When it comes to sharing the road with cyclists, it’s scarily common for car drivers to act as if they live above the law.
The case of Colorado wealth manager Martin Joel Erzinger, 52, proves this to the extreme.
Erzinger was driving his Mercedes on July 3rd when, according to The Vail Daily, he allegedly veered to the side of the road and struck a cyclist from behind.
Did he stop? No. Did he call 911? Did he attempt to help his victim, who survived but suffered severe spinal cord injuries and brain bleeding? No and no. Rather, Erzinger fled the scene and later stopped to call Mercedes auto assistance and report damage to his expensive vehicle.
Now, it looks like he could get off with a minor slap on the wrist: Eagle County District Attorney recently said he would drop the felony charges. And the reason isn’t because Erzinger successfully proved he wasn’t reckless, negligent or at fault for the accident. Nope, Erzinger is getting off because he is rich.
According to The Vail Daily article, the DA is worried that jail time would mean Erzinger can’t keep his job at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Denver office, where he manages more than $1 billion in assets and, according to Worth.com, is "dedicated to ultra high net worth individuals, their families and foundations.” No, really?
Not only is this raw deal outrageous for the victim, who isn’t so concerned about money (Erzinger says he is more than willing to pay his way out of this sticky situation…big surprise, there), it’s also outrageous for advocates who want to reduce urban congestion and the polluting emissions that result. Because how many people are really going to ditch their car if they think drivers can run them over and get off without a scratch?
As Change.org tech team member Joe Arasin writes in a petition he started over the issue, "Traffic laws exist to motivate all drivers to act in a manner that is safe for other users of the road, including pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers. To those of us who rely on bicycles for transportation and recreation, enforcement of laws that ensure our safety on the road is vital."
Some drivers think bicyclists deserve what they get simply for using the road, and apparently judges often agree. Dropping or downgrading felony charges is a common occurrence for two-wheeled collision victims, and several states lack bicycle homicide laws entirely. In one case, recently, I wrote about the hit-and-run death of U.S. Senate candidate Natasha Pettigrew in Maryland. Ms. Pettigrew lost her life and the SUV driver will likely lose only a few thousand dollars. And that driver wasn’t even super rich!
Around the country, bicycle advocacy groups are campaigning to make sure drivers like Erzinger are held accountable to the full extent of the law. Now, some are planning to boycott a major bike race in Vail in protest of the DA’s decision.
Join them in speaking out by telling DA Mark Hulbert to keep the felony charges.
https://www.change.org/petitions/view/da_mark_hurlbert_dont_drop_felony_charges_against_hit-and-run_wealth_manager
Continue reading “Hitting A Cyclist Might Not Matter Much If You Drive a Mercedes – Petition”
SRAM Partners with National Advocates to Double Federal Funding for Bicycling
from Bikeleague.org Blog by Meghan
The League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Biking & Walking are pleased to announce a new, three-year campaign to double federal funding for bicycling and walking by 2013. The Advocacy Advance initiative is backed by renewed support from SRAM, an innovative maker of bicycle components.
…
Continue reading “SRAM Partners with National Advocates to Double Federal Funding for Bicycling”
The 10 Worst States for Retirement – No. 5: Maryland
By Richard Barrington – CFA, personal finance expert for MoneyRates.com
Economic factors: Cost of living is 126 percent of the national average, unemployment is at 7.1 percent, and the average state and local tax burden is 10.8 percent.
Climate: Average monthly temperatures range from 32.24 degrees in January to 75.44 degrees in July.
Crime rate: 9th in the nation in violent crime, and 21st in property crime.
Life expectancy: 76.3 years.
Reason for low rank:Between the cost of living and the tax burden, Maryland is expensive, and the high rate of violent crime is also troubling.
Continue reading “The 10 Worst States for Retirement – No. 5: Maryland”
Something like a ghost bike for cars
This would be an interesting way to display our crashes every 5 minutes on average. Maybe have the wreck of the week on display at the local shopping center or something. If our wrecks stuck around for a bit, people might be reminded to be just a bit more cautious.
Continue reading “Something like a ghost bike for cars”
Just rename the road
Via Greater Greater Washington
by Erik Weber
Why not Fairfax County Avenue?: A Post story on Fairfax County Parkway laments that bus stops, cross walks, and intersections detract from the “spirit of a parkway.” Instead of spending $70 million to convert it to a highway couldn’t they just rename the road? (Joshua D.)
