dense living spaces and few sidewalks along major roads — tops the state in pedestrian deaths and fatal motor vehicle crashes, according to the State Highway Administration. More than 100 pedestrians and drivers have died each year since 2002.
"The new law is very specific and does give a specific buffer so the motorist and the rider can share the road safely," said Peter Moe, bicycle safety coordinator for the Maryland Highway Safety Office at the State Highway Administration.
Moe said bicycle safety "is a two-way street."
"When bicycles act like and are treated like vehicles, they do OK," Moe said. "It comes down to the mutual responsibility — mutual respect goes a long way."
The penalty for motorists who cause a crash that involves a bicycle, pedestrian or motorcycle face up to a $1,000 fine, the suspension of their driver’s license and three points on their driver’s license if there’s a crash where there’s a violation of right of way and serious injury, Moe said.
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Jim Titus, 55, of Glenn Dale, a board member for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and the Prince George’s County representative for the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said while Pettigrew’s crash may be a wakeup call for bicycle and pedestrian safety in the county, it isn’t necessary "the perfect example of what is wrong."
"What this is symptomatic of is drivers, particularly in larger vehicles, not looking very closely for smaller things — bicyclists, pedestrians, turtles, dogs. Drivers need to look for small things," Titus said. "It really should be a wakeup call, but the reason isn’t the precise — you don’t draw too tight of a nexus until we understand why it happened."
Titus said there is a "mutual misunderstanding" and "a lack of education of safety procedures" between motorists and bicyclists.
"The normal person needs to know what the cyclist is going to do; the cyclist needs to know what the driver is going to do," Titus said. "It behooves cyclists to be very careful, to pay very careful attention to the traffic because the traffic may not be."
Pettigrew’s mother, Kenniss Henry of Cheverly, said she has heard that the county has a mixed record when it comes to charging people involved in pedestrian and biking accidents.
"A loss of life is a loss of life," Henry said. "We seriously need to look at how we balance these scales."
Continue reading “New bicycle buffer law to take effect”

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Two meetings on consecutive nights, Sept. 28 and 29, were held for the purpose of gathering citizen input during the project’s detailed study phase.
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A handful of options have been selected by the project team and were presented in detail through boards and animations in workshops at the meetings. Similar information can be viewed online by clicking https://apps.roads.maryland.gov/WebProjectLifeCycle/ProjectInformation.asp?projectno=SM3511118
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Other speakers asked for assurance that supposed jobs from the project would benefit local people, expressed worry that a new bridge and intersection would draw even more traffic and offered praise or disdain for the plan to incorporate a bicycle/pedestrian path into the majority of options.
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Comments and concerns can be emailed to Project Manager Jeremy Becky jbeck@sha.state.md.us. The public record will remain open until Nov. 1.
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Continue reading “State Solicits Citizen Input on Bottlenecks, Thomas Johnson Bridge”

Let me put this another way. If we create laws that are tough on traffic offenders then it makes it more diffucult for them to take a plea. If they don’t plea then the defense attorny’s have to spend more time in court. There is also the thought that if laws get tougher then there will be less offenders, less offenders means less cleints, less cleints means, wait for it, "LESS MONEY". People I’m a cop and see this every day. The court is a joke. I have arrested hundreds of DWI offenders and I’m one of the top DWI enforcement officers in this state. Over the years I have only had "ONE" person go to jail for a DWI offense. ALl the others pled guilty, were granted probation before judgement (PBJ), paid a modest fine, attended a victim impact panel, got there license back and laughed all the way home. Trust me one this one, I have over 20 years experience at this, the courts in this state are a joke. But wait thats not all, even if you did get a good sentence on an offender, chances are it won’t last long. In Maryland we have "Reconsideration of Sentence". Thats right, 30 days, 6 months, 6 years later, an "ATTORNEY" can go back to the judge or if that judge is retired or has died, another judge and ask that the sentence be changed. Thats right someone can kill your love one in a DWI related crash, get a sentence and years later without your knowledge hire an attorney to get his sentence changed or reduced. As long as you got the "MONEY", and yes these guys are making the laws in this state. FOX GUARDING THE HEN HOUSE
Continue reading “Traffic court is a joke”

