As a convicted felon, he won’t be allowed to possess a firearm. However, he will be allowed to possess and operate a motor vehicle. This in spite of the evidence that a car is his weapon of choice and the fact that cars kill more people than guns. There is a Constitutional right to a firearm, but not to a car, and yet we can’t bring ourselves to keep the people who cannot use a car responsibly from having legal access to them. – B. Carfree
On the subject of the L.A. Doctor who lost his appeal for the conviction of vehicular assault that seriously injured two cyclists when he passed and then stopped short.
Continue reading “A thought about the constitutional "right" to drive no mater how badly”
Put a Lid on It
from Road Rights By Bob Mionske
No state requires adults to wear a helmet when they ride (although some municipalities do). But you could still face legal consequences if you fail to strap one on. Consider this scenario: A negligent driver hits you, and you sue him for the cost of your medical expenses. However, his insurance company claims that you were negligent for not wearing a helmet. The outcome of the case will depend on whether the jury decides it was reasonable for you to ride without one. They might not: Many people believe that helmets prevent all head injuries, although it is still possible to suffer one while wearing head protection.
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Continue reading “Put a Lid on It”
Hydration & Nuun: A Product Review Disguised as a PSA
I’ll note I use this stuff and I like it and the water bottles clean up easily afterward. Read Commute By Bike’s review for more info:
https://www.commutebybike.com/2011/08/16/hydration-nuun-a-product-review-disguised-as-a-psa/
Biking and walking supported by the taxes WE pay not "road tax"
found via TheWashCycle:
Of the $1B "the federal government spent on programs to promote biking and walking in 2010," $400M of that is from the stimulus bill, so it really has nothing to do with the highway trust fund, and it’s deceptive to include it in this discussion. The remaining $600M is dwarfed by the $19.5B that was transferred from the general fund. Even without it, they’re still nearly $19B short. So we could say that biking and walking were entirely supported by the general fund, which means it has nothing to do with the shortage.
Continue reading “Biking and walking supported by the taxes WE pay not "road tax"”
Protect, don’t prosecute, pedestrians
I well written opinion piece in the Washington Post that links the tragedy in Georgia with the tragedy in Congress in trying to cut dedicated funding to make the roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/protect-dont-prosecute-pedestrians/2011/07/28/gIQAny45uI_story.html
Hold Baltimore Racing Development Financially Responsible for Tree Plan
Another petition, to make sure we get our trees back. Please read:
https://www.change.org/petitions/hold-baltimore-racing-development-financially-responsible-for-tree-plan
Bike to the Enoch Pratt Library for a jazz event
Thursday, August 18, 2011, 4:00 PM
Enoch Pratt Free Library
400 Cathedral St, Baltimore
featuring The Rodney Kelley Experience and Russell Lyle
leaving Light St Cycles at 4:30 pm – can ride around and "pick up" bikers as I go. – Penny
Continue reading “Bike to the Enoch Pratt Library for a jazz event”
What will it take to get the SHA to revise its guidelines to routinely take the safety of all road users into account?
Guardrails: Only for people in cars from Greater Greater Washington by Miriam Schoenbaum
https://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=11655
[B’ Spokes: Miriam raises a good question, after all, would you want your house to be the bumper stop for a car runaway zone? According to SHA it seems the goal is to protect the cars from things along side the road and not things along side the road from cars.]
Letter to Nathan from his mother Susan Cohen at his funeral
Getting There: Family of dead bicyclist owes no accounting
[B’ Spokes: Michael Dresser dresses down those who think the lawsuit against the driver who killed Nathan is outrageous. While I am going to quote a bit but I still encourage you to click the Baltimore Sun link to show support for responsible writing and if you want read the rest of the article, it is very good ]
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Civil settlement isn’t perfect, but it’s the best justice we can offer
By Michael Dresser
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It didn’t take long for people to jump to the conclusion that the Krasnopoler family had benefited from a windfall that would let them move to Easy Street at the expense of their dead relative. Many people, it seems, have bought into the notion that all tort claims are scams perpetrated by greedy shysters — a proposition that’s easy to accept if one has never been the victim of another’s negligence.
What’s been lost here is the fact that without a civil penalty, the only sanction the defendant would have faced for a deadly negligence while driving would have been a $220 fine, plus points on her driving record.
There was nothing about this case that suggested criminal prosecution was warranted. We don’t put people in jail for making simple driving errors, even when they have fatal consequences.
But it’s a good thing that families have civil remedies to turn to when the traffic courts can dole out little more than a slap on the wrist. A monetary judgment is an imperfect form of justice, but it’s all we have in such cases. Whatever the Krasnopolers collected, it came at a terrible cost. I don’t begrudge them a penny.
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bs-md-dresser-getting-there-0815-20110814,0,6809815.story