Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: DC Page 3 of 26

Right Now: Bicycle Film Festival in DC

Just a reminder that the Bicycle Film Festival is taking place in DC tonight and tomorrow.  I’ll be checking out Bicycle Dreams, a film about the Race Across America and the suffering it requires.   That’s at 3pm tomorrow.

All films are being shown at the Gala Theatre, and tickets can be bought at the link above (or, I believe, at the door).  A $35 festival pass is also available.

Two Years Later: The Official Version of Alice Swanson’s Death

Two years ago today, Alice Swanson was struck and killed by a truck while riding her bike to work.   In the days, weeks, and months that followed, there was much discussion about what, exactly, happened (and how it could have been prevented).  The DC MPD, in my view, was not very forthcoming with the details of its investigation.  No charges were ever brought against the driver.  The document below – the “Final Overview Memo” from DC’s MPD – should have been made public a long time ago.

Update: This report was issued in December of 2008, and I obtained a copy not long after.  The report was not recently released by the DC MPD, and I apologize to readers for not making that clearer in my introduction.

Swanson Report Redacted

There are many lessons to be drawn from this memo, but for now, I’ll just urge that those who are interested in cycling safety (and its relationship to law enforcement) give it a full read.

Update II: After you’ve read the report above (and hopefully shared your view here), you should check out WashCycle’s analysis here.

DC’s Capital Criterium – This Sunday

This Sunday, the Capital Criterium returns to Pennsylvania Avenue.   In addition to pro racing at 1pm, there are local races in the AM, a kids race (free helmets for every entrant) after, and a local celebrity ride in support of bringing a stage of the Giro d’Italia to DC in 2012.  I’ll be there.  You? Photos from the inaugural edition are here.  More info after the jump.

Getting Hit by a Car: Some Lessons

Yesterday, I managed something that I hadn’t done for a very long time (more than 20 years, in fact): I got hit and knocked off my bike by a car. I’m a little banged up, but generally fine (and it’s pretty much the same story for my no-longer new bike).

This happened here, on my way back from lunch-time laps at Hains Point. If you clicked that link and ride past Arlington Cemetery regularly, I bet you already know exactly what happened. I was on the southern sidewalk along Memorial Drive (heading west), trying to exit from the sidewalk onto the road at the north-bound off-ramp from Jefferson Davis Highway (cyclists are forced onto the sidewalk until this point). I stop, cab stops, I proceed into crosswalk, cab accelerates (turning right) into me while looking left. Takes me down, but at least it was slow enough that he didn’t run me or my bike over.

Through this experience, I was reminded of a couple of things.

You Won’t Always Do The Right Thing, Even When You Know What It Is

The cabbie that hit me wouldn’t even get out of his car, and was in a hurry to move on with his passenger. I got up and had to yell through the glass to even get him to drop his window. I should have, at this point, just stopped talking, dialed 911, and generally followed Bob Mionske’s advice:

Always wait for the police to respond to the accident scene so that an official report will be filed. [ . . . ]

You should not attempt to negotiate with the at-fault driver. The driver may not give you accurate information about his or her identity, insurance coverage, or vehicle ownership. Many drivers who cause accidents will initially apologize and accept blame for the accident, but later, after they have had time to consider the ramifications of their negligence, will deny that they were negligent. They may even deny that they were present at the accident scene!

If an accident report is written, make sure that it’s accurate. The accident report will include the driver’s statement as well as all other witness statements. The responding officer may decide to ticket the driver, and this can be useful when trying to settle the case with the insurance company. The accident report should also include the cyclist’s statement; unfortunately, law enforcement officers don’t always take a statement from the cyclist before completing their report. In these instances, the officer may have already decided that the cyclist is at fault, without even talking to the cyclist. If you are able following the accident, make sure you give your statement to the officer. Regardless of whether an accident report is written, make sure that you have the driver’s name and contact info, as well as the names and contact info of any witnesses. If you are physically unable to gather this information, ask a witness to do it for you.

The accident scene should be investigated for information about how the accident occurred. The investigation should include obtaining skid mark measurements, photographing the accident scene, speaking with additional witnesses, and measuring and diagramming the accident scene.

Despite the fact that that is all excellent advice that I thought I had long ago internalized, I didn’t do any of that. I was a bit dazed and a bit more angry (the first thing he said when he rolled the window down was “I stopped at the stop sign!”). I first got his name and cab number. Then I established that I wasn’t obviously hurt. Next I checked out my bike. Considering the lack of damage, I decided that there was no point in engaging in further argument or calling for the police to come.  I believed then, as I do now, that 911 responders have more important things to do.  So I gave my assent to his leaving, figuring that I could just phone in a report after I’d gotten home and calmed down.

