Month: December 2011

Posted on

Brilliant Reader Comment: The Double Standard on Bike/Car Behavior

Except from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Angie Schmitt

Yesterday I saw a bicyclist do [insert dangerous, stupid, inconsiderate, boneheaded move here] and it nearly inconvenienced me. This means all bikers better watch out because the responsible, productive, law-abiding members of this community aren’t going to tolerate this kind of of anti-social behavior from you riffraff much longer.

Yesterday I saw a car driver do [insert dangerous, stupid, inconsiderate, boneheaded move here] and kill someone!  A tragedy, but it was an accident, no one’s fault really, just one of those bad parts of living in the modern age that we all have to put up with. After all, anyone can make a mistake. It would be a shame to even suspend the driver’s license over it because they really might need it to get to work. It certainly is no reflection on me or how most people drive.

https://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/12/12/brilliant-reader-comment-the-double-standard-on-bikecar-behavior/

Posted on

What people miss about the Netherlands

By David Hembrow
An online TV station for Dutch speaking people who live and work in other countries recently ran a survey to ask what Dutch people most miss about their homeland.
…
Actually, "Cycling" came in at 6th out of 213 categories nominated by the public, and another ten related categories helped to water down the "cycling" vote.
The other ten categories about cycling were "The bike", "Cycling without a helmet in the dunes", "Cycle-paths", "Mostly cycle-paths and cycling", "Going along with friends and family by bike", "Wonderful cycling with a warm jacket against the headwinds", "The cycling, my bike, riding through Amsterdam", "Good Cycle-paths", "The bike", "Family, croquettes, real chips, licorice, cycling and the Dutch language".
…
https://hembrow.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-people-miss-about-netherlands.html

Posted on

Maryland Drunk Drivers: Where the Drunks Are Driving

from Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog

…

Drunk driving is a big risk factor for car accidents. It never occurred to me to look at where in Maryland drunk driving is the greatest. So I read with particular interest these statistics on the number of drunk driving cases in Maryland in 2010, sorted by county, as well as the number of DWI cases tried in court in 2010 and the resulting verdicts:

  • Montgomery: 3,512 DWI cases filed. There were 5,324 cases tried in 2010 resulting in: 1,858 Guilty verdicts, 98 Not Guilty verdicts, 2,585 Probation Before Judgment [PBJ] verdicts, and 1,029 “other” verdicts (which include Dismissed Cases, Nolle Prosequi, Stet, Merged Cases, Jury Trial Prayers, and Miscellaneous Others)
  • Prince George’s: 2,733 DWI cases filed. There were 2,206 cases tried resulting in: 75 Guilty, 34 Not Guilty, 185 PBJ, and 1,912 other – 1,425 of which were closed as Nolle Prosequi.
  • Baltimore County: 2,459 DWI cases filed. There were 2,563 cases tried resulting in: 715 Guilty, 86 Not Guilty, 1,312 PBJ, and 450 other.
  • Anne Arundel: 2,009 DWI cases filed. There were 2,468 cases tried resulting in: 590 Guilty, 74 Not Guilty, 1,200 PBJ, and 604 other.
  • Howard: 1,440 DWI cases filed. There were 1,694 cases tried resulting in: 337 Guilty, 41 Not Guilty, 943 PBJ, and 373 other.
  • Baltimore City: 982 DWI cases filed. There were 969 cases tried resulting in: Guilty, Not Guilty, PBJ, and other.
  • Carroll: 935 DWI cases filed. There were 816 cases tried resulting in: 156 Guilty, 36 Not Guilty, 424 PBJ, and 200 other.
  • Harford: 909 DWI cases filed. There were 1,094 cases tried resulting in: 461 Guilty, 19 Not Guilty, 484 PBJ, and 130 other.
  • Frederick: 900 DWI cases filed. There were 1,027 cases tried resulting in: 273 Guilty, 16 Not Guilty, 448 PBJ, and 290 other.
  • Charles: 794 DWI cases filed. There were 1,135 cases tried resulting in: 376 Guilty, 13 Not Guilty, 513 PBJ, and 233 other.
  • Worcester: 662 DWI cases filed. There were 1,053 cases tried resulting in: 439 Guilty, 36 Not Guilty, 482 PBJ, and 96 other.
  • Washington: 642 DWI cases filed. There were 859 cases tried resulting in: 267 Guilty, 4 Not Guilty, 387 PBJ, and 201 other.
  • Calvert: 626 DWI cases filed. There were 968 cases tried resulting in: 285 Guilty, 16 Not Guilty, 510 PBJ, and 157 other.
  • Cecil: 585 DWI cases filed. There were 285 cases tried resulting in: 41 Guilty, 7 Not Guilty, 65 PBJ, and 172 other.
  • St Mary’s: 510 DWI cases filed. There were 736 cases tried resulting in: 376 Guilty, 13 Not Guilty, 307 PBJ, and 109 other.
  • Wicomico: 489 DWI cases filed. There were 818 cases tried resulting in: 275 Guilty, 18 Not Guilty, 317 PBJ, and 208 other.
  • Allegany: 341 DWI cases filed. There were 557 cases tried resulting in: 219 Guilty, 2 Not Guilty, 232 PBJ, and 206 other.
  • Queen Anne’s: 321 DWI cases filed. There were 583 cases tried resulting in: 227 Guilty, 8 Not Guilty, 222 PBJ, and 126 other.
  • Talbot: 276 DWI cases filed. There were 372 cases tried resulting in: 99 Guilty, 56 Not Guilty, 155 PBJ, and 62 other.
  • Caroline: 258 DWI cases filed. There were 308 cases tried resulting in: 125 Guilty, 10 Not Guilty, 74 PBJ, and 99 other.
  • Dorchester: 182 DWI cases filed. There were 225 cases tried resulting in: 97 Guilty, 13 Not Guilty, 59 PBJ, and 56 other.
  • Garrett: 181 DWI cases filed. There were 297 cases tried resulting in: 77 Guilty, 3 Not Guilty, 129 PBJ, and 88 other.
  • Somerset: 167 DWI cases filed. There were 195 cases tried resulting in: 68 Guilty, 5 Not Guilty, 83 PBJ, and 39 other.
  • Kent: 119 DWI cases filed. There were 179 cases tried resulting in: 60 Guilty, 6 Not Guilty, 72 PBJ, and 41 other.

