Month: June 2013

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Seize the cars of motorists who injure bicyclists!

By George M. Simmons Jr.

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Here’s the problem. Motor vehicle operators who cause injury (and death) receive only minor penalties. It’s a joke, is it not??? The legal system looks the other way, winks, excuses them, and probably gives them a gift card to a local automotive parts store, not to mention a “bicyclist down” sticker for for their bumper or fender.

Here’s what I think should be done: Motorists who injure cyclists should have their vehicle impounded, license suspended, and they should be required by law to ride a bicycle for ALL activities while the cyclist is recuperating from injuries — or face an equivalent amount of prison time.

This is in addition to the motorist (or their insurance company) having to pay for all medical expenses and providing income to pay for the cost of living expenses while the cyclist cannot work. If the offender were required to see the world through the eyes of a cyclist, then perhaps we could achieve an attitude adjustment in their behavior!

As things are, most aggressive motorists know there will be at most a minor inconvenience to deal with the issue. Who cares about the cyclist?
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https://blogs.roanoke.com/dancasey/2013/05/seize-the-cars-of-motorists-who-injure-bicyclists/

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The Baltimore Bike Party is taking over the streets in style

By Sarah Richards, The Baltimore Sun

On a recent Friday evening, a carnival on wheels took to the streets of Baltimore. Women decked out in chandelier earrings juggled floor-length or knee-high dresses on bicycles. Men wearing bow ties and blazers peddled mountain bikes, while one young man sported a powder-blue tuxedo and loose blond hair on his BMX.

Spend just a few minutes watching this crowd move through an intersection or up a street and it’s no wonder most residents and motorists had a look of wonder or surprise on their faces. If there was any doubt about what this was, it didn’t last.

"Bike Party!" howled a cyclist somewhere in the mass.

The Baltimore Bike Party — part costume party, urban exploration, family outing, dance rave and roving singles scene — is a group ride through Baltimore that will have you feeling like Mister Rogers, Lance Armstrong and Lady Gaga all in the space of 2 1/2 hours.
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https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bthesite/bs-b-0529-cover-bike-party-20130529,0,1503762.story

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I’m back!

Well my plan to go back to school while staying with my mom went completely bust, so I am back in town.

In some ways my stay with my mom could be the making of a new sitcom… cycling advocate goes to live with his pro-car/anti-cycling mom. Not that she really is anti cycling but why bike to the local store (3/4 of a mile) when you can use the car to zoom, zoom there and back? And besides they make perfectly good indoor bicycles where you don’t have to get all sweaty when you exercise. – Much like society that is not against cycling per se but not many are found of cyclists biking in the travel lane as cyclists should bike on trails. And speaking of trails we shouldn’t build any more because they are "expensive" and we "need" every penny for road expansion. – Which reminds me of a joke: someone asked a smoker how long they have been smoking and then went on to say by this time you could have gotten a Lamborghini with all that money that was spent on cigarettes. So the smoker asks "Do you smoke?" "No" – "Then where is your Lamborghini?" – Doing without something inexpensive does not easily yield something very expensive.

I’m amazed how much our society has dumbed down exercise, sure something is better than nothing but the minimum amount of exercise should not be treated like a maximum and as such bad things will happen if you go over the minimum. My mom really did not like me biking 13 miles to school, such a waste of time she said. But wait, she does believe I should get an hour of exercise so let’s throw that into the calculations and oh look I am saving time and (gas) money by biking to school.

Then there was the travel limit. Most people are comfortable with a half hour travel time regardless of the mode of travel. So anything outside a 10 mile radius was too far to go by car so certainly that must mean that it is too far too far to go by bike. This lead to a lot of interesting conversations about my longer bike rides. While "little is known about any health benefits associated with infrequent bouts of exercise"* otherwise known as being a weekend warrior but still I think there is a major benefit, one aspect is that it’s like a economical mini vacation, I get to see new things or visit places not in my normal stomping grounds, so ya, I like 52 vacations a year. 😉

Anyway, it’s good to be back. I’m enjoying time with my kids and my granddaughter (who just had her 4th birthday party.) I’ll will also note that I am looking for an economical place to stay so if you happen to know of anything drop me a line.

Thanks and bike love!

Continue reading “I’m back!”

