baltimorespokes

[B’ Spokes: Looking at Google maps, no crosswalks no pedestrian signals … yup the pedestrian must be at fault as roads are dangerous by design.]
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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
On Sept. 27, at approximately 7:43 p.m., Calvert County Detective Traas called out with a personal injury accident involving a pedestrian that was struck northbound on Maryland Route 4 at the intersection of Fox Run Boulevard in Prince Frederick.
Members of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene and assessed the situation. Preliminary investigation revealed that a Calvert County Sheriff’s Office unmarked Chevrolet Impala was traveling north along Maryland Route 4 approaching the intersection of Fox Run Boulevard when a pedestrian wearing dark, non reflective clothing entered the roadway from Fox Run Shopping Center.
The pedestrian was struck by the detective’s vehicle, causing the pedestrian to be vaulted into the southbound turn lane of Route 4. The pedestrian was transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
Three witnesses were interviewed and gave written statements as to what they observed during the incident. The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office requested the Maryland State Police Crash Team handle the investigation of the fatal crash because it involved a fatality with an agency vehicle. It was raining and visibility was reduced at the time of the crash.
The name of the deceased is not being released at this time due to the fact the family has not been notified. The pedestrian is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Maryland State Police Prince Frederick barrack are investigating a fatal pedestrian accident in Prince Frederick.
Rescue crews responded to report of a pedestrian struck on Route 4 near the Fox Run Shopping Center around 7:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 27.
Upon arrival, it was discovered that a pedestrian had been struck by a Sheriff’s deputy driving an unmarked vehicle. The pedestrian was transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital where the patient later died as a result of injuries received.
Authorities continue to investigate.
Continue reading “UPDATE: Fatal Pedestrian Accident”

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”