…
Continue reading “Maryland Drunk Drivers: Where the Drunks Are Driving”

Posted on

APL Wins Bike Friendly Business Award

[Press Release]

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) was awarded a bronze Bicycle Friendly Business Award by the League of American Bicyclists in a ceremony on its Laurel, Md., campus today. Recognized for its investment in bicycling to promote employee health and social responsibility, APL has an active cycling club, showers, locker rooms, secure bike parking and a personal fitness financial incentive. 

“Cycling is something that contributes to the health of our staff,” said APL Director Ralph Semmel. “By taking care of ourselves, we reduce our health costs and can pass this on to our sponsors. We will continue our efforts to make APL a welcoming place for cyclists.”

The largest of three Maryland organizations honored by the League, APL was chosen from a field of 155 applicants nationwide. The Laboratory joins other notable national winners such as Microsoft, General Mills and Random House. The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle‐friendly America. The League represents the interests of America’s 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates.

The award ceremony was held on APL’s campus in the new Building 200, which opened last month. The state-of-the-art facility houses APL’s space department and features 48 covered bicycle parking spaces and four showers. Throughout its 399-acre campus, APL has additional bike racks and shower facilities. A new bike lane segment in front of the building on Johns Hopkins Road was added by the county in October 2011.

“Some of the most successful companies in the world are showing that investing in bicycling is not only good for health and sustainability but also the bottom line,” said League president, Andy Clarke.

“With over 280 people active in cycling activities at APL and a growing number who commute to campus regularly on their bikes, APL’s cycling amenities help make biking increasingly popular” said Fran Horan, APL Cycling Club president. “The new bike lane, covered parking, and showers at Building 200 are a bicycle commuter’s dream.”

The Applied Physics Laboratory, a not-for-profit division of The Johns Hopkins University, meets critical national challenges through the innovative application of science and technology. For more information, visit www.jhuapl.edu.

https://jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2011/111207.asp

Related: Bicycle Friendly Business

Johns Hopkins University – Applied Physics Laboratory | Bronze Level – LAB

Pictures

Posted on

Pipkin calls for transportation chief to step down

from Maryland Politics by Michael Dresser

Senate Minority Leader E. J. Pipkin called Friday for Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley to step down in light of this month’s highly critical audit of the State Highway Administration. Pipkin, an Upper Shore Republican, charged that the audit of SHA — an arm of the Transportation Department — showed that Swaim-Staley has done “an unacceptable job” and bears responsibility for the contracting abuses identified by legislative auditors. “Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley has presided over a mess,” Pipkin’s statement said. “She has stated that she has been working hard to change the SHA culture to one that closely manages all aspects of the contract process. Frankly that response is not good enough. Let’s face it, Secretary Swaim-Staley did not know much of what was going on in the agency she heads.”
…

By B’ Spokes:

While I am willing to cut some slack for the new higher ups at MDOT for a while but so far my impression is that there is poor understanding and zero stress on “minor” issues like bicycling and walking. If an agency “covers” this issue then it needs to deal with this issue in full and not hide behind something to effect “We got more important things to do.” So while on on hand I am encouraged by the improvements to Ritchie Highway but that is sort of just it on what I see as actually reacting to a problem and trying to fix it in a significant way.

I wrote Secretary Swaim-Staley about this:

image

It really does not take a rocket scientist to look at that and say “I think Maryland should be doing a better job for pedestrian safety.” Her response in part:

“Both traffic crashes that involve pedestrians and injuries suffered by pedestrians have declined in Maryland in each of the last three years.”

So while pedestrian injuries have gone down 10%, what she fails to mention is that pedestrian fatalities have gone up 20%. Personally I find that a callous response.

Anther clueless point from her letter: The SHA has provided significant support for pedestrian safety enforcement activities through grants to law enforcement agencies. The “sting” operations noted in the Governor’s Highway Safety Association report, in, which officers enter a crosswalk sufficiently in advance of an approaching vehicle and cite those drivers who fail to stop as required by law, have been carried out in numerous communities.

Challenge: Find “sting” operations in Baltimore Metro’s Street Smart Campaign or here for AA county or here for Baltimore County. And let’s totally forget about finding sting operations for Baltimore City where pedestrians involved in traffic crashes represents 32% of Maryland’s total pedestrians involved in traffic crashes. But wait, I did find a safety grant for Baltimore County… for heavy trucks and the Grand Prix for the city. [Heavy sigh]

Can I call the Secretary’s statement BS??? Anyway this is my impression as well: “Let’s face it, Secretary Swaim-Staley did not know much of what was going on in the agency she heads.”

Another thing that is really bothering me is O’Malley and MDOT are so busy asking for federal money for rail and road projects “for jobs” while letting $31 million in federal money for bike/ped projects languish. Bike/Ped Projects Create 46% More Jobs Than Road-Only Projects. We have the money and we have the projects so what’s the problem? No one really knows.

We really need a major overhaul of MDOT.
Continue reading “Pipkin calls for transportation chief to step down”