The worst part about inaugurations is having to hear - repeatedly - the old canard about how William Henry Harrison didn't wear a coat at his inauguration, and as a result got sick and died. But, he didn't get sick until 3 weeks after his inauguration - so that wasn't the cause. Still, I guess the story, unlike Harrison, is too good to die.
For a while there I thought no one was reading the blog anymore. I had gotten no comments since Saturday, but it turns out gmail was just treating them as junkmail. For a while there I thought SJE was sick or something.
Everything you might want to know about biking to the Inauguration (and more here). CaBi is setting up a bike corral until Thrusday, and if twitter is to be believed, they're in discussions to have a bike corral downtown every weekday starting in the spring.
On Wed., Jan. 23, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., WABA will be hosting an open
house at their office in Adams Morgan. This will be a low-key opportunity
for people interested in participating in Maryland and DC planning efforts and testifying
or presenting at public meetings to meet their fellow bicyclists,
review background materials, ask questions, and get a better
understanding of what’s going on in D.C. and Maryland.
Driver pleads guilty to vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated in Rehobeth Beach Henman fatality. "His attorney, John Sandy, told the Cape Gazette he expects Meegan to
serve at least 20 months in jail and that he faces a possible maximum
sentence 16 and a half years." And an Arlington driver has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after running a red light and killing a pedestrian.
I have an idea for a phone app. A Ben and Jerry's tracker. It would keep track of which flavors you've tried, how you ranked them (Sugar Snap Peas and Orange Juice -> 0 stars), when you last had them ("What? Five years without Heath Toffee Crunch. That must be corrected.) etc...To assist in grocery store aisle decision making. In return for this idea, I ask only for a free pint.
Cyclist in aggressive driving case involvingg a driver who allegedly hit a cyclist intentionally, failed to show up to court. Again. "Without any witnesses for the prosecution, there won't be much of a
case. The lesson here is that if you're going to seek charges against a
motorist, you've got to follow through and be willing to appear in court"
"The Park Authority has published a preliminary set of plans for the
building of the new Pohick Stream Valley - Liberty Bell Trail,
projected for completion in 2014-15. This trail is designed to connect
to the new Burke VRE trail that runs from Burke VRE station along Pohick
Stream to Coffer Woods at Burke Lake Road." Public comments are due Jan 14th.
"The Department of Transportation is proposing new regulations that would
require hybrid and electric cars to make more noise when their engines
are running...NHTSA said the minimum sound requirements would prevent 2,800 pedestrian and bicycle injuries each year"
A community group wants to turn the North RFK parking lot into a park with green space, sports fields and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Offtopic a bit, I've long wanted to see the whole RFK property turned into Robert Kennedy (or Kennedy Brothers) National Recreation area, with many more sports fields,a velodrome, canoe docks, a smaller stadium for soccer, playgrounds, unprogrammed space etc...But that is an awful lot to ask for. This is probably less pie-in-the-sky).
"Virginia Bicycling Federation recently created two new safety posters that can be downloaded and printed. "Light up the night-Be Safe Be Seen" encourages cyclists to use front and rear lights and to wear visible clothing....The second poster has a more subtle message, "Don't be color blind-Same Rights, Same Responsibilities." It took a minute to figure out that "color blind" was referring to the red light signal in the image."
Virginia bill would make texting while driving reckless driving."Del. Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge) and Del. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) announced Wednesday that they had submitted a bill to make it a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by as much as a year in jail and a $2,5000 fine, to use cellphones while driving for anything other than a call." Sigh...it's progress. Another bill would require drivers to use "due care" to avoid hitting pedestrians and cyclists. No seriously, that isn't the law now.
DC has the 12th highest "Bike Score" in the US with a score high enough to be considered "bikeable".
Good afternoon. I don't know if they re-timed the lights, but I caught the green bike light this morning coming off of 15th onto Penn and didn't get a red until 6th. People used to complain about the stop and go nature of Penn, but I didn't have that problem today.
WABA and MoBike recently created a list of recommended bike infrastructure improvements for Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Bethesda and Friendship Heights. "Among the suggestions are to finish two incomplete trails in Silver Spring: Metropolitan Branch Trail and Silver Spring Green Trail." You can see a longer list of recommendations at the link.
