Archive for the 'Carhead' Category

Tucson Police: Cyclists who get doored aren’t paying enough attention

I spoke today with a man who was doored while riding on University Boulevard. He was badly injured.
I reviewed his police report, and found that the officer noted that the cyclist’s inattention was the cause of the collision. The driver, by contrast, was recorded as having “taken no inappropriate action.”
Carry on.
–Erik Ryberg

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Time for a change in AZ insurance law

Posted by Erik on June 24th, 2010 filed in Advice, Carhead, Preapocalyptic technological dystopia

If you want to legally drive a car in Arizona, you have to have liability coverage that protects anybody you might accidentally hit.
The problem is, if you want to, you can carry just $15,000 worth of such coverage — an amount that has remained unchanged since it was first set by the Arizona Financial Responsibility [...]

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Kolb Access Road closure — is it a “Bicycle” problem or an “Unsafe Driver” problem?

Update: Above is a photo of the signs Matt Zoll, Pima County Bike/Pedestrian Program Manager, says are the appropriate solution to construction sites.
I’ve been getting a lot of emails about the decision to close the Kolb Access road to bicycles during construction, even though the speed limit there is now 15 mph, a speed almost [...]

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“Can I not just apologize?” asks motorist arrested for repeated attacks on cyclist

Posted by Erik on February 4th, 2010 filed in Carhead

Suspended sentence for driver who tried to run cyclist off road…9 times
By Simon_MacMichael – Posted on 03 February 2010
A teenage driver who repeatedly tried to run a cyclist off the road has been told by a judge sentencing him to nine months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, that he had made a “bit of an [...]

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A thought on the disproportionate costs borne by cyclists and pedestrians

Posted by Erik on February 1st, 2010 filed in Carhead, Preapocalyptic technological dystopia, safety

I meant to post about the report just released by the Alliance for Biking and Walking that discusses the disproportionate costs borne by cyclists and pedestrians for safety measures, but I notice Mike McKisson over at TucsonVelo did a much better job than I would have and broke the results down for Tucson and Phoenix [...]

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My favorite one so far

Posted by Erik on January 8th, 2010 filed in Carhead, Don't read the comments, Preapocalyptic technological dystopia, safety

Found here.
78. Comment by Kevin T. (thehotelguru) — January 8,2010 @ 4:33PM
Ratings: Thumbs Down Thumbs Up -2 +1
A cyclist gets as much space when I pass as they allow themselves. I don’t cross into their lane and they should stay out of mine. If this works out, they need no [...]

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Study finds bad driving, not bad cycling, the cause of most cycling accidents

Posted by Erik on December 29th, 2009 filed in Carhead, Preapocalyptic technological dystopia, opportunity knocks, safety, theory

This is interesting:
A tiny proportion of accidents involving cyclists are caused by riders jumping red lights or stop signs, or failing to wear high-visibility clothing and use lights, a government-commissioned study has discovered.
. . .
The data, which was analysed by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), showed that more than a quarter of all [...]

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Road-raging firefighter gets 120 days for shooting at bicyclist

Thanks Nate for the link.
Apparently the poor firefighter is the one who was threatened, so he had little choice but to point a gun at the cyclist’s head and pull the trigger. But he feels just terrible about it.
Former Asheville fireman gets 4 months for shooting at cyclist
By Clarke Morrison • November 20, 2009
ASHEVILLE [...]

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AZ Daily Star: Arizona spends $2.16 per person, per year, on bike-ped projects

From today’s AZ Daily Star:
Tucson does slightly better by pedestrians than the state average when it comes to spending. Arizona spends an average of $2.16 per person per year on bicycle and pedestrian projects. Tucson spends about $2.52 per person, the report says.
This part is interesting, too:
The report also said 14.1 percent of all traffic [...]

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Heavy

Posted by Erik on October 8th, 2009 filed in Carhead, Preapocalyptic technological dystopia, fatality

Folks, that is a photograph of seven year old Kylie Bruehler. She is at a funeral service to bury her parents, both of whom were killed last week when a driver veered onto the shoulder and drove his pickup truck into them.
They were riding together on a tandem.
The local news reports that [...]

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