Hit and Run incidents on the rise, Cyclists among Victims

AAA reports that there has been an alarming rise in hit and run incidents in the region.

AAA Mid-Atlantic said that after 44 fatal hit-and-run accidents in Virginia and Maryland last year, the anecdotal evidence suggests that the number has increased in 2009, keeping pace with a national trend that saw 1,500 such cases last year, the majority of them involving pedestrians.

"About 60 percent of the people killed in hit-and-run crashes are pedestrians," said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic's manager of public and government affairs, adding that "one in five pedestrian fatalities involve hit-and-run drivers." 

I suspect cyclists make up a significant portion of the other 40 percent (it's harder to hit a car, cause a fatality and be able to get away). And that a similar 20% of cyclists are killed in hit and run incidents.

On Thursday, a 36-year-old pedestrian was killed on Annapolis Road in Riverdale, according to Prince George's County police. On Friday, an 18-year-old bicyclist was critically injured in the District, police said. Neither driver has been apprehended.

In August, a 28-year-old bicyclist was killed on Lee Highway near Lake Manassas Drive in Gainesville. Emmanuel Yeboah was pedaling home on the shoulder of the road when his bike was struck from behind.

In July, one cyclist was killed and another was injured in a crash near Ocean City, according to the Maryland State Police.

Comments

[think a little]

Where, pray tell, are WABA and Legba Carrefour with ghost bikes for these fatalites?

As an interesting side note Mr. Zisk had his license taken away due to DUI convictions, only to be killed by another drunk driver.

[Washcycle]

You seem bothered that putting up a ghost bike for Alice Swanson (but not any of the subsequent five Washington area fatalities) seems arbitrary. Do you think they should put up a bike for each fatality or for none?

[think a little]

WABA should have put up a ghost bike for each of the five. If you really want the public to think about bike safety, the need to see the bikes as a reminder.

The fact that WABA made such a huge production about Ms. Swanson's memorial and is pretty much silent on these other fatalties and Mr Carrefour has his little snit over the removal of the bikes and his "artwork" seems to say to me that if you are urban, white and female you are worthy of notice and protection but if you are suburban and/or a minority you aren't worthy of mention or assistance by WABA, which to me is the totally wrong attitude about cycling and people as well.

[guez]

After suggesting we move on (in a previous thread), I realize that I have something to say about this ghost bike matter.

What makes the ghost bike such a powerful statement, it seems to me, is its simplicity. A single white bike represents a single lost life. DC authorities may well have mishandled this matter, but Mr. Carrefour's response has turned a beautiful gesture of remembrance into political street theater. Critical-Mass-style *may* have their place, but this isn't it.

[Jack]

WABA does a tremendous job, seriously. It's amazing they do so much over such a big area, and a lot of it has to do with safety. How that gets twisted into not "worthy of mention or assistance of WABA" is beyond me. If this is what these ghost bikes are doing (dividing us) then they're doing more harm than good.

[think a little]

Guez----very very true...
Just as Mr. Carrefour appropriated his name from others to promote his ego and mystique, he has taken over the ghost bike to to promote the same.

Jack---I think WABA does a good job, but I havent seen Eric on the news at the crash site of anybody else nor have I seen any posts on their site about accidents other than Ms. Swanson's, which is why I feel that they used it for traction because she was cute, female, young and white...

[Scott]

In fairness, aren't WABA's headquarters just a block or two away from Swanson's crash site? And Dupont Circle is a very familiar, dense urban location... there's a large group of people who can potentially say, "Holy crap, I walk/bike there all the time."

So it's not JUST Ms. Swanson's demographics that differentiate this case.

[Washcycle]

As I recall, the Swanson crash became big without WABA's involvement. Most of the MSM had reports on it before 11am. Why? because it was close in and they were able to get to it quickly (before the morning news cycle ended). In fact FOX, NBC, News8, the Post, and DCist all had stories up by noon that day - well before the WABA announcement of a ghost bike. That is not the usual treatment for bike fatalities.

The Hrdlicka crash this year wasn't reported in any of those papers and when it was it was a week after the crash.

The Wolfe crash was covered by WJLA and the Gazette with small stories.

The Alexander crash (another young white woman) was covered extensively by the Post and the Gazette.

The Yeboah crash was covered by Fox and InsideNova.

The Villanueva crash only by WJLA.

And there have been a few fatalities in DC since I started writing the blog that were never covered by the MSM.

So if there is someone with a bias, I would look toward the MSM and not WABA. WABA's ghost bike was a response to the media coverage, not a reaction to promote a cute, young, white, female. Certainly if that were the M.O., Codi Alexander would have been an even better candidate (cute, young, teen-aged, white, female).

[ontarioroader]

To get back to the hit-and-run issue - when my car was struck in a hit-and-run in MD last week the responding police officer said there was a noticeable increase in people leaving the scene of all types of automobile related accidents. His theory was that in tough economic times many people either drop their insurance coverage or are so scared of insurance rate increases that they'll just leave the scene. He also said that the increased difficulty in getting a drivers license due to homeland security regulations means that lots of folks are driving without a license, and these individuals are likely to leave the scene of an accident for fear of arrest for driving without a license.