B’ Spokes: If you think people have a right to be treated better then just road kill please write:
Maryland State Police
Barrack L – Forestville
3500 Forestville Road
Forestville, Maryland 20747
301-568-8101 (phone) 301-735-1693 (fax)
forestville@mdsp.org

– and –

Col. Terrence B. Sheridan, Secretary of State Police (410) 486-3101
media@mdsp.org

And call:
Office of The State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County
Glenn Ivey
State’s Attorney
Courthouse
14735 Main Street
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-3050
Contact: Receptionist
(301) 952-3500
Fax: (301) 952-3775

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In this video: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/A-Law-Student-and-Senate-Candidate-Was-Struck-by-an-SUV-Sunday-103385829.html

Starting at 0:40 (State?) police says “She [the driver] complied with the laws.”
Really now?

§ 20-102. Driver to remain at scene – Accidents resulting in bodily injury or death.

§ 20-104. Duty to give information and render aid.

As
far as I am concerned all the driver did was give information
(eventually) and failed in the other two requirements. 

I am outraged by the implication that cyclists are essentially in the same category as dead animal removal… just call the appropriate agency at your earliest convenience and that is the beginning and end of your duty. I will strongly assert a reasonable person would have (or should have) in short order inspected such damage to their car and realized they hit a person (flat tire and dragging a bike for three miles is acceptable defense???) Assuming that it is valid to assert that one could not see a cyclist right in front of car headlights (which is not the same thing as asserting not being able to avoid hitting said cyclist.)

So we have a supposedly an ongoing investigation but 

• The police are already coming out in defense of the motorist
• Publicly misrepresenting the laws

And this is not the first time, there is the MBPAC October 2009 resolution about St. Mary’s fatality.

Yoram Kaufman’s fatality (also in PG County.)

And there is the Jack Yates fatality. I assumed once the video showed up showing that in fact the truck did not signal its turn that would go in favor of the cyclists, then we got this response from the police:

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I am the commander of the Traffic Section within the Baltimore Police
Department. I supervise the Crash Team and therefore the e-mail you
authored to Mayor Sheila Dixon was forwarded to me for a response.



I was at the scene of this tragic crash and I know that this incident
was investigated thoroughly from the very beginning as a very serious
issue, as all fatal crashes are. We have obtained a video of this
incident that shows the entire event.



There are only some aspects of this case that are public record. I will
tell you that the video clearly shows the cyclist to be at fault.
There is no “right to the road” as a cyclist. You have the same rights
as a motor vehicle and also the same obligations. The cyclist was not
operating within those parameters. The tanker truck that the cyclist
struck was a large one. The cyclist struck it in the rear. There is no
evidence to support that the driver was ever aware there was an impact.
Do not believe what the media reports as entirely true regarding this
or any event.



The investigators within the unit are very educated and experienced in
all types of crashes and have attended several schools specific to the
physics of a pedestrian crash and a cyclist fatal crash. With regard to
the question of it being investigated as a hit and run accident, not
only was it investigated as such but the truck was located by
investigators within a few days of the incident.



Please feel free to contact my office if you have any further questions.



Lt. Leslie Bank

Traffic Commander

Baltimore Police Department

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In investigating the statement in bold the police asserted that Yates did not obey a traffic control device… a sign that says parking is permitted during off-peek hours. Seriously? It’s illegal to ride in a parking lane? No way would such a ticket hold up if there was no accident, ah but if there was an accident so now the behavior is illegal, so the rule is where ever a cyclists was when a crash occurred if we can make up something that says he could have been somewhere else then the cyclists is at fault. This is plain and simple wrong reasoning and highly biased against cyclists. 

 I am not filled with confidence that the police are always fair when investigating cyclist’s crashes and I hope this will be corrected.