The 7/7/2021 print edition (p.12-13) of AFN ran a story detailing the number of citations issued Phoenix and metro area police against motorists violating Arizona’s “new” handheld cellphone ban. The law has been on the books since 2019, but the penalty (a fine) only began on Jan 1, 2021; prior to that it was simply, at most, a warning. So at about 6 months in here’s what they found: Continue reading “Arizona’s handheld cell phone ban; citations”
Category: Uncategorized
Driver kills self and another in rush-hour 202 Santan freeway
Monday around 6pm. The driver of a large SUV entered the 202/Santan freeway off-ramp at Alma School, causing a head-on crash killing herself and another woman.
Maybe the sun was in her eyes?
“…Investigators learned a white GMC Yukon entered the highway going the wrong direction on the Alma School Road off-ramp. The driver, 30-year-old Sarah Walterscheid, accelerated at a high rate of speed into oncoming traffic, hitting a Kia head-on…”, killing 44-year-old Jackie Keeper. https://www.abc15.com/traffic/two-dead-in-crash-involving-wrong-way-driver-along-loop-202-santan
$1.35 Million Settlement in Tempe Police Speeding Wrongful Death Suit
police-speeding without the benefit of lights or sirens, seems to be a routine thing. In this incident from a several years ago:
“[a Tempe Police officer] was travelling at 95 mph in a 45 mph zone without the use of his siren or light bar… five seconds before the crash”
…striking and killing a drunk pedestrian near Baseline and Rural roads who was (I presume) “jaywalking”. The incident occurred in 2005, but a wrongful death lawsuit wasn’t settled until 2010.
Continue reading “$1.35 Million Settlement in Tempe Police Speeding Wrongful Death Suit”
Scottsdale Police refer charges against driver in fatal Legacy Blvd crash
see azbikelaw.org/driver-veers-into-scottsdale-bike-lane-kills-woman-and-injures-another/
How to lookup and find case history
The following site can be used to lookup by defendant’s name; it includes most, but not all courts throughout the state, including Maricopa County Superior Court:
apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx
Bystander on bicycle killed during shooting in Phoenix
A fight near 16th Ave and Buckeye Road on March 4, 2021 around 10pm resulted in a stray bullet killing a bystander. ANY information please… Continue reading “Bystander on bicycle killed during shooting in Phoenix”
Driver indicted in texting-killing incident
Jerry Sanstead Jr, the driver in this Jan ’19 incident was finally indicted on manslaughter in Dec 2020. That it takes this long to even bring charges speaks volumes about the sorry state of holding drivers responsible for their actions behind the wheel:
Waymo releases data on 6 million miles
“In its first report on its autonomous vehicle operations in Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo said that it was involved in 18 crashes and 29 near-miss collisions…” reports the Verge
The 18 refer to actual crashes where actual contact was made was contacted with another vehicle (or potentially if it has been, or bicyclist). There were no injuries.
The 29 near-misses refer to simulated responses of their AV system; which didn’t actually happen, because the human driver intervened. The vast majority of Miles logged were with a human “safety driver” present.
By the way here’s the story of the kook that caused one of the crashes, he was apparently a disgruntled ex-Waymo driver ; it also includes a link to the nut who brandished a gun at a waymo driver, apparently because he was aggreived by the waymo vehicles.
Oops they did it again?
A dangerous driver failed to negotiate the exit ramp from eastbound I-10 at Warner Road, losing control and killed the signal pole and pedestrian beg button post in August 2017. It was promptly replaced.
It’s down AGAIN in early May 2020; crews were replacing it on 5/14/2020.
Incidentally the signal pole is adjacent to the crosswalk, the drivers also wiped out the pedestrian beg button post — you know, where a pedestrian might be standing?
Ahwatukee gunbattle
For the Ahwatukee archives: April 2019 high speed chase ending in a five-vehicle crash and ensuing gunbattle; one federal agent’s truck careened over the curb and crashed through a wall.
Not exactly usual traffic but certainly not all that unusual — drivers jumping curbs, smashing lightposts, walls, killing joggers, etc. on a routine basis.
We see now, a year later, the now dead driver was severely impaired by drugs: “Only later, after an autopsy and toxicology report, was it revealed that she had near-fatal levels of methamphetamine in her body, which could have explained much of her [erratic] driving behavior…’The effect of methamphetamine would be related to increased risk-taking behavior, more aggressive behavior, potentially erratic driving,’ said Stripp, a forensic toxicologist … ‘They may speed, they may run red lights.'”
Does Ray Road have a bike lane?
Spoiler alert: No. Ray Road, in Phoenix, does not now, nor has it ever had a bike lane. As I wrote in 2003 and again in 2010 Is this a Bike Lane? the answer is a flat ‘No’. Bike lanes must be marked to be a bike lane. (this also applies to portions of Chandler Blvd under discussion). Continue reading “Does Ray Road have a bike lane?”
Tempe City Council candidate hurt after car rolled under school bus in crash
Green means go, right? Even when there’s something really big, with really bright flashing lights. Yet somehow a driver missed all those cues — “The Jeep’s driver told the responding police officer that he didn’t realize the bus was going to stop at the railroad tracks and kept driving because there was a green light”. Continue reading “Tempe City Council candidate hurt after car rolled under school bus in crash”
Arizona Bicyclist and Ped Crash Map
Volunteer Needed
URGENT: Google has announced the tool used to present the crash maps on Azbikelaw, called “Fusion Tables” is being discontinued Dec 3, 2019.
Azbikelaw is looking for a volunteer familiar with GIS and web-presentation to help effect transition to something else.
That something else would likely need to be free-to-use, either open source or free-commercial. Commercial tools run the cost gamut from prohibitively expensive to free for non-commercial use, which this application would be.
Ideally the replacement would offer all the features of fusion tables; which includes in addition to mapping, rudimentary filtering; for example find all crashes occurring at night in some particular city where a motorist was turning left in years 2010-2015.
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Updates and Twitter feed
Message to my loyal azbikelaw readers: Most of the time, I don’t create a new article, but rather add information to a related existing article; for example a new bike lane was added right near my house, and I placed info about it in the article about shoehorning.
SO FROM EARLY 2019 ONWARD PLEASE SEE @azbikelaw ‘s TWITTER FEED FOR UPDATE NOTIFICATIONS. (and note that a twitter account is not necessary, though if you do have an account please “follow” @azbikelaw and you’ll receive notifications via twitter)
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Another Cardinals exec arrested susp of DUI
This comes about a year after Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim was arrested and plead guilty to extreme DUI, emphasis added:
“The Chandler Police Department released a report on Wednesday afternoon detailing the traffic stop and arrest of Ron Minegar, the Arizona Cardinals executive vice president and chief operating officer, Saturday night on suspicion of driving under the influence… A 911 caller alerted police about a white Chevrolet Tahoe swerving and possibly speeding up to 60 mph, according to the report.
An officer stopped Minegar around 11:30 p.m. near Pecos Road and Arizona Avenue for speeding, failure to drive within one lane of traffic and driving within the bicycle lane “— azcentral 8/14/2019 Continue reading “Another Cardinals exec arrested susp of DUI”