Category: bicycle

BAD NEWS SHARROWS some infrastructure worse than none

From a study out of University of Colorado sharrows may actually do more harm for bicycle riders than good.

Some Bike Infrastructure Is Worse Than None at All

But far from giving cyclists a safer ride, or even doing nothing at all, sharrows might actually be doing some harm by tugging bikes into moving traffic. Some research has found they do reduce dooring (when the door of a parked car hits a cyclist). But only one study to date looked at whether or not sharrows had any impact on overall car-bike collisions—and that study found they could be increasing the risk of injury.

Walk Bike To Work Or School – Get Started

A Beginner’s Guide to Biking to Work

If that bicyclist whizzing by seems a little happier than the average gridlock-bound car commuter, you’re not imagining it: A recent study found that two-wheeled commuters were happier than their gas pedal-stomping, car-caged peers.

Becoming a bike commuter might seem daunting, but the benefits can be worth it: exercising regularly, saving money, decreasing your carbon footprint, absolving yourself of guilt over that break-room doughnut.

It is not just for adults – kids also benefit from walking or biking to school. For added safety, folks create walking busses or bike trains. October 10, 2018 was the national #WalkToSchoolDay but why not try to make that everyday?

Learn More: Safe Routes To School

In San Diego, join San Diego County Bicycle Coalition – advocates for bicycling in San Diego. Check out their group rides and other events.

Walk Bike Solana Beach – lots of good resources, see their bicycle map.

Bike San Diego – check out their calander for group rides and special events – like Taco Tuesdays.

Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals – San Diego

Interactive Map showing bicycle and walking routes in San Diego.

Getting started with some of these local bicycling and walking advocates is a great way to have fun and learn the ropes from folks happy to share.

Bicycle Helmet Testing – IIHS & VA Tech

It’s about time that bicycle helmets got more rigorously tested, say, like motorcycle helmets have for years.

Bike helmets in the U.S. are required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to pass a series of tests in which helmets are struck against an anvil at a set speed. The only requirement is that the helmets prevent head impact accelerations over 300 g, a level associated with skull fracture or severe brain injury. There is no requirement for helmets to limit concussion-level forces, which are more common among bicyclists in crashes.

A few take aways: more expensive isn’t better, more coverage isn’t better.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, the “urban” style helmets that look like they cover more of the head appear to provide less protection than the sleeker road helmets, the Virginia Tech team said.

The researchers found that bicycle helmets offered different types of protection. Not all bicycle helmets protected well against concussion. Bicycle helmets also may not protect adequately for the way cyclists often hit the ground at an angle. With cyclist fatalities up 20% in the last ten years, improving and formally testing bicycle helmets is a huge step forward.

Urban-style helmets — which have nearly solid covers with few vents — and those that haven’t adopted the latest anti-concussion technology were more than twice as likely to result in injuries, researchers from Virginia Tech and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found in a study released Tuesday.

San Diego Vision Zero Portal

**Update July 9, 2018
While it is really great we finally have our own Vision Zero San Diego website and portal, unfortunately the data posted on launch was very misleading and greatly understated the actual fatalities in 2016 which were actually about twice as many. Mistakes like this won’t help use data to identify the main dangerous streets and improve our roads with a priority of focusing on where most people are getting hurt and killed.

According to KPBS,

The city’s webpage, which was launched in May, states there were 33 traffic deaths in 2016 and 21 deaths in 2017. Police data show the number in 2016 was actually 64 — more than twice what the webpage states — and that 2017 actually saw 35 traffic deaths.

Another section of the webpage includes three public service announcement videos produced by the city, each one stating there had been 37 traffic deaths in 2017.

To add emphasis to how dangerous our roads are, and why we need the Vision Zero data to prioritize fixing our streets, another KPBS story published June 23, 2017, “In San Diego, Cars Are Deadlier Than Guns”

In pure numbers, more people die from car crashes in San Diego than are murdered. The city’s police department counted 260 traffic deaths on city streets from 2012 to 2016, and 206 murders over the same time period. Adding in the number of people who die on San Diego freeways, which are governed by Caltrans, there were more than twice as many traffic deaths as there were murders.

