Bicyclist killed at driveway 43rd Ave and Bell

Think about where each of these motorists is looking before crossing the sidewalk. graphic: cyclingsavvy.org
Think about where each of these motorists is looking before crossing the sidewalk. graphic: cyclingsavvy.org

[UPDATE: crash report, below. This was a counter-flow direction SIDEWALK rider, killed at a driveway by a right-turning driver. JUST like in the diagram at right]

Tuesday March 31, 2015 time appox early afternoon: the bicyclist was a 20 y.o. female, Jamie Lynn Cody. Police say she was riding SB in a NB lane on 43rd Ave near Bell when an exiting vehicle (possibly the Schwann’s truck seen in the video) turned right and struck her. I.e. the rider was counter-flow in the roadway. This appears to be the NE corner; there is a designated bike lane there, looks to be the driveway nearest Whataburger / Hobby Bench.

The illustration at right is meant to highlight the dangers of sidewalk riding, however the same advice applies to counter-flow street riding, possibly moreso… The driver of a vehicle exiting the driveway when turning right is going to be looking to the left; and especially isn’t expecting any traffic (in the roadway) to approach from his right). Besides the 2013 Scottsdale incident, mentioned below, there have been at least two more recent fatalities, both in Tempe involving wrong-way bicyclists killed in collisions with right-turning drivers (6/12/2014 at Elliot and Harl; and 10/3/2013 at Univerity and Smith). These are, by the way, the only known bicyclist fatalities in Tempe for those two years.

Continue reading “Bicyclist killed at driveway 43rd Ave and Bell”

A couple of Scottsdale incidents involving bicyclist injuries

There have been a couple of serious injury collisions recently in Scottsdale this Spring… both say/hint the collisions were caused by (unspecified) driver distraction. Continue reading “A couple of Scottsdale incidents involving bicyclist injuries”

Legislation to ban Photo Enforcement

photo: The Republic
photo: The Republic

In what has become an annual ritual, a certain cadre of Republican state legislators bring forth numerous bills designed to limit / curtail / eliminate photo enforcement. This posting covers the 52nd Legislature, 1st Regular session’s activities, that is the Spring of 2015. Continue reading “Legislation to ban Photo Enforcement”

Alternative Transportation advocate Steve Schmitt passes away

This is mainly of interest to me as the organization Steve was director of since 1994, the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, is my hometown of Bethlehem, PA. Although I never met Steve, his work at improving transit, walking, and bicycling are significant. I had moved away from Bethlehem for work once I graduated from college in 1983, so we didn’t really overlap in time. I had tried to meet up with him a few years ago during a visit but we weren’t able to sync up schedules. Continue reading “Alternative Transportation advocate Steve Schmitt passes away”

Bicyclist killed at Casa Grande intersection

3/15/2015 ~ 11am. 51y.o. male killed at 4th and Pichacho St, Casa Grand.

I had initially missed this one, i found it only when it appeared in asdm data for 2015, then googling did turn up a media report.

Continue reading “Bicyclist killed at Casa Grande intersection”

Adot Bicycle Facility Design Workshop

IMG_20141120_094433068_01IMG_20141120_155140430_01Attended an all-day Bicycle Facility Design Workshop  on Nov 20, 2014. Thanks to Mike Sanders and ADOT for putting this on.

The class was very well attended, with perhaps 40 students from all around the state; mostly either various adot personnel, or planner-types working for cities. (and the class was offered twice, and the other session was filled to capacity also).

The instructors, Mike Colety and Steward Robertson, both of Kimberly Horn Assoc,  were very knowledgeable with the subject matter, and cycling in general — if i recall correctly, it was mentioned they were both LCI’s.

The material hews very closely (or possibly, completely)  to the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities.

MMUCC C9 Manner of Crash

Executive Summary: You may have never heard of the MMUCC (Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria; a set of federal guidelines), it trickles down into every state’s motor vehicle crash reporting system. It’s somewhat analogous to the relationship between the UVC and state’s vehicle codes. The problem, I should say one problem, is non-motorists tend to get overlooked. One obvious example is delved into here — the “Manner of Crash”, e.g. angle, rear-end, sideswipe, etc. is ONLY defined when it involves two motor vehicles, leaving that data-field undefined when a crash is between a MV and bicyclist. Since bicyclists are vehicle drivers, the MMUCC should reflect that. Read on for a proposed change that’s on the table, and how you can vote/comment officially: Continue reading “MMUCC C9 Manner of Crash”

