Month: July 2010

Posted on

Jail time for hitting cyclists?

by Pamela Selle

You probably heard about the cyclists hit in Chicago by drunk drivers — for fun.

Now, Adam Voiland of the DC Bicycle Transportation Examiner has brought up the crime-and-punishment point: Should motorists get jail time for hitting cyclists? If this is an issue you care about, Voiland shared the text of the original action letter provided by the Active Transportation Alliance of Chicago.

One of Voiland’s points got me thinking:

Regardless of whether the assailants spend significant amounts of
time in jail (and, given the precedent not publishing them sets, they
ought to get a minimum of six months of the two to five years that are
possible), I do hope the state has the sense to ban the men from driving
again any time soon.

(Emphasis added). While this advocacy action expresses the general outrage against the ruling (and you gotta admit, hitting cyclists for fun is pretty low on the acceptable-societal-behavior totem pole), I want to know, can they still drive? Making sure it’s known that hitting a cyclist makes you lose your license for some amount of time would certainly incentivize people to be more careful on the road.

Continue reading “Jail time for hitting cyclists?”

Posted on

BPD Seeks Public Assistance in Fatal Hit & Run

Baltimore, MD / July 1, 2010 – Baltimore Police are seeking public assistance in investigating a fatal hit and run @ 700 Woodbourne Avenue on 6/13/10 at approximately 0258 hours.

Police are looking for a dark colored 2007 Chrysler 300 with possible front-end windshield damage. The vehicle has a Maryland tag.

Anyone with information should contact Detective David Simms at 410-396-2606.

SAMPLE CAR BELOW

image
SAMPLE VEHICLE

Continue reading “BPD Seeks Public Assistance in Fatal Hit & Run”

Posted on

Tuesday Bouillabaisse

from Cycle Jerk

Blog post Bouillabaisse! When I see something cool that I think might be blog worthy I drop the link in a folder fro safe keeping or until I have nothing to say then need to post about something. for some reason I just need to post sometimes. So here are a few items and thoughts that I have been sitting on over the past week. 
I’ll start with a piece of gear I thought was worth passing on. The BrentBasket by Faris Elmasu. At first glance it looks like another piece of Swedish mod garbage but then I saw how well it held a six pack. It seems pretty versatile and stylish, but those are two things that probably don’t add up to longevity, but who knows.
imageimage

Continue reading “Tuesday Bouillabaisse”

Posted on

Zipcar comes to B’more

by Nate Evans

It might seem counterproductive to help Baltimore go car-free by providing….cars.  In the big picture, it makes sense.  Cars are only used 10% of the time with the other 90% of the time taking up parking spaces.  Since users only need cars 10% of the time, why not just share. 

So what does this have to do with bikes?  The new Zipcar spaces on Lexington St in front of City Hall have bike racks on the signposts.  The current parking spots for Zipcar can be a hike from most residential areas, but not a bad bike ride.  This is just another way how bikes are being incorportated into the city’s transportation system.

Continue reading “Zipcar comes to B’more”

Posted on

Bait bikes: the way to beat theft gangs

…
The pilot schemes seemed to show bait bikes are a significant deterrent. Bikes thefts dropped by 45% at Cambridge rail station when British Transport Police tested the method. Even in the UK’s bike theft capital, London, rates dropped by around a third in one local trial.
…
There are two main deterrents to cycling: road safety and theft. Gangs of young kids often steal the bikes and pass them on to criminals who store them in lock ups and garages before selling them. The advantage of using bait bikes is that it enables you to track the stolen bike back to the organised gang lock up, rather than just arresting the young bike thieves… You’ve got to get the gangs. You’ve got to find out where they keep the bikes.
Continue reading “Bait bikes: the way to beat theft gangs”

Posted on

Easter Seals Project ACTION seeks better youth mobility

"For years we’ve viewed education and employment as integral to a successful transition to independent living in adulthood. But it’s transportation that literally links students with disabilities to schools, the workplace, and every other destination in community life. If they don’t have access to transportation, independent living becomes impossible, and this list is a road map to improve that access."

* Share information about transportation resources with youth.
* Train youth to use public transportation.
* Expand limited public transportation service on nights and weekends.
* Include student and school transportation issues in local transportation planning.
* Help planners learn about the family of transportation services, eligibility criteria, and funding streams available.

Continue reading “Easter Seals Project ACTION seeks better youth mobility”

Posted on

Scofflaw motorists

When people identify me as a cycling advocate the conversation usually turns to scofflaw cyclists and I usually respond with the question "Do you always obey the speed limit as a motorist?" Which gets an affirmative response so I query further "Even on 83 or the beltway?" Now the responses get interesting as they usually follow the lines of "Of course not, you’d get killed if you did the speed limit there."

Well at least one reader of Michael Dresser’s column calls for a different approach… more enforcement.

"Maryland’s drivers must be re-educated that the speed limit does not mean it is the minimum speed! "

"People are going to die because of this lack of enforcement. The State, the County, and the City; and all of their executives OWN THIS PROBLEM! Re-educate the people."

Even Michael Dresser says "As one who had a near-terminal experience on the Jones Falls Expressway when a speeding driver spun out in front of me, I can sympathize."

I really have to ask when are we going to look at traffic "accidents" differently? 80-90% of them are preventable and the cost on human lives is not worth trying to shave a few minutes off of travel time.

Continue reading “Scofflaw motorists”