TheWashCycle

Virginia considering bill to regulate dockless bikes; ban phone use by drivers

The legislative season has started in Virginia, and as always the Virginia Bicycling Federation is doing a great job of keeping people abreast of what is going on this year. And there are several bills that deal with road safety that should matter to cyclists, at the top of the list are bills that would ban the use of “handheld personal communication devices” by drivers.

There's a house bill and a senate bill. These bills expand the current ban

Current law prohibits only the reading of any email or text message and manually entering letters or text in the device as a means of communicating. The bill expands the exemptions to include handheld personal communications devices that are used (i) for navigation or generating audio transmissions when the device is physically mounted to the vehicle; (ii) as an amateur radio or a citizens band radio; (iii) to activate, deactivate, or initiate a factory-installed feature or function on the vehicle; or (iv) for official Department of Transportation or traffic incident management services.

It seems like a common-sense thing, but a similar bill failed last year, so we'll see. 

There's also a bill that would require a vehicle to stop and not pass a vehicle which is stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. This should help a cyclist in the crosswalk too (such as crossing a road on the W&OD Trail), but sometimes the law doesn't see it that way. 

Somewhat related is the new "scooter" bill which has several parts relevanted to DoBi. 

It would regulate scooters and motorized skateboards similarly to how bicycles are; for example allowing their operators to use hand signals and such, and most relevantly allowing scooters in the bike lane.

It would also prevent any local ordinance that prohibits "the parking of a bicycle, electric power-assisted bicycle, or motorized skateboard or scooter on any sidewalk" and it would add a provision that

No person shall park a bicycle, electric power-assisted bicycle, or motorized skateboard or scooter in a manner that impedes the normal movement of pedestrian or other traffic or where such parking is prohibited by official traffic control devices.

Finally, it would allow that

The governing body of any county, city, or town may require persons offering motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assited bicycles for hire to be licensed, provided that in the absence of any licensing ordinance or regulation a person may offer motorized skateboards or scooters, bicycles, or electric power-assisted bicycles for hire unless otherwise prohibited by law.

The bill was passed out of the sub-committee and on to the full House Transportation committee by a 7-3 vote after getting support from both Bird and Lime. Of local note:

law enforcement and other officials from Arlington, Alexandria, & Charlottesvile asked for the bill to be tabled until their in-progress Pilot Projects are completed and digested.

VBF is also following Vulnerable Road User and Due Care bills.

[Anti-motorcycle helmet law proponents tried to pass a law allowing motorcyclists to ride without helmets IF they signed up to be organ donors. No dice.] 

Will 2018 be the Vision Zero Yearo?

Earlier this month, Alexandria's City Council adopted the proposed Vision Zero Action Plan, "a guidance document that will help the City achieve its goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2028." In so doing, Alexandria joins DC in putting together a plan to achieve an important, yet admittedly ambitious, goal. 

As the first Vision Zero community in Northern Virginia, Alexandria recognizes that traffic injuries and fatalities are preventable through proper engineering, enforcement, evaluation and education.

The adopted plan highlights priority action items that will be a major focus during the first two years of Vision Zero implementation. These items include the creation of a public crash and safety data dashboard that will allow community members to track progress, an accelerated timeline for Safe Routes to School engineering recommendations, and significantly increased traffic safety enforcement on city roadways with higher speeds.

The plan itself has a lot of good stuff, including graduated fines (which was something we had trouble getting through in DC), senior driving education programs and a push for lower speeds and higher fines for distracted driving. On the downside it looks like they've labelled every existing bike and ped project as a Vision Zero project instead of identifying additional projects to fund. 

People hoping that we'll see rapid city-wide changes that result in significant cuts in injurious or fatal crashes we'll probably be disappointed in the seemingly modest pace of changes

Year One Priority Engineering Improvements: The plan outlines the following engineering improvements, in addition to the action items, that the City will undertake in the first year of implementation

• Install Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) at ten high crash intersections
• Install No Right on Red turn restrictions at ten intersections
• Install pedestrian count-down signals at five intersections
• Install two major pedestrian intersection improvements
• Install 20 low-cost safety improvements, including new road markings, signs and minor signal modifications
• Develop concept design for funding application for at least one high crash location
• Install intersection improvements at ten high crash locations
• Upgrade three uncontrolled crossing locations with safety improvements
• Implement Safe Routes to School improvements at six schools
• Reduce the speed limit from 35mph to 25mph on one high crash corridor
• Upgrade curb ramps to improve accessibility at fifteen locations

But I think this is a reasonable set of goals for the first year, I'd expect the pace to pick up over time and for retrofits to be replaced by standard practice. 