MORE becomes a chapter club of the International Mountain Biking Association
The Federal Highway Administration has issued recommendations for “non-motorized” groups in its Traffic Monitoring Guide which could give guidance on counting cyclists. One nice thing about having CaBi, is that we can use it's data to get a good idea of how many cyclists are out there. Here's the best way to do that
When doing counts, just try to determine the ratio of CaBi cyclists to non-CaBi cyclists, the actual number doesn't even really matter.
Then use that ratio to determine the total number of cyclists every day. So, for example, if 1 out of every 10 cyclists is on a CaBi, and on Dec 2 there were 2000 CaBi trips then we can extrapolate that there were 20,000 total bike trips.
One flaw with this is that the ratio determined above is the ratio of cyclists on the road (based on time) not the ratio of actual trips. If CaBi trips are shorter than other bike trips then it would overcount total trips. But you could account for that two with some survey data.
The brown mailing envelopes in which Maryland drivers receive their registration or drivers license renewal forms this month include the message "Give bikes THREE FEET when passing, IT'S THE LAW" along with the standard sketch showing a cyclist to the right of a compact car. The message runs about 30% of the length of the envelope, right above the address window, so alot of people will probably notice it. Running along the bottom of the envelope the entire length of the address window is the message "Share the road, You could save a life."
The Motor Vehicle Administration has also created a public service message in which MVA director John Kuo explains that cyclists may use the full lane before he introduces himself. That explanation is provided over about 18 seconds of video shot from a bicycle while cars pass safely. Mr. Kuo goes on to explain the importance of leaving three feet while passing a bike, with more footage of cars passing bikes, including a bike in the middle of a door-zone bike lane.
Although some advoates have argued that the presence of a double yellow line allows drivers to ignore the three-foot rule, that is clearly not the view of the Maryland Department of Transportation: several of the shots show drivers crossing the double yellow line to leave a safe passing distance.
Barry Childress deserves credit for regularly speaking with Mr. Kuo during 2010-2011 to get MVA to promote bike safety. Then last year, the highway safety office was moved to MVA, which put Mr. Kuo in a position to do more.
(Jim Titus is on WABA's Board of Directors and represents Prince George's County on the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The views expressed here do not represent the official position of either WABA or MBPAC)
This week, the Maryland Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on whether to replace the doctrine of contributory negligence with comparative fault in the case of Coleman v. Soccer Association of Columbia. The case involves a volunteer soccer coach who smoked pot before practice, tried to swing on a portable goal, and fell on his face. He sued for damages from the soccer league for failing to warn him about this hazard, but the jury found that he was contributorily negligent, so he could not recover damages.
Observers have been expecting the Court to revisit this question for the last few years, because the Court requested a special report to evaluate the two doctrines. That report, completed last year, did not make specific recommendations; but it provided alot of context that will help the Court regardless of its decision. During the 20th century, 46 states adopted comparative fault, 34 by statute and 12 by court decision, with Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, and Maryland being the only holdouts.
As we have discussed on this blog many times, the doctrine of contributory negligence has alot of good points, but it is totally unfair to cyclists. Vehicle crashes usually involve at least a bit of neligence by both parties, because a good driver is prepared for others to make mistakes. In Washington v. A & H Garcias Trash Hauling (DC 1990), a cyclist was right-hooked by a truck and the court held that the cyclist was contributorily negligent for riding too far to the right. If you ride in the door zone and get doored, whoever opened that door is at fault, but you should have known this might happen so maybe you would be contributorily negligent. So the doctrine lets drivers off the hook for paying for a cyclist's injuries; but it almost never helps cyclists because negligent cyclists don't cause serious injuries to drivers.
Outside of the cycling context, however, the doctrine can be useful. The typical driver is just as likely to win as lose from this doctrine, so by keeping extra cases out of court and the liability system, insurance costs are less. In Maryland, you don't hear about people slipping on a puddle and then suing the store owner, because people who can't keep their balance in a puddle should not walk through puddles. Many stores in the Washington area let adults shop without removing their inline skates (assuming the adults are being discreet and moving at a walking pace). In New Jersey or Florida, the owners will tell you to take them off.
