Cycling, traffic safety, traffic justice, and legal topics; energy, transit and transportion economics
5/8/2018 1:36pm Buffalo Soldier Trail just south of Garden Ave.
Bicyclist 71-year old David Alva was killed. The driver was arrested.
No particulars were given about the crash; I inferred the bicyclist was struck from behind. The road there is wide multi-laned, divided, arterial in addition to wide bike lanes. Continue reading “Driver arrested in Sierra Vista bicyclist fatality”
FARS is the federal database of all police-reported fatal traffic incidents in the United States. It is intended to be complete accounting; it has come to my attention there are some known missing incidents.
This tool allows anyone to easily search the FARS database by exact date for the years from the most recent available (currently 2017) back to 2010. It also allows to filter by whether or not a pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist, or anybody was involved. Continue reading “Search Traffic Crash Data”
Hit and run crash occurred 3/29/2018 ~ 9pm. The bicyclist died of his injuries 4/30.
“Cleon Baker was riding his bike east on Camelback Road near 48th Avenue the night of March 29. Just before 9 p.m., a van – a white Ford Econline with its headlights off, police say — hit him.”
Police are still seeking the driver of a white Ford Econoline van; they believe the driver was caught on surveillance video, described as a Hispanic male, 25-35 years old with a shaved head, mustache, and a thin build. Continue reading “Glendale bicyclist struck by hit-and-run driver has died”
Sun April 29, 2018 ~ 10:30pm. Van Buren, near 27th Avenue, Phoenix. Fatal hit-and-run victim Isela Ortega.
Horrific witness video shows a hit-and-run driver carrying the body of victim on top of car for several blocks. and then driving away after it fell off. The victim’s family is hoping someone can identify the driver, and/or encourages the driver to come forward. 12news.com Continue reading “Driver carries body several blocks before fleeing”
Thanks to Holman Jenkins for reminding us, from time to time (here’s one from 2008!), there is still, over 50 years later, a “chicken tax” which places a 25% tariff on imported “trucks”; this helps to distort the automobile market. In his column 3/31/2018 Your Pickup Truck Takes You for a Ride, he pithily summarizes the on-going situation: Continue reading “Your Pickup Truck Takes You for a Ride”
Preface: This crash has nothing to do with bicycling other than the pedestrian was pushing a bicycle at the time. Because of the notoriety, the incident has its own wiki article.
3/18/2018 night-time (10pm?) mid-block pedestrian fatality might not even be reported in the news; but this being the first reported AV (Autonomous Vehicle) traffic fatality (in the world?!), it’s huge news. Continue reading “Uber involved pedestrian fatality”
3/12/2018 ~11:30am near Baseline and Priest, Tempe; 52 yo Penny L. Brown was killed by a driver who for unstated reasons lost control in a Circle K parking lot and wiped her out on the sidewalk near a bus stop…
According to police, as officers arrived at the scene, they learned that a male driver had lost control of his vehicle and struck Brown, who was standing near the bus stop on the south side of Baseline. abc15
Continue reading “woman killed at Tempe bus stop by out-of-control driver”
2/22/2018, N Scottsdale Road, near McDowell. Why this took over three weeks to make the news is very weird!? The assailant escaped after jumping into a black 1995 to 1996 black Nissan 200SX, with a 2nd suspect already in the vehicle. Police have so far not located the suspect or vehicle.
This will be a non-traffic statistic (because not a collision with a “motor vehicle in transport”)
3/10/2018 ~ 3:30am. Phoenix Police said a bicyclist struck a raised median near Baseline and I-10 off-ramp causing him to fall into traffic where he was stuck and killed by a eastbound motorist. Continue reading “Bicyclist dies after falling into traffic”
mid-day (~2pm) Thursday March 1, 2018.
A driver veered for unknown reasons causing a massive collision leaving that driver dead, and sending several to the hospital. This is on a “local” street, Roeser Rd east of 32nd St, adjacent to a nice park. “Officers are investigating whether speed or impairment were a factor in the crash” abc15 Continue reading “Massive crash on Phx local street leaves driver dead”
2/28/2018 ~3PM
Man dies after being hit by SUV outside Scottsdale Safeway
“The victim has been identified as 81-year-old Michael Ebertin… Police said a 70-year-old woman was behind the wheel of an SUV with another woman when she, for some reason, drove up on the sidewalk to the front of the store and hit the two men.
She stopped just short of the store.”
1/31/2018 ~ 10am Victim male. Not much detail released.
Location: River Road eastbound lanes somewhere near N Shannon Rd, Pima County
The location wasn’t released, but River Road appears to be a divided arterial road with two lanes in each direction plus wide bike lanes; in addition to dedicated turn pockets.
12/1/2017 ~ 1:30pm A SB driver 19th Ave near Broadway, Phoenix while speeding and illegally passing vehicles (i.e. driving SB in NB lanes), lost control and drove up on the sidewalk, killing 13 y.o. Cordell Gooch
Police say there were “early indications that the driver showed signs of impairment”
A driver drove up on the sidewalk and killed a woman and injured her child near 41st St and Jomax, Phoenix.
Police describe the incident as murder, and a ‘random act of violence’. Quite.
Continue reading “Sidewalk driver accused of murder in a ‘random act of violence’”
[ 1/29/2018 City of Tempe is considering changing cyclist right-of-way rules. This is potentially very involved and intricate. See both below, and also see letter and replies from Councilman Keating sent as CAZBike ]
[ 11/24 Updates on this shocking crosswalk fatality continue to ooze out from Tempe police, as the grieving family of Xiaoying Wen came to Tempe from China seeking answers; “Tempe police said both had the green light, but Wen failed to yield, and Tempe city law dictates that bicyclists must yield to motorists”. See below for this bad local law. LAB Bike Friendly GOLD? ]
The 11/21 News story says the crash occurred ‘last week” ? news media seems to report less and less.
Date: [Thursday 11/16/2017 ~ 4:15pm per comment below] Location: intersection of Rural Road and Vista del Cerro Drive
Continue reading “ASU doctoral student killed in Tempe crosswalk crash”