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BicycleLaw.com – every cyclist needs bicycle law

[B’ Spokes: I have conversations with Bob Mionske’s assistant Rick and I can’t express how impressed I am with these guys. So a snippet from their main page:]


Welcome to cycling attorney Bob Mionske’s website, BicycleLaw.com. Bob is a former Olympic and professional cyclist, with a law practice that is exclusively focused on representing cyclists who have been injured by motorists, unsafe road conditions, or defective cycling products. Bob is licensed in multiple jurisdictions, and with the assistance of experienced associated local counsel, Bob handles bicycle accident cases in every state. If you have been injured in a bike accident, or by defective bicycle products, and would like to discuss your case with an experienced bicycle accident attorney who “gets” cycling, Bob welcomes your call for a free consultation.

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https://bicyclelaw.com/

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Alta’s response to Labor inquiry

[B’ Spokes: I find this interesting that it comes from Bike Portland and not some Washington based group. But hey, at least I found it via The WashCycle]

From BikePortland

Official Statement on Department of Labor Federal Wage Inquiry

In mid-April of this year, the U.S. Department of Labor requested information from Capital Bikeshare operator Alta Bicycle Share about compliance with federal wage guidelines in our contract with the District Department of Transportation. Since that time, we have been working diligently to provide the department with the information they have requested. This process began well before any mention of the request was highlighted by the media or any other organization, and Alta is committed to ensuring that we are in complete compliance with the wage and benefit components of all our contracts. Accordingly, Alta has undertaken an exhaustive review of the four Capital Bikeshare-related contracts in the DC area, as well as all other contracts for systems we operate, to further ensure we are treating our employees with the respect they deserve. As most of our jobs in this cutting edge industry are not currently listed in the prevailing wage guidelines,

Capital Bikeshare was Alta’s first system in the US, and we are very proud of its success. Since we started in September of 2010, Capital Bikeshare’s more than 20,000 annual and monthly members, plus hundreds of thousands for short term users, have logged over 4 million bike trips in the region. Alta strongly believes in the power of bicycling to transform cities into more livable spaces. We also strongly believe that success of our company, and of bike share as a concept in the US, has been due in large part to the people we have tasked with making the system work. From rebalancers and bike mechanics, to our station technicians and support staff, we value the hard work of each and every employee and the contribution they have made to our successes. A bike share system is nothing without the staff to make it work.

This has been a time consuming process, and one that necessarily has to be done under the oversight of the Department of Labor. We intend to resolve as soon as possible, but the timeline will depend on the Department of Labor.

We ask for your patience and hope you continue to enjoy Capital Bikeshare.

 

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[Petition] MIA BIRK, PLAY FAIR: BIKESHARE OWES BACKPAY & BENEFITS