In this case, Mr. Coleman took a few practice shots, went to retrieve a ball, and swung on the goal, which fell over because it was one of those portable goals that do not have poles sunken into the ground. These practice shots were not really part of his coaching duties, and the goal was neither erected nor used by the soccer league. The parents staked out one field with two goals, which the kids were using. The goal Coleman used was sitting on the field without a mate, when everyone arrived at the field, which was at a junior high school. The defense argues that the court can sidestep the question of contributory negligence by holding that the soccer league has no duty to protect coaches from their own horsing around on goals that the league neither sets up nor uses.
Given the widespread support for the doctrine of contributory negligence in the business community, one would normally assume that the Court would decide that the Legislature is the proper forum for deciding whether to repeal contributory negligence. And this case seems particularly ill-suited for the Court to fundamentally change the tort law. It would be too easy to parody the idea that Maryland now wants to award damages to people who smoke pot and swing on flimsy structures. If the Court of Appeals is going to award damages to contributorily negligent plaintiffs, one would think they would start with a plaintiff whose negligence seemed more honorable, such as a cyclist riding too far to the right or an assertive pedestrian struck in the crosswalk by a driver who fails to yield.
Meanwhile, some advocates are talking to Legislators about limiting the reach of the doctrine of contributory negligence when a bike and a motor vehicle crash. For example, a bill might modify the statute's definition of the duty of care so that a cyclist who complies with the transportation article is not contributorily negligent. I'm not sure whether these initiatives will be put on hold pending the Court's decision in Coleman. Interestingly, one of the arguments that the business community makes against a judicial rejection of contributory negligence is that a number of transportation statutes define circumstances where the doctrine does not apply. A limited bill to protect cyclists from the injustices of the doctrine would be consistent with that approach.
(Jim Titus is a member of the Board of Directors of WABA and represents Prince Georges County on the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC). The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of either WABA or MBPAC.)
In a very bad opinion piece, the Times goes completely insane about DC's photo enforcement program. They're rooting for Congressional intervention - this is not the home rule paper. They hold up Kwame Brown as an example of how DC must think it's untouchable (I'm unclear on how his bad behavior, for which he has been convicted of a crime and removed from office makes us appear arrogant. It's hard to get more touchable than federal prison). But worst of all, they're upset that DC has created a commission to lower automated enforcement fines - because it's unfair to drivers. I guess they prefer the status quo? They're also upset that the D.C. Pedestrian Advisory Council and the D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council have a seat at the table, because they're "car-hating liberals". If they can name one PAC or BAC member I'll buy a subscription. But I'm sure they can't, so how they know what the members think is beyond me. And, it seems reasonable to me to include the majority of commuters (53% who walk or bike at least part of the way) in a discussion about road safety. They don't even like having AAA at the table. No, according to the Times the best people to make decisions about this are people who don't live here.
This is not a sign of bad behavior, so much as a failure of our transportation network.
Details on the recently funded C&D Trail that will connect Chesapeake City to Delaware City. The project will convert the current gravel service road into a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle trail. Vehicular traffic will no longer be permitted, Geracimos said.
Chicago just has to do everything New York does, and so after New York City delayed the launch of their bike-sharing system, Chicago is following suit. The system will not meet it's goal of a late summer launch and will instead launch next year. And there is a little controversy brewing "According to news reports, Chicago’s inspector general is investigating the claims of an Alta rival that Alta had an unfair advantage in the bidding process. A spokesman for the inspector general would not confirm or deny that on Wednesday. Mr. Scales said Chicago’s transportation commissioner, Gabe Klein, was paid a $10,000 consulting fee to analyze Alta’s proposal for the New York program — which was a basis for the rival’s claim. Mr. Scales said that Mr. Klein had recused himself from the selection process in Chicago, and that the delay had nothing to do with any investigation of the rival bidder’s claims."
Christy Littleford, who was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident after the September 2010 crash that killed Natasha Pettigrew dead, received a 4-year sentence, but Judge John P. Davey suspended three years of it. Littleford will spend 364 days behind bars.