Alexandria has also approved a separate Alexandria Police Department Traffic Safety Plan, which includes the strategy to "Advocate for Idaho Stop Legislation." That would be a welcome change compared to MPD being the only organization who really advocated against it in DC. One can only hope that will mean fewer sting operations wherein they ticket cyclists at empty intersections. 

While some have become frustrated with Vision Zero, labeling it "lip service" or calling on cities to "move beyond zero", WABA is still deeply committed to it. They're hiring (have already hired?) a new VZ Coordinator and is hosting a Vision Zero Summit in March. Encouragingly Muriel Bowser will be the keynote speaker. Anytime the issue of road safety comes before the Mayor I think that's a good thing (because I get that she's got a lot more on her plate than just that). Interestingly, DC doesn't have to wait for some far off state legislature to pass tougher distracted driving laws or the Idaho Stop, they can do that right now. But they haven't. 

I get, and share, the frustration that Vision Zero seems to moving slowly, but I do think it is moving and I do think there have been gains. I just worry that they're being overwhelmed, and made undetectable, by America's growing smart phone addiction. Until we're willing to take that on, Zero will be hard to reach. There's only so much that painted crosswalks and better lighting can fix. 

How the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act has changed

As mentioned yesterday, the DC Council passed the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Amendment Act of 2016, which is the post-hearing version of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Act of 2015. The two laws have many similarities but in a few key ways they differ.  At this link is a list of what the 2015 bill included. And the main differences are listed below (there are also some smaller differences like the exact data that needs to be reported or who is responsible for this task or that)

The 2016 bill

• Removes the provision to allow bicyclists to observe stop signs as yield signs
• Removes the provision to increase penalties for repeat offenders of traffic violations (including bike lane violations)
• Removes the provision that would expand distracted driving to include drivers sitting behind the wheel of a non-moving, but idling, motor vehicle.
• Adds language to enhance the penalties for operating and parking an all-terrain vehcile or dirt bike in the public right-of-way
• Adds a provision to require mandatory participation in the interlock program for all offenders that have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit 
• Adds a provision to impose a permanent license revocation for a third conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving while intoxicated, or operating a vehicle whole impaired
• Increase penalties for first time drunk driving offenders and offenders with blood alcohol content above .08 but less than .20
• Gives much greater details on bicycle insurance regulations - now a whole section instead of two lines.

So that's some good additions and some unfortunate removals. I'll note that everything AAA didn't like (increased fines for repeate offenders and the Idaho Stop) were removed from the bill - despite them officially supporting the 2015 bill. 

Mayor Bowser's Vision Zero Act of 2015

Following on the heels of Cheh's Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act, Mayor Bowser has transmitted the Vision Zero Act of 2015 to the Council for their consideration. 

This bill does several things geared towards making DC's roads safer.

1. Like Cheh's bill, it would codify a Complete Streets policy as law
2. It would ban the use of dirt bikes and ATVs on DC streets (I thought this was already the law)
3. It establishes an Ignition Interlock Device Program that repeat offenders or 1-time offenders with particularly high BAC will be required to install.
4. It changes the fines and jail sentences of drunk drivers
5. It Increases the fine for distracted driving from $100 to $500 and adds 2 points 

So, not as sweeping as Cheh's bill and the distracted driving part isn't as good as the Mendelsohn's Enhanced Penalties for Distracted Driving Act of 2015, but it represents a growing consensus that safety legislation is needed - specifically with respect to Complete Streets and distracted driving. 