Drunk driver who killed two asks to be set free

Interesting look back at a 2004 DUI fatality; and sentencing. Here’s a news story from the crash which the DUI, red light running driver nearly wiped out an entire family,  killing 2 and seriously injured another, the fourth family member escaped with only minor (physical) injuries: Continue reading “Drunk driver who killed two asks to be set free”

Car crash damages new monument at Capitol

The driver was taken to the hospital and no pedestrians were injured. (Photo: Jameson and Associates)
The driver was taken to the hospital and no pedestrians were injured. (Photo: Jameson and Associates)

Tuesday March 3, 2015 ~ 1230pm. Oh my. The story is conspicuously silent on what might have caused a driver to end up in such a situation; an apparent “single vehicle” collision. Tag this one as yet another Seriously, how often does this kind of stuff happen?

Continue reading “Car crash damages new monument at Capitol”

Bicyclist killed in central Phoenix wreck

Victim: 22 yo male, name not yet released (Donnell Kiwone Eason); incident 3/6/2015 ~ 1:30pm. Driver: 20 yo male; white Ford Mustang. The picture of the vehicle shows the impact area; left front corner whereupon the cyclist was apparently thrown over the hood and crushed the right-corner of the windshield and roof. Seems like a fairly high-speed impact.

The bicyclist, an unidentified 22-year-old man, was struck while traveling westbound on Thomas Road, Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Johnathan Howard said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Howard said. (Photo: Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/The Republic)
The bicyclist, an unidentified 22-year-old man, was struck while traveling westbound on Thomas Road, Phoenix Police spokesman Sgt. Johnathan Howard said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Howard said.
(Photo: Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/The Republic)

Here is what Central and Thomas looks like from a southbound driver’s viewpoint. According to the news report the bicyclist was “…riding westbound on the north side of Thomas Road at Central Avenue when he was struck by a southbound vehicle” — that would be with the direction of traffic; i.e. from left to right in this streetview.

Unmentioned in the news story is the intersection is signalized. Somebody apparently ran the red light as this as described was a right-angle crash. Continue reading “Bicyclist killed in central Phoenix wreck”

Man Pleads Guilty in Street Racing Fatality

Flowers adorn the central Phoenix wall on April 8 that a car rammed through following a wreck involving teen drivers in late March. The victim, Octavio Grijalva Herrera, died from his injuries.(Photo: Randsom Rockliffe / The Republic)
Flowers adorn the central Phoenix wall on April 8 that a car rammed through following a wreck involving teen drivers in late March. The victim, Octavio Grijalva Herrera, died from his injuries.(Photo: Randsom Rockliffe / The Republic)

See man-killed-while-mowing-the-grass for background on the March 26, 2014 incident.

Correction (earlier rant removed): The hit and run involved the other alleged racing driver (Chavez),   Gonzalez did not hit and run… Continue reading “Man Pleads Guilty in Street Racing Fatality”

PCSO: 1 killed in fiery crash; driver tried to bribe Pinal deputies

 

Pinal County investigators said a 21-year-old man was driving this car when it wrecked and killed a 27-year-old woman who was trapped inside. (Photo: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
Pinal County investigators said a 21-year-old man was driving this car when it wrecked and killed a 27-year-old woman who was trapped inside. (Photo: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office)

That looks like it used to be a very fast car…. Pinal County investigators think alcohol might have been involved (incident Sunday? 3/1/2015 11:26p):

 

 

 

 

Continue reading “PCSO: 1 killed in fiery crash; driver tried to bribe Pinal deputies”

Light pole killed

IMG_20150301_114634513~2Oops, more driving on the sidewalk.  This happened sometime before Sunday morning, 3/1/2015 when I passed by. It seems like it was just a few days ago that someone drove up on the sidewalk and killed a bus stop; or just a few weeks ago that someone drove up on the sidewalk and killed a wall.  What leads to this sort of behavior — I suspect it has something to do with dangerous drivers. Like I said before, it’s all fun-and-games until someone drives up on the sidewalk and kills a jogger.

Was this a hit and run? I always wonder.

Bus stop killed

IMG_20150226_123424289This bus stop on Warner Road, just west of 51st Street, Phoenix (Ahwatukee) was killed sometime ~ 2/25/2015 by some sort of careless, dangerous driver. It’s all fun and games, except when somebody gets killed, like the drunk driver who killed 2 at a Phoenix bus stop in March of 2013.

Seriously, how much driving on the sidewalk goes on?