This was a mistake for a few reasons:

  • You can never really tell whether you’re actually hurt at the time of the crash.  This was a lesson I learned in 2002, when I was on the receiving end of a t-bone in my car.  I felt fine at the time, but the next day I felt like I’d been hit by a train, not a Ford, and ended up going to the hospital.  Today I feel a lot sorer than yesterday.  I still don’t consider myself more than “banged up”, but if it had turned out to be bad enough that I’d need medical attention, dealing with the subsequent insurance issues would be a lot easier if I had a contemporaneous incident report filled out by police on the scene.
  • Worse, I’ve reinforced the idea that there are no consequences for hitting a cyclist through careless driving.  I don’t feel any personal need for retribution here, but it’s really not about me.  It’s about the importance of paying attention to the human beings around you when you’re absent-mindedly piloting 3,500lbs of steel among them.  Had the driver been ticketed (or even given reason to worry that there would be an insurance claim coming), I suspect he’d be a little more careful in the future.  To my fellow cyclists, I apologize.

Finally, we get to another reason that I shouldn’t have tried to use the non-emergency number to report this:

The Cyclist/Pedestrian v. Car Crash Stats in Arlington Are Probably Worthless

Do Arlington’s citizens, electeds, and public safety officials want useful car-cyclist crash stats in Arlington? Then Arlington County Police Department’s (ACPD) non-emergency number operator should bother taking crash reports, instead of discouraging them.

I got home about half an hour after I was hit, and called ACPD’s non-emergency number to report the crash.  According to the operator (not a police officer), unless I have been hurt so much that I am going to a hospital, there’s no point in sending an officer out (which I didn’t need – I simply wanted to create a record of this collision, for any number of practical reasons). After pressing her on this point, she admitted that she could send an officer out, but didn’t know how long it would be, they are busy, etc (I was certainly in no rush.). I told her that I was pretty appalled that I was being discouraged from reporting an accident because I hadn’t yet decided to go to a hospital. After I pressed her on whether Arlington really had no interest in knowing about people getting hit on its streets, she offered up the “Telephone Reporting Unit” number (I can call and leave a message, and someone will presumably call me back), or the online report mechanism here (which is only designed for a two-car collision, but I’ll probably use it anyway).

If my experience is at all representative of how ACPD’s operators are trained to handle these issues, then we should have zero confidence in any cyclist/pedestrian-car crash stats/info coming out of the department. I’m really quite disappointed.

[It was at this point in writing this [this section of the post was originally email to fellow Arlington cyclists, sent yesterday] that an officer from the Telephone Reporting Unit called me back.]

He was certainly more understanding of the situation, but didn’t have much more to offer than a recommendation that 1) I file a Motor Vehicle Crash Report, fitting in the information where I can, and that 2) in the event of a similar incident in the future I make the cab stay and call 911 and wait as long as it takes for an officer. I know this is what I should have done in the first place, but when you get knocked to the ground by a car with a driver who is very much in a hurry to be on his way, you don’t make the best decisions. Or I don’t, apparently. And because of that, Arlington’s official cyclist/pedestrian crash stats for this year will be wrong.

I did chat with the officer about my concern that my experience was representative of other hit cyclists/pedestrians, and that because of ACPD’s apparent inability to take crash reports, that ACPD and Arlington’s electeds don’t have critical information about a serious public safety concern. While he and I probably place differing priorities on this particular concern, he did understand my point.

I realize that what happened to me is a minor matter, individually.  I’ll be sore for a few days, spend some money to fix the bike, and then move on.  I don’t want to redirect ACPD time from violent crimes and serious crashes, but my minor matter, when taken collectively, is a major one for Arlington.  If Arlington really wants to become a more bicycling-friendly community (and I truly believe it does), it needs to improve its cyclist/pedestrian-car crash reporting mechanism.  I am certain that the intersection is poorly designed, and that similar crashes happen there regularly.  But if Arlington doesn’t collect any information about it, how will it ever be addressed?  Are there other unknown spots with high rates of cyclist/pedestrian v. car crashes?  I’d bet there are, but until Arlington has useful reporting system for these kind of crashes, we’re stuck with guessing where the trouble spots are, and which should be prioritized.  Arlington’s citizens deserve something better than guesswork.

First Annual Kennan Garvey Bike Ride on Saturday

Saturday morning at 10 am the Phoenix Bikes crew and anyone else interested will take a ride memorializing Kennan Garvey, an Arlington cyclist who died unexpectedly in 2008 of a heart attack. His wife Libby Garvey (an Arlington School Board member) set up a fund in his name to support Phoenix Bikes, and developed the idea for this ride.
County Board members Chris Zimmerman and Walter Tejada will be leading the ride around the Arlington Loop. At noon the Phoenix Bikes kids will lead a convoy to join the Met Branch trail opener.
Here is info on the ride:
You are invited to join the youth, volunteers and staff of Phoenix Bikes for the first annual Kennan Garvey Community Bike Ride!On Saturday, June 5, 2010, join us for a bike ride starting from the Phoenix Bikes bike shop at 10am.

There will be two ride options:

A 15.7 mile loop, all within Arlington, showcasing some of the many wonderful bike paths that Arlington has to offer! Including Four Mile Run, Mt. Vernon Trail, Custis Trail, and the W&OD Railroad trail, this loop around Arlington is a great ride that will start and end at Phoenix Bikes. This ride will be led by cyclists and Arlington County Board Members Walter Tejada and Chris Zimmerman! Route map is available here.