What's in the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act of 2015

Holy mackerel, Cheh's Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act has a lot in it. In short:

• Lots of data reporting
• complete streets policy
• pedestrian and bicycle priority zones
• stop as yield  Idaho Stop (sorry Crickey)
• dooring language change
• bicycle insurance provisions
• universal street safety education mandate
• targeted for-hire vehicle operator training
• study of a remediation and deferred disposition program
• escalating fines for repeat offenders
• tougher distracted driving law
• a new penalty for aggressive driving
• required side-underrun guards and blind spot mirrors or cameras on trucks
• study of pedestrian alert devices on District-owned large vehicles
• access to video for crash victims
• creation of a major crash-review task force

Thanks to Greg Billing to proving me a link to the bill. 

Unpacking it a bit.

1. DDOT will have to regularly publish crash data, sidewalk closure information and information on citizen petitions for for traffic calming measures on its website, MPD will do the same with moving violations. DDOT will also report annually on dangerous locations. Every 5 years DDOT will report with recommendations on how to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

2. DDOT is instructed to create Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Areas (at least one per ward) where right-turns-on-red can be abolished, speed limits lowered and more TCO and camera-enforcement can be utilized.

3. DDOT will adopt a complete streets policy. [They have one now, but is one issued by the DDOT Director, and thus can be removed by them at any time. This one will be law.]

4. The law will be changed to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs, just as pedestrians do. DC would adopt an Idaho Stop law. (I had to reread it to catch it) Cyclists approaching a stop sign or stop light will be required to slow down, and if required for safety, stop before entering the intersection. After slowing or stopping, the cyclist will yield the ROW, after slowing and yielding the cyclist may proceed through the intersection.

5. Dooring will be redefined to explicitly include bicycles.  

6. Bicycle insurance will be governed by the same laws as motor-vehicle insurance, and bicycle insurance providers may require policy holders to register their bikes.

7. All schools will have a curriculum available to them on safe cycling and walking.

8. For-hire vehicle operators will be required to learn about issues related to bicycle and pedestrian safety as part of existing mandatory training. And those using digital dispatch will require additional training.

9. The Mayor is required to study a remediation and deferred disposition program for people committing moving violations. 

10. Repeat offenders will see larger fines - up to 5 times as much for 4th time offenses. This will be true for speeding offenses, crosswalk violations, right-of-way violations, stopping or standing violations (including in a bike lane, sorry UPS). 

11. Drivers will no longer be able to use the phone when the car is not moving. 

12. Drivers who commit 3 or more or a set of violations (like speeding or improper lane changes) can be cited for aggressive driving, which carries a penalty of $200 and 2 points and mandatory driver education.

13. All heavy-duty vehicles registered in the District will be required to have side under run guards, reflective blind spot warning stickers and either blind spot mirrors or cameras. This is currently the law for District-owned vehicles.

14. The Mayor is instructed to report to the council as to whether Circulator buses and District-owned heavy duty vehicles can be equipped with pedestrian alert technology.

15. If a District owned camera captures video of a crash all vehicle operators involved in that crash will be informed that the footage exists, the footage will be preserved and the parties will be assisted in acquiring the footage.

16. A Major Crash Review Task Force will be established to review every crash investigated by the Major Crash Investigation Unit and as a result, recommend changes to reduce the number of major crashes.

17. The Kitchen sink

This would represent a major improvement in the safety of DC streets for vulnerable users and put DC at the forefront of American cities with respect to pedestrian and cyclist safety. It's ambitious, but everything on here represents something for which consensus existed among the Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force (which was co-chaired by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and AAA Mid-Atlantic).  

Bishop in fatal Palermo crash pleads guilty, prosecutors to ask for 20 year sentence

Former Episcopal bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts related to the December drunken-driving death of bicyclist Thomas Palermo in North Baltimore.

She pleaded guilty to one count of automobile manslaughter, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years; leaving the scene of a fatal accident, which also carries a maximum penalty of 10 years; and driving while under the influence and texting while driving, which both bring a maximum penalty of one year.

I can't say I'm too surprised, since in cases like these, it's my experience that the accused usually pleas, but the sentence prosecutors are seeking would be the longest I've ever heard of in the region. 

Prosecutors said they would ask for a sentence of 20 years, with all but 10 years suspended, to be followed by five years' probation. Judge Timothy Doory scheduled sentencing for Oct. 27. He said he would not sentence Cook to any more time than prosecutors are seeking but could give her less.

