Tuesday Morning Commute - Speeding alone will not produce criminality

Good morning

• The BAC's Safety, Education and Enforcement Committee is meeting tonight. And the Facilities Committee is having a ride/meeting on Saturday along Rhode Island Avenue.
• I haven't mapped it out, but I wonder if bringing a bike along on the "ride the whole metro" race might help you. Ride out to the end of one line, then bike to the end of the next and ride in? It could help you avoid doubling back, but the connections aren't that good. Maybe if you ride faster than me it would help. Also, not sure if it would be considered cheating.
• I too would advise against wrong-way cycling in almost every case, but something about how this writer frames it bothers me. Dr. Gridlock's response is fine.
• "Last year, 21 cyclists were struck and killed but only two drivers were arrested. And about 40 percent of the time a driver is involved in a fatality – a pedestrian, cyclist, other motorist or themselves – not even a ticket is issued....In order to make an arrest, the NYPD said a motorist must break two traffic laws for the crash to rise to the level of criminal."
• National Bike Challenge to launch in May. "the 2012 Get Up & Ride National Bike Challenge aims to encourage people to bike for transportation and recreation, and to catalog exactly how many miles they're logging every day of the challenge. The program runs from May 1 to August 1, with the goal of uniting 50,000 people to pedal 10 million miles."
• Meh

Comments

[darren]

One way cycling is wrong. One way roads, that are one way because they only have room to permit cars to go one way, are also wrong. Rather than clucking about salmon, we should view them as demonstrated demand for contraflow lanes on roads that create accessibility obstacles for the more spatially-efficient bicyle

[charlie]

My rule of thumb for running red lights is that if there are no cars around at all, it is permissible.

That rule (no cars) doesn't work for one way -- because it usually on one way streets with low traffic that cars are moving faster and don't expect to see a bike coming at you.

Daren has a good point. That being said, for instance, I saw two college age girls (very cute, short skirts) in hand scooters going salmon on M st in Georgetown around 4:30 (rush hour). Not a great idea, and not evidence of demand lines

[antibozo]

There are some one-way streets downtown with contraflow bike lanes. I wonder if the guy is just confused.

[Jonathan Krall]

One way streets only make sense for motor vehicles, almost all of which are much larger than a bike or a person. +1 for the observation that wrong-way cycling is evidence of unmet demand.

[aaa]

Not related, but bike cop and regular cop were sitting next to the bike lane at 14th & Mass this morning with safety fliers in hand. They looked ready to ticket or ready to inform.

[Jim T]

I saw a pedestrian cross 3/4 of K street while proceeding north on 13th St. Her light turned red when she was on the island between the main travel lanes and the westbound parking/right turn lane.

Like most pedestrians, she continued walking despite the red light and don't walk signal, when a big hand reached out and pulled her from the pavement back to the island. Novel way of issuing a warning.

[antibozo]

Hand was attached to a cop? What was he warning her about? Don't pedestrians in crosswalks have right of way at all intersections in D.C.? They just can't step out in front of a vehicle that doesn't have sufficient stopping distance, IIRC.

[Jim T]

I was watching the lady cross, so I barely noticed the man whose back was to me as she passed him--until his hand pulled her back 2-3 feet. As I passed, I realized he was a police officer based on his shoulder insignia but that was not obvious at first.

I'm used to police blowing whistles, pointing, and sounding sirens; the gentle scooping motion was a bit of a surprise.

But no: pedestrians have no right to leave the curb to cross a lane against a don't walk sign even if the light is green, and certainly not when the light is red. So had the cop been conducting traffic, he probably would have blown a whistle and made a clear motion for her to stay put.

It did seem as if he reversed her direction with the skill of a ballroom dancer leading a partner.

[antibozo]

Oh, i suppose if it was a controlled intersection with a don't walk signal, yes.

[Crickey7]

The long arm of the law, so to speak?

[antibozo]

It would have been funny if she'd responded with, "Keep ya paws off me, ya big palooka!"