Chilling Report on Hit and Run Epidemic

The Washington Post had a disturbing article on the steadily increasing hit and run incidents since 2009, “Cyclists say chilling report on hit-and-run crashes points up need to redesign streets for safety.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said in a report this week fatal hit-and-run crashes have reached the highest point on record in 2016, having increased by more than 7 percent every year since 2009. Nearly 65 percent of the victims are bicyclists and pedestrians.

Auto insurance uninsured driver / under insured (UIM / UM) coverage can help you and even your passengers with a hit and run unidentified vehicle. In addition, your auto insurance protects you even when you are a pedestrian, or riding a bicycle.

In California, your insurance company is required by law to include uninsured motorist coverage as part of every automobile policy written, unless you specifically decline it, in writing. Coverage is usually designated on the face page of your automobile insurance policy by the letter or letters “U” or “UM”.

Some insurance companies try to talk motorcycle owners into waiving UM and UIM coverage. Do not let this happen. Never waive UM or UIM coverage.

San Diego Bike Lane Network – Progress (?)

It’s more important than ever to stay tuned to the news about the fate and progress of San Diego’s bike lane improvements, and complete street projects. So far, large amounts of money has been spent, with little bike lanes to show for it. Planning is expensive and highly important, so, while it is hard to be patient, this is an important ingredient in great engineering.

Faulconer calls for premium bike lanes downtown, likely delaying marquee project by years

However, the more than 9-mile network of protected bike lanes — which would use physical barriers to separate riders from traffic — may not be completed while Mayor Kevin Faulconer is in office, as first promised.

While the mayor said more than a year ago that he would build the lanes by 2019, the project, expected to serve as a model for the region, is now looking at a years-long delay, according to city staff.

The reason: Faulconer, inspired by a recent trip to Vancouver, has called for building some of the most elaborate bike lanes in the country — increasing the price tag from $10.5 million to $25 million, according to the city’s most recent projections.

Follow our bicycle advocate friends for action and news alerts.
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
Bike San Diego

Is The Poor Condition Of America’s Roads Putting Cyclists At Risk?

Cycling should be an enjoyable pastime and a convenient means of getting from one place to another. However, 70% of fatal cycling accidents on America’s roads occur in urban areas and there are multiple non-life-threatening accidents in these locations each year, too. The US has some treacherous roads, dotted with multiple potholes which make cycling and even walking particularly hazardous. Additionally, motorists are a leading cause of bike accidents with cyclists being doored an increasing occurrence.

America’s pothole crisis

America has a massive pothole problem which is a major talking point for residents and the government. In 2016 the President pledged to fix the country’s highways with a $1 trillion plan but 2017 has come and gone and the roads are still in the same state as they were in 2016. Now, the roads are in a critical state. The American Society of Civil Engineers has graded the country’s roads a substandard ‘D’ rating and estimate that more than $4.5 trillion needs to be invested in order to bring the nation’s highways back up to a reasonable stabdard.

The risks of potholes to cyclists

With potholes able to cause substantial risk to vehicles, many motorists will try to avoid them whenever possible. But sudden swerving cars and trucks can have awful consequences for cyclists traveling on the same stretch of road and can result in vehicles maneuvering directly into them and knocking them down. It’s not always easy to spot a pothole until you’re immediately in front of it which makes it too late and unsafe for a cyclist to avoid and so their only option is to ride over it and risk being thrown off their bike.

Dealing with cycling injuries

A cyclist with significant injuries sustained on a poorly maintained road may seek legal action, especially if their injuries impact their quality of life, their ability to perform day to day activities or attend their place of work. Cyclists shouldn’t be afraid to seek the advice of a personal injury attorney if they have sustained injury as a result of potholes while on their journey. An attorney can give professional advice, their honest opinion on the likelihood of a successful lawsuit and provide invaluable information regarding how best to proceed with their claim. Call the Goetz Law Firm at 858-481-8844 if you are injured in a bike accident.

America urgently needs to take action to protect cyclists from sustaining preventable injuries on the nation’s poorly maintained roads.

September 2017 LA Times
Los Angeles OKs $6.5 million to settle lawsuit after cyclist hit a pothole

Los Angeles will pay $6.5 million to settle a lawsuit from a man who suffered severe injuries after his bicycle hit a pothole in Sherman Oaks, lawmakers agreed Wednesday.