Littleford, her family and the family of Pettigrew, a Green Party candidate for Senate, all cried in the courtroom as Judge Davey handed down the sentence. She told the court she was "truly sorry" for what happened.
As family members from both sides watched, Christy Littleford, 43, was taken out of a Prince George’s County Circuit courtroom in handcuffs, her sentence slated to begin immediately. Minutes earlier, her family members and friends tearfully pleaded that Judge John Davey look on her with mercy, arguing that she did not mean to hit 30-year-old Natasha Pettigrew.
I don't think anyone is arguing that she meant to hit Pettigrew. That it's an accident isn't relevant to the charges.
Prosecutors had asked that Littleford, who was convicted in May of failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving a death, along with other counts, be sentenced, effectively, to five years in prison. Assistant State’s Attorney Kirstin Statesman argued that after Littleford hit Pettigrew in September 2010, she dragged the third-year law student and Green Party candidate’s bike nearly three miles from the scene of the crash on Route 202 to her home nearby. Littleford never called 911, Statesman said, instead returning to the scene and going to the hospital before reporting the incident at a Prince George’s police station.
Speaking briefly on her own behalf, Littleford apologized to Pettigrew’s family. “I, too, suffer every single day,” she said.
“I don’t sleep. I don’t eat. My life is just upside down right now,” she said.
Davey, the judge, ultimately delivered the year-long sentence, along with fines and probation, predicting it would make neither side happy. He said that he believed Littleford did not intend to hit Pettigrew — and noted there was no evidence of drug or alcohol use — but said he found it “hard to believe” she did not realize she was dragging a bike. Maryland sentencing guidelines called for a term between four months and four years, Davey said.
After the hearing, Henry, who had left the courtroom during the defendant’s testimony, approached Littleford’s family members and told them she was “so sorry for your loss.” She said afterward that there were no winners.
A woman who kept driving after she thought she hit a deer, but actually hit and killed a cyclist, was sentenced on Friday.
She says she thought she hit a deer, but I think that is somewhat in question.
“It is important for drivers to pay attention when they are driving,” said Deputy State’s Attorney Donnell Turner. “And further, if you believe that you have hit something or someone, it is imperative that you remain on the scene of the accident.”
Considering that the driver had no prior arrests or indications that she was not a reckless driver, and that she turned herself in eventually, I'm Ok with going lenient on the hit and run part of it. Maybe she really didn't know what happened and, in shock, acted weirdly.
But she hit someone she should have seen, and so the punishment should fit that part of the crime. Based on what I've seen in other cases, this is probably a reasonable sentence.
Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. It was quite a day for Great Briton, with Brits Christopher Froome coming in 2nd and Mark Cavendish winning the final stage. American Tejay Van Garderen became only the 3rd American to ever win the White Jersey for the Young Classification (best rider under 25) and George Hincapie set the record for most Tours participated in at 17.
New bike parking at the Brookland Metro. DDOT urban forestry maintains the Met Branch Trail. Better parking in buildings. All at RPUS.
Longtime anti-nuclear war protester's 31 year vigil interrupted after she was hit by a taxi on her bicycle and broke her clavicle.
Wolf Trap, now easier to get to, but still with cruddy bike parking. [Maybe they should hire Richard Layman]
The city of Richmond, VA will buy land owned by a cement company and use the rail line that accesses it to build a section of the Virginia Capital Trail from Williamsburg to Richmond. The cement company will lease back the rest for two years and then will vacate. "The trail also got a boost last week from the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which awarded a $7 million contract to Henderson Inc., a Williamsburg firm, to design and build the New Market Heights trail section. That segment of trail will extend more than 10 miles from Kimages Road in Charles City County to Long Bridge Road in Henrico.Construction already has begun on the Sherwood Forest segment of trail from the Chickahominy River to Charles City Courthouse." Meanwhile, the Cannon Creek Greenway that connects to the Capital Trail got help from the National Guard. The Guard cleared more than a half-mile of trail for the greenway as part of its Innovative Readiness Training program.
Rails vs. Trails in the Adirondacks (answer: both?)
Tyler Hamilton may have his gold medal from the Athens Olympic games stripped because of his doping admission. Bobby Julich would move up to Silver as a result.
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