Month: March 2013

-> According to an article in the Feb. 22nd issue of Kansas Cycling News, "The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota recently released a report, Understanding Bicyclist-Motorist Crashes [https://bit.ly/Y1oqYp] that offers ‘A Comprehensive Look at Crash Data From 2000-2010 and Recommendations for Improved Bicyclist Safety.’ As you might expect, there is a lot of data to digest, but a few points jumped out: ‘Approximately one out of five crashes are hit-and-runs. Bicyclists sustained an injury in 87.0 percent of crashes. It is estimated that motorists sustained an injury in no crashes. Forty-one percent of crashes occur at intersections and another 40 percent occur within 50 feet of intersections. There is a clear correlation between the number of bicyclists and the crash rate. As the number of bicyclists has increased over the past decade, the crash rate has decreased. On streets and corridors with higher volumes of bicycle traffic, the crash rate tends to be lower than on streets with lower volumes of bicycle traffic. It appears that bicyclists and motorists are equally contributing to the causes of crashes."
"Most crashes are occurring at intersections along major arterials. Motorists are not seeing or yielding to bicyclists. Bicyclists are not riding in a predictable manner. Some of this is familiar stuff, if you’ve been paying attention. The ‘Safety in Numbers’ phenomenon — the more bicyclists there are, the safer each of them is — has been widely reported around the nation. A study in California, for instance, concluded that ‘a motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling when there are more people walking or bicycling’ [Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling: https://1.usa.gov/15PwBvh ]…"
Source: https://bit.ly/YhMabE
Title: "Stunning Numbers from Minnesota"
Author: Randy Rasa
from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking.

By Ron Cassie, Baltimore magazine
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However, Cardin, with Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, “saved” the legislation with an amendment that provided local governments direct access to most federal transportation funding — rather than being required to go through various state DOT’s — enabling them to build sidewalks and bike lanes, for example, to encourage and keep bicyclists and pedestrians safe. If the local communities so choose.
…
https://www.baltimoremagazine.net/bikeshorts/2013/03/sen-cardin-embraced-at-nat-l-bike-summit
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[B’ Spokes: Just to note the state (MDOT) built up nearly $40,000,000 in unspent federal funds that could have been used for biking and walking projects. Not having to go through the state might just be a good thing. Ref: https://www.ta-clearinghouse.info/state_profile?state_id=23
Continue reading “Sen. Cardin Embraced at Nat’l Bike Summit”

[B’ Spokes: My argument goes something like this: It is totally illogical to put design elements from freeways where bicyclists and pedestrians are prohibited into urban settings where bicyclists and pedestrians are allowed. Charles Marohn argument has many more points then just bike/ped safety. He also makes an argument for separate designs rather then trying to mix the two, better roads that can accommodate fast travel for cars as well as streets that accommodate everyone equally (or even more so for bikes and peds.) Because when you mix the two, everyone loses.]

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By Charles Marohn, Strong Towns

If we want to build places that are financially productive, we need to identify and eliminate STROADs. A STROAD is a street/road hybrid and, besides being a very dangerous environment (yes, it is ridiculously dangerous to mix high speed highway geometric design with pedestrians, bikers and turning traffic), they are enormously expensive to build and, ultimately, financially unproductive.
…

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2013/3/4/the-stroad.html

By Wynne Parry, LiveScience
Humanity is 17 million tons (15 million metric tons) overweight, according to a study that calculates the adult portion of the human race’s collective weight at 316 million tons (287 million metric tons).
That’s the equivalent of about 170 military aircraft carriers of extra weight. Or in people weight, it’s like having an extra 242 million people of average body mass on the planet.
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The United States ranked at the top of the "Heaviest 10" category
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The argument is simple. More body mass takes more energy to maintain and move; therefore as someone’s weight goes up, so do the calories they need to exist. This means increases in population counts don’t tell the whole story when it comes to demand for resources, according to the authors.
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"Tackling population fatness may be critical to world food security and ecological sustainability."
https://www.livescience.com/21003-human-population-global-obesity-weight.html

[B’ Spokes: More and more things benefit from cycling.]
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By Arthritis Foundation
Introduction
Arthritis affects 50 million adults and is the most common cause of disability in the United States.1, 2 Currently, 22.2 percent of the adult (>18 years old) U.S. population has arthritis. Comprising more than 100 different rheumatic diseases and conditions that affect joints and tissues, arthritis causes many Americans serious pain, aching, stiffness, and swelling. Physical activity is an important but underused intervention for adults with arthritis that decreases pain, delays the onset of disability, improves physical functioning, mood and independence, and enhances quality of life, aerobic capacity, and muscle strength. This document is designed to engage six important sectors as partners with a mutual interest in increasing physical activity among adults with arthritis using environmental and policy strategies.
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“Transportation systems, development patterns, and community design and planning decisions all can have profound effects on physical activity. People can lead healthier, more active lives if our communities are built to facilitate safe walking and biking and the use of public transportation, all considered forms of active transportation.”
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• Urge state and local governments to examine planning and zoning efforts, such as complete streets policies, to ensure that adults with arthritis can walk safely to their schools, workplaces, shopping areas, and other community venues (e.g., pedestrian crossing signals that allow adequate time for adults with arthritis and other mobility limitations to cross the road safely).
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• Encourage park, recreation, fitness, and sport facility authorities to offer more low-impact and low-intensity exercise equipment for individuals with disabilities and older adults (e.g., bicycles, elliptical, swimming pools, exercise bands).
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https://www.arthritis.org/files//documents/OA_Physical_Activity_Rpt_508_v1_TAG508.pdf

[B’ Spokes: It seems a recurring problem for cyclists “an officer is unfamiliar with the law [for cyclists]” and that same officer will be called in for “expert” testimony on what the law is for cyclists. :/ We need to make an effort to correct this issue!]

