Check out the Doug Flynn fatality info at azbikelaw.org
Ed over at azbikelaw.org has posted an excellent write-up of the Doug Flynn fatality in Yuma last year. Mr. Flynn was hit head-on by a driver passing a farm vehicle.
Ed is judiciously collecting bike fatality data from all over the state. He’s doing all cyclists a great service by analyzing and publishing his findings. His Flynn posting is here. Check it out.
–Erik Ryberg
July 14th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Thanks for the plug! More info on the overall project can be found here http://azbikelaw.org/blog/fatality-grid/
Gathering these report is a bit of a chore because there is no central repository for this info, though it’s highly variable — e.g. getting reports from the City of Tucson was surprisingly easy and efficient. Pima County, oiy! Therefore, i am looking for a volunteer to get reports from Pima county, and in particular reports for Allen Johnson, and Jerome Featherman.
I am also looking for another volunteer to cover Pinal County.
Please look at the link above and if you can help please contact me.
July 15th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Appears that no citation was issued to the driver. This is wrong. At some point when mistakes are made there has to be punishment. A traffic citation is not a very strong punishment. Traffic enforcement is like being a referee. At some point you have to step in and say ‘that’s enough’. You need to let people know there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed in your actions. I would suggest that when driving that line is, at the very barest of minimums, killing some one.
July 16th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Police aren’t just failing to do their jobs when bicyclists are killed, though. Ask any lawyer – Erik? – or insurance agent and they’ll tell you that getting a cop to issue a citation or submit a report for an accident is nigh on impossible unless someone has committed a serious crime – such as a DWI or texting in a school zone – during which the accident occurred.
You can thank our lovely government – from the city to the feds – for piling so much crap onto law enforcement that getting involved with “petty” traffic accidents – even those that kill people – is just about as low down on their list as it gets.
I agree with you fully, Ralph; I’m merely saying that I think the boat has long sailed on getting the police to care about enforcing most traffic law. You can blame MADD and the gov’t for that.