Author: ArizonaBikeLaw

Tucson-area Bike Lane rear-end fatal

9/29/2015 05:25am 30 y.o. Daniel Wilson was struck and killed “riding east in the bike lane of Orange Grove Road approaching La Cholla Boulevard when he was struck from behind by an eastbound passenger car merging into the right turn lane,” Casa Adobes, AZ; apparently Pima Co Sheriff investigates there. [note this is not a “criss-cross” design; the BL projects straight ahead]

It would have been dark at 525a , and police confirmed the cyclist had a tailight, sunrise wasn’t until 6:16am this day.

If you click thru to the street view above, you’ll see the area has two thru lanes, a bike lane, and a very long right-turn-only lane. It’s not clear exactly where along the approach the collision occurred.

Continue reading “Tucson-area Bike Lane rear-end fatal”

Driver charged w/hit-and-run in Chandler ped fatality

photo: MSCO
Hit-and-run suspect Wanda House. photo: MSCO

[UPDATES plea deal January 2017, then imprisoned due to probation violation Sept 2017]

Driver Wanda Snow House has been charged with hit-and-run in connection with the death of a pedestrian. According to police she “was driving in a bicycle lane on Dobson Road near West Canyon Way on Jan. 14 2015 when she hit a pedestrian, identified as Frances Johnston”. Continue reading “Driver charged w/hit-and-run in Chandler ped fatality”

Tucson bicyclist dies after falling

According to a TPD press release, e-bicyclist 49-year-old Joseph Brzuchalski died after wobbling, falling, and hitting his head. The incident occurred 9/21/2015 ~ 1730, and police believe alcohol was invovled. The press release goes to great lengths to say this incident did not involve train tracks.

In any event, I’m labeling this as non-traffic because

  • an electric bike is a motorized bicycle and, as such, does not “count” as a bicyclist fatality — its operator is a “DRIVER” and not a “PEDALCYCLIST”. And/or:
  • Traffic crashes that do not involve any motor vehicles do not “count” as traffic crashes

In other words, I’m not expecting this to show up on state or federal traffic crash stats.

Continue reading “Tucson bicyclist dies after falling”

Pickup driver plows into Police car; 2 officers seriously injured

Photo: Paulina Iracka
Photo: Paulina Iracka

Police work entails risk, and the risk  from a traffic crash is a leading cause of death among officers; e.g. see more-police-killed-by-traffic-than-guns Continue reading “Pickup driver plows into Police car; 2 officers seriously injured”

74 year-old cyclist struck, killed on Tucson eastside

9/16/2015 74 y.o.  bicyclist John Venneman was killed as he cycled north on Craycroft Rd at the intersection of 22nd st. Police said he had a red light, and was struck by an eastbound driver. “Police say drivers in two of the eastbound 22nd Street lanes of traffic spotted the cyclist riding in the crosswalk against the light, but a driver in the lane closest to the median did not see Venneman and struck him.” Continue reading “74 year-old cyclist struck, killed on Tucson eastside”

Driver strikes 4 in crosswalk; flees

Incident 9/5/2015

Gerald Taylor, 45Man accused of hitting four U of A students faces 9 counts … Tucson Police believes Gerald Taylor, 45, ran through the crosswalk and hit four of the five students crossing. Investigators revealed that Taylor did not stop at the scene and continued driving. About two hours later, he turned himself in. Three children were in the car with him when the incident happened. One student is in the hospital with life threatening injuries. Two suffered serious injuries and one had minor injuries…

Apparent hit and run bicyclist fatality in AJ

[ Update Sept 3: they seem to be implying this was not a vehicle involved, there was no hit-and-run, thus this was not a traffic crash, so I added the non-traffic tag, and am removing the hit-and-run tag. There is some sort of fairly deep ditch/canal(?) running in the median]

Sept 2, 2015. Police were notified of a dead body and nearby mangled bicycle in the median of Apache Trail near Ocotillo 8:30am. Though this is apparent hit-and-run traffic fatality, it’s not clear and the investigation will have to confirm.