Continue reading “Just rename the road”
Bike Maryland – November 2010
Bike Lane Petition
As Baltimore City moves forward with bringing the 25th Street Station development to Remington, it is also important that the city moves forward with the development of new bike lanes in this area. However, throughout the public process, the needs of cyclist have been marginalized by several community groups. While traffic concerns and traffic calming are important issues that should not be ignored, Baltimore needs to acknowledge that not all traffic is car traffic. Car traffic will decrease if distinct bike lanes are created to offer a safer commuting corridor for cyclists. Furthermore, plans have been developed that will not impede automobile traffic.
Please sign this important petition and encourage the Department of Transportation to create bike lanes on Huntingdon Avenue and 25th Street. 25th Street is a vital link in the city’s bicycle network being the only east-west bike amenable street between North Avenue and 33rd Street. This route will not only connect Hampden and Remington neighborhoods to the Guilford Avenue bicycle boulevard and points downtown, but also provide a safer route for Johns Hopkins students from the university to the medical campus.
Dollar for Dollar Match!
Please consider a donation to Bike Maryland. Every dollar you donate will be completely matched dollar for dollar until December 31st! This opportunity doubles your donation power. This is our end of year fundraising campaign and your support is greatly appreciated as Bike Maryland moves towards the start of the 2011 General Assembly Session. Last year we promoted six bills which passed into law – including enhancing your right to bike and bike safely, promoting transparency in transportation funding and increasing alternative transportation opportunities. All donations substantially contribute to Bike Maryland’s ability to encourage and promote bicycling, increase safety, improve conditions, and provide a voice for all bicyclists throughout Maryland. Please click here to make a donation.
Single Track Trail Usage in Maryland Reservoirs
Approximately 200 people met last week to discuss reservoir single track trail restrictions. The goal was to raise awareness about access and recreation issues and convince lawmakers that we need their support to keep single track trails accessible to ALL user groups. The Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) Reservoir Natural Resources Section Police officers have begun enforcing an old and restrictive 1998 Mountain Biking Plan. Restrictions to single track access have been made by DPW without the public’s knowledge, input or the opportunity for real collaborative problem solving.
A review of the meeting can be viewed here.
Please sign this petition to tell Baltimore City’s Mayor, the City Council and the Department of Public Works that you want Single Track Trails at Maryland’s Loch Raven, Liberty and Pretty Boy Reservoirs to be legally open to ALL users including mountain bikers, hikers, runners, bird watchers and fishermen. CLICK HERE to sign the petition.
The Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (over 5,000 members, 950 volunteer hours at Loch Raven this year alone), the International Mountain Biking Association, Bike Maryland (17,000 members), local businesses, local schools, the boy scouts and the citizens who use the trails want and often already work to correct poor trail conditions, remove liter, protect the environment and our municipal water supply. These groups have expertise in building sustainable trails, provide a substantial volunteer base to maintain a world class trail system, and have a history of achieving results. DPW is being asked to partner with organized volunteer groups to help maintain the trails. Baltimore’s watershed areas are among the largest open spaces accessible to Maryland residents. They are a valuable recreational resource we cannot afford to lose!
Mary Bernsen’s Photo Contest Entry
from EcoVelo by Alan
Why I ride?
The view is different from the handle bars.
When my legs start moving, clarity of thoughts start flowing.
The busy pace of day-to-day is forgotten.
The senses begin to awaken.
The view is different from the handle bars.
I feel the chill of the morning, the heat of the mid-afternoon sun, and the breeze at night.
I smell the sweet scent of the flowers, the newly mowed grass and the wet pavement.
I hear the insects buzzing, the birds chirping, and the air whispering behind my ears.
The view is different from the handle bars.
Strangers become acquaintances and new friendship emerges.
Scenic locations are discovered and unknown paths are explored.
My soul rejoices as the sense of wonder waits in every turn.
The wind gently strokes my face, and a smile begins to form.
The view is truly different from the handle bars.
—Mary Bernsen
Election Emphasizes Lax Bicycle Accident Laws
From the GJEL Blog
As voters went to the polls yesterday, candidates, propositions, and the direction of the country were no doubt on their minds. Oddly enough, some Maryland voters were also likely thinking about bicycle safety, since one of the state’s candidates for US Senate was struck and killed by an SUV while on her bike earlier this year. The death of Green Party candidate Natasha Pettigrew once again emphasizes the need for stricter regulations enforcing bicycle safety and laws coaxing drivers to be more careful near cyclists.