Still local bike advocates don't think it's enough.

Bicycle advocates Liz Cornish of Bikemore and Nate Evans of Bike Maryland attended the hearing and said they did not believe the sentence prosecutors are seeking is sufficient. Tougher penalties would deter others from committing similar crimes and contribute to a greater awareness of the "immense responsibility that comes with operating a motor vehicle," Cornish said.

Driven to Distraction

By Jonathon Krall - crossposted from Alexandria News

Based on the latest report from the League of American Bicyclists, distracted driving is now endemic, so much so that the entire conversation about bicycles and cars on the roads may need to change. Being hit from behind, once considered rare, is now a common cause of car-on-bicycle fatalities. Cities, such as New York, are answering this threat with “vision zero” policies that aim to design fatalities out of our roadways, despite human error.

Previously, intersection collisions were considered most common and were a matter of drivers entering an intersection too fast to look in all directions. According to the LAB report, entitled “Every Bicyclist Counts", the biggest problem may instead be distracted drivers failing to look in any direction at all.

To me, the most interesting studies are those using heavily instrumented cars, where even the driver is monitored. After a period of exemplary behavior, drivers get used to being monitored and their mischief is recorded in detail. The result? People who use phones take their eyes off the road to manipulate the phone, look for the phone, or look at screen. This comes from a 2013 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study: “Text messaging increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times and resulted in drivers taking their eyes off the road for an average of 23 seconds total.” At 60 mph, 23 seconds is over 1/3 of a mile.

Virginia Tech reports that “even portable hands-free and vehicle-integrated hands-free cell phone use involved visual-manual tasks at least half of the time, which is associated with a greater crash risk.” The main problem isn't so much talking on phone as paying attention to the phone itself.

A “landmark study” by the American Automobile Association Foundation went further, monitoring the level of driver brain activity. Their finding? Distractions can be cognitive rather than visual, leading to dangerously inattentive driving. “Of all the tasks assessed, driver interaction with speech-to-text systems (such as the infotainment and other voice-activated tech offerings in many new vehicles) creates the highest level of cognitive distraction.” The AAAF goes on to say that “By demonstrating that mentally-distracted drivers miss visual cues, have slower reaction times, and even exhibit a sort of tunnel vision, this study provides some of the strongest evidence yet that 'hands-free' doesn’t mean risk free.” Anyone who has tussled with a voice-recognition system knows how frustrating they can be. In a car, they can be dangerous.

“Hit from behind” crashes should never happen if drivers are looking where they are going. Better reporting, such as straightforward accounts of all local traffic fatalities, would raise public awareness. The public, however, must surely have gotten the message by now. Education, it seems, cannot trump human nature.

With citizen input, Alexandria city staff are currently updating the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan. At the February 18 meeting of the Transportation Commission, city staff reported key findings and recommendations, one of which was that “Staff should also conduct additional review of the Vision Zero policy from other jurisdictions to see if it is applicable in Alexandria."

Vision Zero is an increasingly-popular policy requiring road to be specifically designed to reduce traffic fatalities to zero. A simple example is a rural road with a barrier along the centerline, making passing impossible except in designated zones, where the road widens. In places where pedestrians or bicycles are present, vision-zero requires either physical barriers or design speeds below 20 miles per hour, a speed at which the pedestrian survival rate exceeds 90%.

While relatively new in the USA, the Swedish parliament decided, in 1997, to reach zero by 2020. As a result, traffic fatalities fell from seven per 100,000 people to less than three, despite a significant increase in traffic volume. In the USA, that number is greater than 11. By recognizing and designing for the inevitable fallibility of drivers, we can both be human and protect humans. 

The next meeting of the Ad Hoc Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan Advisory Committee Meeting is scheduled for August 12, 2015. Citizens are invited to participate.

Distracted Driver in fatal Hagerstown Hit and Run faces multiple charges

There's an update on this fatal crash from January. Her hearing was postponed, but I'm not sure why.

Twenty-four-year-old Nadine Rager (RAG'-er) of Hagerstown was charged in March, about six weeks after the hit-and-run collision that killed 47-year-old John Bushman. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Hagerstown has been reset for Aug. 24.