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By Bob Mionske, Bicycling

So you just got a ticket while riding your bike. Now what do you do? Should you fight the ticket? Or should you just pay it and move on?

The answer to that depends on a number of factors. Were you caught breaking a traffic law? Did you break the law, but feel that there are extenuating circumstances that would help a judge understand what happened? Did the officer make a mistake? Were you involved in a collision with another vehicle?

Also consider the effect a ticket can have on your life. A ticket does not mean that you are guilty. It is just a summons to appear in court and answer the charge against you. But if you are found guilty, you will likely be required to pay a fine that can range from a minimal fee to several hundred dollars or more. Additionally, a conviction on your driving record is virtually guaranteed to raise your insurance rates. And if you get ticketed too often, you can even lose your driver’s license. There’s more. Some employers ask to see the driving records of job applicants. And if you receive a ticket as a result of a traffic collision, you will be seen as the at-fault party by the other driver’s insurance company, regardless of who is actually at fault.

All of these issues are factors you should weigh in deciding what to do once you’ve been ticketed. Let’s take a closer look at a few common scenarios—and what the best course of action might be.

Scenario 1: You broke the law and got caught
Let’s say you saw the stop sign but didn’t see the police officer. Ignoring the sign, you rolled through, got pulled over, and were ticketed.

If you pay the ticket, it’s equivalent to a guilty plea and conviction. But if you decide to fight the ticket, you will be required to enter a not guilty plea and appear in court on your trial date. And here’s the problem—when you appear in court, the officer will be there as well, prepared to testify against you. If all you have to say in your defense is “I did not do what the officer says I did,” guess who the court will believe? Not you.

Should You Fight? Maybe. If you were caught red-handed and you have no defense, and if your time is more valuable than the fine, then paying the ticket might make sense to you. You might also consider saving yourself the embarrassment of having the officer’s video recording of your obvious violation of the law played back in court after you just denied breaking the law.

But if you want to keep the traffic ticket off your record, then you will either need to fight the ticket or go to traffic school for cyclists (if one is available in your town). If the violation is a misdemeanor, you are facing criminal charges and should give very serious consideration to hiring a lawyer. And if the violation is a felony, it is absolutely vital for you to hire a lawyer to defend against the charge.

Scenario 2: You broke the law, but there’s an explanation
Now let’s say that you rolled through that stop sign, but you didn’t see the sign. Was it because you weren’t paying attention? If so, that won’t get you off. But what if it was because the sign was hidden behind something that blocked your view—a large truck for example, or foliage on a tree? Now you have a defense you can use at trial.

Should You Fight? Yes.

Scenario 3: You weren’t breaking the law, but got ticketed anyway
I have seen this happen many times. Sometimes it happens because an officer is unfamiliar with the law. It also happens when officers are ordered to “crack down” on cyclists. And perhaps worst of all, it can happen when a cyclist is involved in a traffic collision and there is confusion about who did what.

For example, one cyclist whose injury case I handled was ticketed when an eyewitness said that the cyclist “came out of nowhere, so he must have been going the wrong way.” Maybe the eyewitness just didn’t see the cyclist until the moment of impact, as is often the case in collisions. But when the cyclist, who was suffering from a concussion, was unable to tell his side of what had happened, he was the one ticketed, even though the driver was also suffering a medical emergency—the real cause of the collision—and could not explain what had happened either.

These tickets can be easy to beat. If you can demonstrate to the court that the officer is wrong on the law, or even on the facts of the case, you will likely win. But what if you were ticketed as a result of a traffic collision? If you don’t beat the ticket, you probably won’t be compensated for your injuries. The driver’s insurance company will stonewall you until the deadline for resolving the case has passed. So if you want to be compensated for your injuries (and legal expenses), fighting one of these unjust tickets is a must.

Should You Fight? Yes.

Although I do not handle traffic tickets as a part of my bicycle law practice, in Part 3 of this article, I will explain how you can get the best outcome for your case, regardless of whether you actually broke the law, or it just looked that way when the officer got out his ticket book.

Research and assistance by Rick Bernardi, J.D.

Continue reading “Ticket Talk, Part 2”

Via https://www.engadget.com/2013/03/06/volvo-cyclsist-detection-automatic-breaking-system/

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[B’ Spokes: Wouldn’t it be cool if this was on all cars? Instead what we get is a self centered approach to safety, something like this, if you do something dumb in your car you are protected and those outside your car… who cares anyway?]