Pettigrew’s mother is now leading the charge in Maryland to enforce stricter car-bike accident laws. Mother Jones Magazine points out that in Maryland, a driver must be “impaired, grossly negligent, or show intent to cause harm in order to be charged with a crime.” Currently, only nine states carry criminal penalties for bike-car accidents: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah.
Noticeably absent is California, which had 131 bike fatalities in 2008 alone. A Bicycle Times report earlier this year said this is partially because when bicycle use boomed in the 1970s, the state’s highway system was insufficient to support a bike-to-work population. “Until then, motor vehicle offenses were criminal,” David Hiller of Washington State’s Cascade Bicycle Club told Bicycle Times. But the sheer number of bicycle accident lawsuits overwhelmed the system, so “in exchange for waiving the right to due process, and to unclog the courts, the trade off was those cases would be handled in civil court.”
Fortunately, California lawmakers have announced their intention to boost bicycle safety laws over the next couple years. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for a statewide helmet law for all ages at an August “bike summit.” And LA City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl has suggested implementing a three foot passing law.
An investigation into the driver who struck Pettigrew is still pending. Ideally, her death and other tragic bicycle deaths will eventually lead to safety laws to benefit future cyclists.
Continue reading “Election Emphasizes Lax Bicycle Accident Laws”
Life Is One Of Those Precious Fleeting Gifts, And Everything Can Change in A Heartbeat.
[B’ Spokes: This is copied here in hopes of facilitating a reunion of a cyclist and his bike.]
******************************************************************************************************
Early last week, I was in the midst of doing my daily routine, and I heard an ambulance stop outside my house. I normally pay no attention to these sirens, since our fire station is located very close, and the passing of ambulances is a normal sound.
I glanced up from what I was doing and noticed two paramedics rushing through my front yard and toward my front door. I immediately opened the door to find a terribly injured middle aged man sitting at the bottom of my front porch steps. A paramedic quickly explained to me that this man was in a bicycle accident that occurred directly outside my house, and that they had received a 911 call for help. I was shocked, horrified and definitely taken back by the course of events that was unfolding in front of me. The paramedics were quickly bandaging, taping and asking the man a million and one questions.
I asked the man if I could call someone for him or do anything to help, and his only request to me was that I keep his bicycle safe so he might retrieve it at a later time. The slurring of his words and slow speech pattern clearly resonated that he was in shock. He was then quickly whisked him off in an ambulance.
I had the chance to question the paramedic as to the course of events that had happened. He told me that the biker had hit the curb and was propelled over his handlebars. He fell, straddling the street and the curb, and landed on the side of his head. Of his visible injuries, they included two broken wrists, a dislocated shoulder, and a large head contusion.
As the ambulance pulled away and I was processing everything, I then noticed the blood trail that led from the street pavement up to the rocking chair that sat on my front porch, and also two tooth fragments. I am still trying to grasp the fact that he never rang the doorbell or knocked for help, and instead chose to dial 911 himself. But I also grapple with the realization of whether I COULD have done anything differently for him had he reached out to me?
The biker has yet to show up to claim his bike. He seemed so worried about me keeping it in a safe place for him so he could pick it up later. This has left me with the overarching fear that he didn’t survive his injuries. And I also wonder what I should do with the bicycle that was left behind?
Continue reading “Life Is One Of Those Precious Fleeting Gifts, And Everything Can Change in A Heartbeat.”
Placebo Buttons
from Futility Closet by Greg Ross
In most elevators installed since the early 1990s, the “close door” button has no effect. Otis Elevator engineers confirmed the fact to the Wall Street Journal in 2003.
Similarly, many office thermostats are dummies, designed to give workers the illusion of control. “You just get tired of dealing with them and you screw in a cheap thermostat,” said Illinois HVAC specialist Richard Dawson. “Guess what? They quit calling you.”
In 2004 the New York Times reported that more than 2,500 of the 3,250 “walk” buttons in New York intersections do nothing. “The city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled traffic signals, even as an unwitting public continued to push on.”
********************************************************************
[B’ Spokes: Unlike here where you HAVE to push the "walk" button (and assuming the button actually still works.) Who again has the lower pedestrian fatality rate? Yep, New York.]
Continue reading “Placebo Buttons”