Rager is charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and unlawful text messaging.

And the story from when she was charged.

A Washington County Circuit Court grand jury has issued an eight-count indictment against a Hagerstown woman on charges ranging from vehicular manslaughter to texting while driving in the Jan. 29 death of a bicyclist on West Washington Street.

Assistant State's Attorney Leon Debes told Wright that Bushman and Rager were both heading west when the crash occurred. Rager, who was driving her boyfriend's 2010 Mazda 3, fled the scene without stopping, he said.

It was not until about 15 minutes later that another passer-by spotted Bushman's body lying by the road. The collision left pieces of the car behind, and a local dealership was able to identify the make and model of the car, Debes said.

Investigators determined that Rager was out buying spice, or synthetic marijuana, and that she smoked some of the drug with a friend before dropping that person off prior to the crash, Debes alleged. 

There is also surveillance video that captured images of the Mazda being driven faster than other vehicles and not staying in its lane, he said.

"She was texting while she was driving, as well," Debes told Wright.

Although Rager initially told investigators she was unaware she had struck a person, Debes noted there was a dent on the hood of the car where Bushman's body landed and a cracked windshield.

Rager was indicted on charges of negligent manslaughter by vehicle; criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle; failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; failure to render aid at the scene of an accident involving serious injury or death; using a text messaging device while driving and causing an accident resulting in serious injury or death; texting while operating a vehicle and negligent driving.

Not to bury the lede, but

Rager's previous record includes a probation before judgment for driving while suspended and using a handheld telephone while driving, he said. 

Those charges were filed in 2014, but the pleas were entered on Feb. 5, a week after Bushman's death, according to Washington County District Court records.

Online court records indicated she also has an earlier conviction for using a handheld telephone while driving.

 

Mendelson bill would increase penalties for distracted driving

The Distracted Driving Safety Act of 2004 brought DC into line with best practices of other states in banning the use of handheld devices by drivers. But the penalty for that doesn't single out repeat offenders, and is easy to avoid for first time offenders. Under that law, the penalty is $100, but first-time violators can have the fine suspended by providing proof of having acquired a hands-free accessory prior to the imposition of the fine, and there are no points imposed on violators.

DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced a bill this session, the Enhanced Penalties for Distracted Driving Amendment Act of 2015, to strengthen those penalties. It would increase the fines for those who are found to have repeatedly engaged in distracted driving, culminating in a driver’s license suspension for those who have three violations within eighteen months. The bill was co-introduced by Bonds, Allen, and Nadeau and referred to the Committee of Transportation and the Environment chaired by Mary Cheh.

Under the proposed law, the first violation will still be $100 but buying a hands-free accessory with not suspend the fine. Furthermore, under the new law fines will escalate over an 18 month period. The 2nd violation in that time period would result in a $200 fine, and subsequent violations will result in a $400 fine plus the suspension of the driver's license and the cars registration for 60 to 180 days.  In addition, starting with the 2nd violation, points may be assessed even for violations that do not result in a crash. 

It's a good change to the law. Allowing people to buy hands-free accessories may have made sense in 2004 when such laws were new, but they're now commonplace and people should know better. Targeting repeat offenders, and suspending the licenses of the worst among them, should help to make our roads safer.

I'd like to see DC go further and become the first jurisdiction* to explicitly make driving while talking on the phone - hands-free or otherwise - illegal. The law already states that "Distracted driving shall be prohibited" and defines Distracted Driving as "inattentive driving while operating a motor vehicle that results in the unsafe operation of the vehicle where such inattention is caused by reading, writing, performing personal grooming, interacting with pets or unsecured cargo, using personal communications technologies, or engaging in any other activity which causes distractions." But it would be wise, based on our current understanding of how talking on the phone detracts from ones ability to drive safely, to explicitly ban phone use by drivers as we do with school bus drivers and those with learner's permits.

Alternatively, we could nibble around the edges by extending the restriction on phone use to those under 21 years old (as New Jersey does), or in school zones, construction sites and within 500 feet of a crash site as Illinois does. Or break new ground by baring drivers of large trucks from using their phones. 

And yes, same goes for cyclists.