Apache Trail near Ocotillo road has three lanes in each direction plus a BL. East and West are separated by a VERY wide median (I see ~ 65′ on google maps). Continue reading “Apparent hit and run bicyclist fatality in AJ”

What’s wrong with sharing? What’s wrong with courtesy?

image: www.bikede.org
image: www.bikede.org

Bicyclist advocates have been pointing out for years that the “Share the Road” message is problematical for bicyclists — that nobody really understands what it’s supposed to mean — the meaning is, at best, unclear and therefore readily mis-interpreted. Continue reading “What’s wrong with sharing? What’s wrong with courtesy?”

Dangerous driver gets a sweet deal

It seems to me there are many un-charged crimes here by Pinal prosecutor Voyles. How is this not reckless driving? Endangerment? Fleeing from police? You gotta love this part:  “He said he was working and talking on his cellphone and that ‘I always use all lanes of traffic when I drive.’ “.

He netted 48 hours in jail; and what i suppose is whatever the standard suspension is for a 1st time simple DUI. Continue reading “Dangerous driver gets a sweet deal”

“Shoehorn” Bike Lanes

Attention bicyclist advocates: resist the urge to desire dedicated bicycling facilities when they won’t fit safely.

In the accurately scaled example diagram below (visit iamtraffic.org to tweak the dimensions and vehicle choices. A very cool tool!) a cyclist riding an upright bike is riding centered in a 5′ BL w/curb abreast of a Ford F-150 driving centered in the right general purpose travel lane (and DON’T say “car lane”, or somesuch).

illustration from iamtraffic.org interactive tool
illustration from iamtraffic.org interactive tool

Continue reading ““Shoehorn” Bike Lanes”

Phoenix bicyclist killed in nighttime hit and run

names not yet released. 8/13/2015 ~ 1AM. Near 51st Ave near Southern Ave in Phoenix. Both driver and bicyclist were southbound.

Suspect vehicle is a white chrysler minivan with heavy passenger-side damage has been located and police have spoken with the registered owner. KPHO Continue reading “Phoenix bicyclist killed in nighttime hit and run”

News article: Sharing the road: FPD launches bike safety campaign.

photo: Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun http://azdailysun.com/news/local/sharing-the-road-fpd-launches-bike-safety-campaign/article_e925b5ee-2439-55c8-a275-fc127578ed53.html
photo: Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun — yes, this bicyclist is literally riding IN the gutter.

[ Grrr,  Dec 2015 article Despite safety campaign, Flagstaff bike collision stats unchanged (referring to this report) the Sun ran same offensive picture again, with similar misleading safety/law advice ]

8/2/2015 News article: Sharing the road: FPD launches bike safety campaign. About 75% of this article is OK. And the good news is Flagstaff is setting up a bicyclist diversion program. I would normally consider this an unalloyed good thing, however some that other 25% gives me reason for concern about what might be taught at such classes. Continue reading “News article: Sharing the road: FPD launches bike safety campaign.”

Injured bicyclist files $13.5M claim against Pima County

photo: Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
photo: Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star

This involves a odd “crossover” type situation with a dedicated right turn only lane at the ‘T’ intersection of Sabino Canyon and Kolb, in Pima County. I’ve looked at the google street view (not sure if that matches the way it was at the time of the Jan 2015 crash); anyway, it’s confusing. There are two northbound bike lanes (or are they “bike routes with striped shoulders? — see that background at the article about a cyclist seriously injured at the Dodge Bridge in Pima County who received a $1.8M settlement with the county).

Continue reading “Injured bicyclist files $13.5M claim against Pima County”

The deadly toll of police chases?

“THE DEADLY TOLL OF POLICE CHASES” shrieks the above-the-fold front page headline 7/31/2015 of the Arizona Republic. The companion article on the front page of the AZ Rep’s parent USA Today reads “High-speed police chase have killed thousands“.  (those were the headlines in the print edition, the online ones are somewhat different). Continue reading “The deadly toll of police chases?”