Via https://www.coworker.org/petitions/play-fair-bikeshare-backpay-benefits-for-alta-capital-bikeshare-workers-in-dc?source=facebook-share-button&time=1369771679
TO: MIA BIRK, PRINCIPAL, ALTA BICYCLE SHARE; PRESIDENT, ALTA PLANNING & DESIGN (DC CAPITAL BIKESHARE, NYC CITI BIKE, CHICAGO DIVVY BIKE)
Dear Mia,
We are the mechanics, drivers, technicians, dispatchers, and office workers who helped build Capital Bikeshare and set the standard for bikesharing programs nationwide. We’re writing to ask you to do the right thing: comply with the Service Contract Act and pay us all the wages and health & welfare benefits that you committed to pay in Alta’s contract with the Washington DC Department of Transportation (DDOT).
In 2010, former paratrooper and 25-year bike industry veteran, Bernie, helped build the first Capital Bikeshare bikes to hit the street. He worked for 2 years, half-time, doing fleet repairs and never saw a dollar of health & welfare benefits. At 2010 contract rates, Alta owes Bernie about $6,500 in backpay. His fellow mechanics, Samuel, Jeff, and Fhar are each due over $5,000.
Omar and Spencer pedaled the city streets for two years, doing on-site bike repairs and responding to emergencies. They were hired with the promise of immediate benefits but had them revoked within a month of hire. Working 35-40 hour weeks, Omar and Spencer are each due over $12,000 in Federally-mandated health & welfare benefits.
Anibal, Scott, Greg, Zeek, John, Kermit, and other rebalancers* have hauled countless truckloads of bikes between docking stations in grueling 9-hour shifts. All were hired with the promise of raises within 90 days and benefits soon after. Scott worked for $13 an hour for over 6 months while the contract wage was $15.66. Multiple rebalancers are still waiting for benefits a year after hire and still get paid below the contract wage. A year’s benefits at the 2012 contract rate is over $7,400.
Why is this important?
Mia, do you remember when you shipped us free copies of your book, Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet? It was inspiring to read that we must, "See the bicycle as a tool for empowerment and social change, not just sport or transportation." We couldn’t agree more. However, the title left some of us wondering where we fit into that “healthier planet” as we worked without healthcare, doing dangerous jobs on busy streets and in a filthy warehouse by the Superfund section of Southwest DC.
Given our situation, we were surprised to discover that Alta repeatedly signed a Federal contract with DDOT, agreeing to pay specific prevailing wages and health & welfare benefits to all Capital Bikeshare workers in compliance with the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. These wages and benefits apply to all workers under the contract regardless of full or part-time status (29 C.F.R. § 4.176).
We helped build Alta’s flagship bikesharing program in DC and we’re proud to see Alta landing big contracts all over the USA as a result of our hard work: Citi Bike in New York, Divvy in Chicago, Hubway in Boston; Puget Sound Bikeshare in Seattle; San Francisco, Columbus, Baltimore, Portland… It would be a shame to see bad labor practices pollute the growth of such a socially and environmentally important industry.
Mia, it’s time for Alta Bicycle Share to play fair and set an example as a leader in good green jobs. Here’s how:
1) Honor the Alta-DDOT contracts and immediately pay full back-pay for all unpaid wages and unpaid health & welfare benefits.
2) Comply with the letter and the spirit of the Service Contract Act, from here on out.
3) Commit to paying strong living wages and benefits to Bikeshare workers at every Alta-operated Bikesharing program from New York City to the San Francisco Bay.
We trust that you will take prompt action to address these challenges as we all pedal together towards a sustainable future.
Capital Bikeshare Workers past & present,
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https://www.coworker.org/petitions/play-fair-bikeshare-backpay-benefits-for-alta-capital-bikeshare-workers-in-dc?source=facebook-share-button&time=1369771679

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2010 Maryland Highway Safety Data

Benchmark Reports

Continue reading “2010 Maryland Highway Safety Data”

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Maryland Crash Data With Some Glimmer of Information

Well it looks like I was a victim of yet another upgrade to the Maryland Highway Safety Office website when I wrote complaining about the lack of crash data. Thanks to Chris Merriam for investigating where the data went but even though the state does publish some data it still lacks info that would help uncover behavioral issues, So to illustrate my point here are the crash types that can be found by querying FARS for 2011

Crash Type Road Side Walk Unknown
Motorist Lost Control – Other / Unknown 1 0
Crossing Paths – Intersection – Other / Unknown Control 0 1
Head-On – Motorist 1 0
Parallel Paths – Other / Unknown 1 0 1
TOTAL 3 1 1

You’ll note that FARS crash type “Bicycle ride through signalized intersection” was not a crash type for a Maryland cycling fatality in 2011. Just thought that needed to be said.

Now let’s look for similar information from the State’s data.

Cross. Not at Inter. 1
Walk/Ride with Traff. 3
Other / Unknown 1
TOTAL 5

Or maybe cyclists (ped) location will give us more information.

On Rd. Not Crosswalk 4
Other / Unknown 1
TOTAL 5

Hopefully you can see why I would be desirous of better data from the state. I also found it interesting that sidewalk riding showed up in FARS but not in the state data. Well with FARS I can look for more detail in a crash, so I looked into it a bit. I believe the state still uses the nearest cross street for the geolocation data so Hammonds Ln & Upland St may not be the exact location just the nearest location. Well Hammonds Ln is an interesting street, not what I would call bike friendly and there is only a sidewalk on one side, which does have a reputation for increasing crashes as too many have to cross at “not crosswalk” to get to the residences on the other side or vice versa. Now if you were a 90 year old man where would you ride? This is a major problem with too many streets, they do not accommodate the elderly or the young. So while they do not give who’s at fault here I would be willing to bet it was the cyclist, when IMHO it was the road design which contributed heavily to this tragedy.

Good crash data is imperative for good safety advice and good advocacy. While we can get good information on fatalities, good data for general crashes is still hard to come by and a story about crash stats from Boston still cannot be writen about Baltimore or other parts of the state and that’s my point.

And in case you are interested this is where all 5 (red pins) Maryland bicycling fatalities took place (note two are very close together just south of Baltimore in Anne Arundel County.)
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