2/13/2017 11:15AM Bicyclist 25-year-old Nicholas Rizzuti was killed as he was eastbound W Miracle Mile turning left; struck by westbound motorist at intersection of Flowing Wells Rd, Tucson
There are a lot of lanes here, there are double left turn lanes; the signal specifics weren’t mentioned, other than the WB had green; and presumably EB also had green. Most double-left configurations typically have restricted arrow cycles, but not all.
An ebike bill PASSED in 2018: HB2652. Below info is for historical purposes…
[5/10/2017; bill stalled. Never got a House floor vote]
[Current Status as of 3/1/2017: passed the Senate by wide margins, also passed House T&I Committee but they implied it would need to be amended to pass the floor; as of 3/19 it’s not passed the house; see below ] As of spring 2017 there is an e-bike bill working its way through the legislature. SB1273 (2017, 53rd/1st Regular session). This bill, if passed, would address some or all of the confusion documented at length in these pages, at least for e-bikes. The bill’s prime sponsor is Bob Worsley (R-Mesa), is senate president so I’d have to assume it’s going to pass ; [correction, Yarborough is, so I have no idea how i got that wrong] and is moving fast, as of the time of this writing (early February 2017) it has already passed the Senate Transportation and Technology Committee unanimously with little debate. Besides being senate president, Worsley is the chairperson of the senate Transp committee. I have no idea about the house but there’s little apparently standing in the bill’s way. Continue reading “Arizona Electric Bicycle Legislation (bill died)”
Arizona metes out harsh penalties for drunken driving, with mandatory jail time and heavy fines, and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said Arizona has steep penalties for good reason
I’ve been following this since as far back as 1999 (a deaf-mute bicyclist was arrested and held in jail overnight because he lacked ID); with some interesting updates in 2014 (police demanding ID from an ostensibly “jaywalking” pedestrian).
The rules revolving around operators of a motor vehicle are pretty clear; drivers must have a valid drivers license for other reasons (e.g. to comply with §28-3151 ), and the DL satisfies the elements set forth in 28-1595: name, address, height, etc — but for everyone else it’s remain vague, and in fact court rulings have (repeatedly) looked at the non-motorist provision and struck it down, most recently in 2003 Atkins; and the law hasn’t changed since. Continue reading ““Evidence of Identity” Rides Again”
I had missed this when it happened, though it was reported in the media. I learned about it while hearing the victim’s mother speak at the Distracted Driving Summit at the state capitol yesterday.
Nov 2, 2016 ~ 6:30pm. Victim Chloe Schneider, 16/F was struck from behind by a 22/F driver on Yuma Road near Tuthill, Buckeye, AZ. Chloe was training for an upcoming (MTB) event. (If i remember what I heard correctly, the victim’s sister was also involved?)
Warner Road; typical cross section ~ 68 feet curb-to-curb (google maps sat view before 2016 resurface)
Warner Road is a major east-west arterial that runs through much of the East Valley. It’s continuous from Phoenix (Ahwatukee area, where it forms a loop with Elliot Road, another major e-w arterial), thru Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert. In the city of Tempe it runs the entire width of the city, from wherever exactly it is that Tempe begins (just east of I-10 bridge) to just west of SR101 (google maps)
Warner in this area generally has two through lanes and a designated bike lane (BL) in each direction as well as a continuous center lane, some major intersections have right-turn-only lanes (RTOL), but others do not (more on that later). There are no BLs in the area immediately east of I-10, and there are numerous “dropped” BLs; where the BL is intentionally discontinued to make room for a RTOL. Continue reading “Warner Resurfacing”
the minimum bike lane width is 5 ft (1.5 m), measured from the face of a curb or vertical surface to the center of the bike lane line
However, that changes when a gutter pan is involved, more width is required to meet their recommendations —
Along sections of roadway with curb and gutter, a usable width of 4 ft (1.2 m) measured from the longitudinal joint to the center of the bike lane line is recommended
This article is a catch-all for any reported Arizona bicyclist traffic fatality that are otherwise unknown — no media, or any other, coverage could be found; they are only listed as statistics in the crash database.
In mid December 2016 Sfbike.org (SanFrancisco Bike Coaltion) issued a warning regarding how Uber autonomously driving cars make right turns. At nearly the same time Uber has de-camped from CA (see e.g. this 12/22/2016 article from recode), literally loading their fleet onto car carriers and driving them to…. Arizona! The decision was based on CA’s regulatory environment for autonomously-driven cars; Uber decided they didn’t want to pursue special permitting which the CA DMV said was required, whereas Arizona has no special permitting required — so long as there’s a live driver sitting in the driver’s seat. More about Uber, below. Continue reading “How to make a right turn”
There are tens of thousands of DUI arrests per year in AZ (39,746 in 2013 to be more precise). And that’s not counting the many of the over ten thousand hit-and-run drivers reported each year in AZ (11,402 in 2010 to be more precise), all of whom are criminals, thousands of them serious felons, few of whom are ever caught or charged. (hit-and-run from a collision with any injury is a felony, if the injury is serious or fatal the felony is likewise serious). Continue reading “More about: Celebrity DUIs and other car criminals”
The un-named driver’s black BMW at rest inside the heavily damaged restaurant. Driver was charged with DUI.
12/2 ~6:15pm near Thomas Road and 15th Avenue. Nice.
The car drove up the sidewalk and over the curb before colliding with a tree, plowing through a pillar holding up the restaurant’s patio roof and continuing on into the main dining area of the restaurant where eight people sat.
The man was later cited for driving while impaired, police said. His name was not released.
11/22/2016 ~7:30 Bicyclist Eric I. Gilbert was hit and killed by a driver who (lost control or whatever) jumped the curb and struck the cyclist (on the sidewalk or dirt, presumably; see google maps view of the general vicinity). The driver, of course, fled the scene; and the suspect vehicle was found a short distance away. A suspect driver was fingered via the owner of the vehicle and was arrested a couple of days later. MSCO says the suspect said he was on heroin at the time. Continue reading “MCSO: Bicyclist hit and killed near Mesa by driver on heroin”
In a longish piece in AZ Republic Live or die on Phoenix-area freeways: It’s your choice (the print edition was headlined 3-year freeway fatality toll: 207) about (specifically metro-Phoenix area. I think they looked at just Maricopa County) freeway traffic fatalities, it was revealed the fatality rate was 61% higher than national averages, per mile driven. I’m not sure exactly what’s counted; it apparently counts only that part of the state highway system that is fully controlled-access, a.k.a. freeways, and in Maricopa county for the purposes of this series of articles.
The usual suspects were called out: speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, motorcycling in general (helmets), not wearing seatbelts.
As of spring 2017 there is an e-bike bill working its way through the legislature. SB1273 (2017, 53rd/1st Regular session). This bill, if passed, would address some or all of the confusion documented at length in these pages, at least for e-bikes. The bill’s prime sponsor is Bob Worsley (R-Mesa)
