Close calls map

Washcycle was just recently in a collision with a car. I was passing on the right as I approached a light. It changed and the car next to me decided to turn right without looking or signaling. I slammed on my brakes, fishtailed a little, hit the car with my shoulder and ended up going down at slow speed. I was proud of myself for not taking my hands off the handlebars (a good way to hurt your wrist) but not proud of myself for not getting the driver's info. I was fine, and my bike was fine but for some scratches, but what if I had woken up the next day to a bad back or a cracked frame? Lesson learned (besides, my spindle was scratched, I'd like to get it replaced). The driver stopped (at least) and got out and to see if his car was OK. His wife shouted from the open window to check on me. Ugh.

Anyway, when I got home I went to the DDOT website to report it. Surely they had a form for such things for GIS data. Negative.

Portland does it. And they're working on an online map to track close calls and collisions.

This data - which has never been documented before - will help inform cyclists, bike advocates, law enforcement officials, road engineers and traffic safety experts about dangerous areas in our community.

Are there any google hack people who want to try to get this up and going here in DC? It would be like this, but fluid and not based solely upon police reports.

Comments

[Kyle]

Here's a draft of something like that; I'd be happy to do my best to maximize the utility. Let me know what would be more useful (better data collection for incidents would be a good place to start...)

http://www.routeslipper.org/incident.tracker.php

I don't live in DC, but I'll be adding data to the San Francisco area (search for Redwood City, CA). Great idea, though!

[tsvidogg]

I have been hit by cars on two occasions. The first time, when my bike got messed up and I was bleeding from a bunch of places, I ended up getting only a $20 bill and some wetnaps from the driver because I was just so disoriented. That sucked, although it has become a good, long joke of mine. The second time, which was just a month or so ago, I actually did get the guy's phone number and name and he ended up giving me a check for the cost of a replacement wheel because my wheel was finished. I really understand how hard it is to focus on getting information when your blood is pumping and you are in shock.

[Lee Watkins]

I usually never ride on the sidewalk, because I've read that it's more dangerous than riding on the road, but recently I was on Georgia Ave & East-West Highway, approaching the underpass northbound in Silver Spring.

I saw the dark underpass and the way drivers were speeding through it, and decided that since I had no lights on my bike, it would be safer to ride on the sidewalk. I didn't get more then a block before the front 1/3 of my front wheel was caught by a small bubble shaped car (Ford Focus?) which emerged from a blind alleyway at an Amazing Speed. The driver appeared to have planned to stop exactly at the edge of the roadway, ignoring the sidewalk that lies between the end of the allway and the road. The driver of course couldn't see me until he exited the alleyway and his car was on top of my front wheel. I was okay, as somehow I stepped off of the bike automatically when it slipped out from under me. The only damage was the front wheel, bent. He heard a noise and looked over at me, but then ignored me and drove away, like he didn't even notice. Didn't get any info. I'm sure he thought about it later when he saw that a huge section of paint had been scraped off the side of his car by my wheel. Guess he should have looked both ways before speeding onto a sidewalk. Guess it could happen to anywone. I no longer ride on the sidewalk. I promptly ordered a new wheel, with a Dynohub to power a full set of lights for my bicycle. I find that I am now constantly irritated with other bikers who don't have any lights. We need to do something about all the bikes that don't have any lights, this surely is a big problem. Best, Lee