Team Phoenix youth, accompanied by Phoenix Bikes staff members Edoardo and Jesse, will be leading a WABA-sponsored convoy to the Meet The Met celebration of a newly completed section of the Metro Branch Trail system in DC! This will be an out/back ride, and will be both longer in total mileage and duration. Plus, once we arrive at the celebration, we will have a chance to hang out and participate in all the wonderful events going on at the Meet The Met celebration! Route maps are available here, and if you are interested in this ride, please sign up here!

All rides will be leaving by 10am, so please plan to arrive by 9:30am. The Phoenix Bikes shop will be open so that you can top off your tires, lube your chain and get ready (we’ll also have water for your water bottles and donuts for your bellies!).

This ride is free and open to anyone, though helmets are required!

I’m going to do my best to make it.

Thank Sec. LaHood: DC’s Freedom Plaza on Friday at 12:45p

Meet up with other area cyclists at 12:45pm on Friday, May 28, in Freedom Plaza (14th and Pennsylvania NW) for a ride to the Department of Transportation to thank Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for his leadership on bicycling and pedestrian issues.

From the press release:

Bicyclists and Pedestrians Recognize US DOT Secretary LaHood for His Leadership

Transportation advocates to bike thank you letter down Pennsylvania Avenue to USDOT

WHAT: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will greet bicycle riders outside USDOT headquarters to accept a thank you letter signed by over 275 organizations nationwide for the Secretary’s leadership on bicycle and pedestrian issues. LaHood has issued a new policy to make bicycling and walking safer and more accessible, setting the stage for creating livable communities that polls show Americans want.

Leaders from America Bikes, Safe Routes to School National Partnership and Transportation for America will bike down the new Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes on their way to USDOT.  At the press availability, LaHood and representatives from three transportation organizations will speak and take questions from the media.

WHERE: U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC, 20590
In the Courtyard on 3rd St SE in between M and N Streets SE

WHEN: Friday, May 28, 2010

Bicyclists to arrive down 3rd Street at approximately 1:15 p.m.
Presentation ceremony to take place starting at 1:30 p.m.

WHO: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
Randy Neufeld, President, America Bikes
Margo Pedroso, Deputy Director, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Lilly Shoup, Research Director, Transportation for America

“Step Back, Doors Closing . . . “

From DC’s Mad Sole, Metro Status:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaLqkRHgyNk[/youtube]

The Velodrome DC Needs . . .

until DC or Arlington can get a real velodrome:

Red Bull Minidrome from Radar Films on Vimeo.

The 9:30 Club could totally make this happen. (You know, if Bardo were still around . . . )

DC Cyclist Killed (Updated)

A woman on a bike was killed last night when a National Guard truck ran over her while moving to block an intersection on 12th St.  Washcycle has a bit of a coverage roundup, though details are still emerging.   There is, apparently, video of what happened, so I am hopeful that we can figure out exactly what happened and how to avoid it in the future.

Update from DCist, who identifies the deceased as Constance Holden, and has a statement from her employer, Science magazine:

Holden, 68, a veteran journalist and painter affectionately known to friends and colleagues as “Tancy,” apparently had just left the AAAS headquarters building on her bicycle around 6:00 p.m. Monday, 12 April when she was struck and killed by a truck providing support for the Nuclear Security Summit taking place in downtown Washington, D.C.

Holden had joined the staff of Science magazine in 1970. She was an award-winning reporter, highly regarded for her comprehensive coverage of the biological and genetic bases for human behavior. In addition to writing news features for four decades about social science, and particularly psychology, she had long edited the journal’s weekly “Random Samples” page, a compendium of newsworthy scientific developments. …

Holden was a highly accomplished artist whose oil paintings have regularly appeared on the walls of AAAS.

Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of AAAS and executive publisher of Science informed staff early Tuesday, noting that Holden “was held in very high esteem and with great affection by both those people with whom she worked and our readers. This is a terrible loss both personally and professionally for so many on our staff who knew her well.”

Colin Norman, news editor for Science, said: “She was a unique personality and a wonderful reporter, and a great colleague. She will be deeply missed.”

DC Cyclists: Heightened Law Enforcement

It’s that time of year again: local police departments are, in theory, promoting bicycle and pedestrian safety by . . . issuing warnings and tickets to bicycles and pedestrians. The folks over at BikeArlington just saw two cyclists pulled over on Wilson Blvd for running a light. Considering what a rarity that is, I assume that it’s part of this year’s Street Smart campaign.

Street Smart is an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts, and added law enforcement, to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

The Street Smart program emphasizes education of motorists and pedestrians through mass media. It is meant to complement, not replace, the efforts of state and local governments and agencies to build safer streets and sidewalks, enforce laws, and train better drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

I don’t really have any problem with enforcement actions against unsafe behavior on anyone’s part. However, I’m not really a fan of this program, as it combines arbitrary enforcement, a focus on the wrong parties, and I suspect that it is mostly ineffective at actually improving safety.

The “Street Smart” program is scheduled to run March 15 to April 15, but I suspect the good weather that just arrived won’t only bring out more cyclists, but also more officers who are willing to get out of their cars to issue warnings/citations. So stay alert, and don’t assume that what was fine last week is fine this week.

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