Month: November 2009

By Meghan Daum – Los Angeles Times
…
And though most drivers, mercifully, don’t harbor as much animosity as Thompson, I suspect there may be more of him out there than we might like to think.
Why? For starters, many people don’t know what rights cyclists do and do not have, which pretty much makes them assume they have none. I was in this category myself until I consulted the bicycle laws in the California Vehicle Code and learned that a cyclist has "all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle." In other words, you’re not supposed to dart through red lights on a bike (shame on you, 80% of Lycra wearers in my neighborhood).
But guess what: It’s perfectly legal to occupy the whole lane, not just hang on the side, if you’re going the same speed as traffic. The speed limit on Mandeville Canyon is 30 mph (it’s 25 mph on most residential L.A. streets), which, according to the injured cyclists’ GPS data, was about the speed they were traveling when Thompson stopped in front of them. In other words, if you’re getting impatient with a "slow" cyclist in front of you, it’s probably because you’re speeding. (It hurts me to say this as much as it does for you to hear it.)
So now that you know, are you going to stop swearing at cyclists? My guess is no. Because there’s a larger bone of contention here, which is that cyclists make a lot of us feel like lazy slobs. Whereas drivers sit in an air-conditioned bubble, expending only the energy required to press the gas pedal, tap the brake and change from a ’70s classic rock radio station to an ’80s classic rock station, cyclists are out in the actual elements doing actual exercise. Whereas drivers are consuming calories by eating an entire bucket of KFC over 10 blocks, cyclists are burning calories and consuming nothing but seaweed at home. Whereas drivers’ carbon footprints grow more beast-like by the hour, cyclists create no exhaust other than the sweet fatigue they feel as they drift off to saintly sleep at night.
Of course, moral superiority is insufferable, but you still shouldn’t try to run it off the road or teach it a lesson with the family car. You might win on the street, but in court, it’s a different story.
Continue reading “Cyclists and motorists on collision course”

From the peer-reviewed literature; just published in the Environmental Health Journal by five researchers from the University of British Columbia:

Methods
We reviewed studies of the impact of transportation infrastructure on bicyclist safety. The results were tabulated within two categories of infrastructure, namely that at intersections (e.g. roundabouts, traffic lights) or between intersections on “straightaways” (e.g. bike lanes or paths). To assess safety, studies examining the following outcomes were included: injuries; injury severity; and crashes (collisions and/or falls).

Results
The literature to date on transportation infrastructure and cyclist safety is limited by the incomplete range of facilities studied and difficulties in controlling for exposure to risk. However, evidence from the 23 papers reviewed (eight that examined intersections and 15 that examined straightaways) suggests that infrastructure influences injury and crash risk. Intersection studies focused mainly on roundabouts. They found that multi-lane roundabouts can significantly increase risk to bicyclists unless a separated cycle track is included in the design. Studies of straightaways grouped facilities into few categories, such that facilities with potentially different risks may have been classified within a single category. Results to date suggest that sidewalks and multi-use trails pose the highest risk, major roads are more hazardous than minor roads, and the presence of bicycle facilities (e.g. on-road bike routes, on-road marked bike lanes, and off-road bike paths) was associated with the lowest risk.

Conclusions
Evidence is beginning to accumulate that purpose-built bicycle-specific facilities reduce crashes and injuries among cyclists, providing the basis for initial transportation engineering guidelines for cyclist safety. Street lighting, paved surfaces, and low-angled grades are additional factors that appear to improve cyclist safety. Future research examining a greater variety of infrastructure would allow development of more detailed guidelines.
Continue reading “New study on the impact of transportation infrastructure on bicycling safety”

Photo: LA Times
By Patrick Brady – VeloNews

The courtroom gallery was filled to capacity Monday as a jury of seven women and five men announced it had convicted former emergency room doctor Christopher Thomas Thompson of assaulting a pair of cyclists last year by abruptly stopping his car in front of them.

For the first time in the trial, which spanned three weeks, cyclists outnumbered Thompson supporters in the gallery. There was a palpable tension in the room greater than any felt during the trial.

Thompson was convicted of six felonies: two counts each of assault with a deadly weapon and battery with serious bodily injury as well as reckless driving causing specified injury and mayhem. He was also convicted of misdemeanor reckless driving.

The six felonies stemmed from the July 4, 2008 incident with cyclists Ron Peterson and Christian Stoehr. The misdemeanor was occasioned by the altercation with cyclists Patrick Watson and Josh Crosby.
Continue reading “Judge denies bail as the prosecutor says no cyclist would feel safe with Thompson on the road”