Two years ago, Peter Godefroy lost control of his bicycle when it hit a pothole on Valley Vista Boulevard, throwing him to the ground. The crash left him with broken bones and a severe traumatic brain injury, according to his suit.

San Diego Reader December 2016
Torrey Pines cyclists’ pothole nightmare continues
“I hate to state the obvious, but this is completely avoidable.”

The City of San Diego is poised to pay out another large sum for failing to maintain safe bike lanes and roads for pedestrians.

On Tuesday (December 13) city councilmembers are expected to finalize a $235,000 legal settlement to Cathleen Summerford, who was seriously injured after her bicycle struck a pothole in 2014 on Torrey Pines Road in La Jolla. The money will be paid from the city’s public liability fund.

Oakland – Mercury News
Oakland to pay $3.25 million to cyclist in pothole crash

After failing for years to address complaints about a pothole-laden thoroughfare in the Oakland hills, the city will pay $3 million to a cyclist who suffered severe injuries after crashing on the street.

In a closed session Tuesday, the Oakland City Council agreed to a $3.25 million settlement with Dulcey Bower, who crashed while bicycling downhill on Mountain Boulevard between Ascot Drive and the Highway 13 onramp.

Bicycle or Pedestrian Accident?

After the Fatal Uber Self Driving Car pedestrian accident, Uber, and the news was telling us that the pedestrian just walked right in front of the car, no warning, and the pedestrian was not in a crosswalk.
The Police in Arizona were examining the car, and no one had seen the onboard video camera yet.
People started, “victim blaming.”
This is what Janette Sadik-Khan said, she is an inspiring ‏author of the book Streetfight and former NYCDOT Commissioner, “The first non-driver death of the autonomous age and police are already blaming the victim. “Crossing outside of the crosswalk” was never a valid excuse for traffic deaths, and it provides no cover for autonomous mobility companies.”

This is an important lesson in why you should always talk to an experienced, proven, personal injury attorney, even if you are blamed in the DMV Accident report by the responding officers. I had two pedestrian cases last year, both pedestrians were struck in a marked crosswalk. Both pedestrians had the walk sign. Both cases had the same responding police officer who, amazingly, blamed the pedestrian in both cases. In one DMV Accident report, the officer even noted that the driver admitted not seeing the pedestrian, her windshield condensation and hadn’t cleared up, it was dark, and she was turning left through the crosswalk, she didn’t even realize she had hit a person! Fortunately for my clients, there were witnesses and I was able to get both of these pedestrians substantial settlements, even though they were actually blamed.

Will news correct story that pedestrian did not just appear?
Or what about the distracted driving of this human backup driver in the cab?
You can clearly see in the before image that the driver IS NOT LOOKING AT THE RODE.

Before this fatal pedestrian accident occurred, we already knew that self driving cars were having trouble with pedestrians and bicyclists, and bike lanes!

Uber admits to self-driving car ‘problem’ in bike lanes as safety concerns mount
Engineers were working to fix programming flaw that could have deadly results for cyclists days after Uber announced it would openly defy California regulators

Uber began piloting its self-driving vehicles in its home town of San Francisco last week, despite state officials’ declaration that the ride-share company needed special permits to test its technology. On day one, numerous autonomous vehicles – which have a driver in the front seat who can take control – were caught running red lights and committing a range of traffic violations.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has released a warning about Uber’s cars based on staff members’ first-hand experiences in the vehicles. When the car was in “self-driving” mode, the coalition’s executive director, who tested the car two days before the launch, observed it twice making an “unsafe right-hook-style turn through a bike lane”.

That means the car crossed the bike path at the last minute in a manner that posed a direct threat to cyclists. The maneuver also appears to violate state law, which mandates that a right-turning car merge into the bike lane before making the turn to avoid a crash with a cyclist who is continuing forward.

Furthermore, AI are not good at identifying cyclists nor pedestrians.

The Cyclist Problem
Self-driving cars aren’t good at detecting cyclists. The latest proposed fix is a cop-out.

Autonomous cars have a potentially fatal flaw: They struggle to detect and react to cyclists on the road. According to a January 2017 report by IEEE Spectrum, bicycles are generally considered “the most difficult detection problem that autonomous vehicle systems face.”