Brown cloud season is back

Brown cloud season is back. “Officials also urge people to consider driving less. Vehicles spew exhaust and tiny particles from tires and brakes” Low temps bring brown cloud to Phoenix, the Arizona Republic, Nov 16, 2008.
So-called on-road vehicle sources of various pollutants like NOx, and particulates are significant contributors to the problem.

Folding bikes and the law

Arizona Republic article, Nov 9, 2008: Folding bikes win new fans on region’s packed buses.

Something to watch out for: although most folding bikes have wheels larger than 16″, the most compact folders can be  smaller.The most common wheel size for folders in the US is 20″, e.g. it appears all Bike Fridays have 20″ wheels.

A “device” with a wheel that is not “more than sixteen inches in diameter” (see §28-101(6) for the whole rundown, bikes must have two or three wheels, and only the largest wheel matters) is not a bicycle, legally speaking.

So, operating such a device is a legal grey area. Not likely to cause any problems, but in the event of a collision it could get ugly.

Bike Lane installed on 51st Street

The city of Phoenix has recently installed a bike lane on 51st Street in Phoenix (Ahwatukee), between Warner and Elliot roads [area map]. It is approximately one mile in length. The stretch has appeared (incorrectly) as a bike lane on the MAG Regional Bike Map for years and years. Continue reading “Bike Lane installed on 51st Street”

Do “points” apply to bicyclists?

As of Spring 2018 legislative session the answer is simple: no. (for before that, skip below to “historical info…”)

SB1455 makes explicit that infractions incurred while riding a bicycle cannot affect the rider’s drivers license, nor can it be used to affect motor vehicle insurance rates. It modifies §28-812, the bicyclist applicability statute. Continue reading “Do “points” apply to bicyclists?”

Mesa boy injured in hit-and-run; driver gets 6 years

This is one of those “it’s hard to know what do with some people”. She’s out there driving around on a suspended license, presumably for previous mis-deeds involving driving. (she has at least one prior dui)

These often make me wonder about sentencing, the prison sentence stems from the aggravated DUI. It would seem to me that 3 years of “probation” for the hit-and-run has no effect at all, because she’ll ostensibly be sitting in prison longer than that. Or isn’t that how it works?

…
Ex-state employee gets 6 years in hit-run

by Jim Walsh – Oct. 6, 2008 03:02 PM
The Arizona Republic

A former state employee who struck a 3-year-old Mesa boy in a hit-and-run collision in April was sentenced to six years in prison by a court commissioner.

Heather Mariah Grace Funk, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs and leaving the scene of an injury accident.

The prison sentence stems from the aggravated driving charge. She was placed on probation for three years for leaving the scene of the accident, according to court records.

The boy was riding a tricycle on a sidewalk in the 3100 block of East Cicero Street when he was struck by a red Chevrolet pickup while crossing a driveway, police said. The boy survived. Police believed Funk was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time.

Funk was driving while her license was suspended and had a history of drug arrests. She had been hired by the state as a maintenance worker after her release from prison on another conviction for aggravated driving under the influence.

Of Chicken Taxes, CAFE, and gas guzzlers

Holman Jenkins column today (How to Save Detroit And $50 Billion) reiterates his postion that CAFE (government mandated fuel-mileage standards) has at best not helped to reduce fuel consumption. This is absolutely correct — he does however stretch his arguement beyond the breaking point by ignoring (selective amnesia?) other, conflicting, regulation Continue reading “Of Chicken Taxes, CAFE, and gas guzzlers”

More Drilling?

I  think any additional drilling for oil should be done only on the precondition that the additional supply would be offset by a decrease in demand (i.e conservation).  That way, it won’t just get pissed away on increasing domestic demand, like what happened in the mid-1980’s when a huge amount of new supply pushed prices way down and ushered in the SUV era. Continue reading “More Drilling?”

Yet another cycling is dangerous story

With gas prices the way they are, stories about cycling in mainstream press abound. As I have pointed out before (see Media Bias) these stories for mass consumption generally paint a one-sided cycling-is-dangerous story. Despite my high hopes for the journalistic balance of the Wall Street Journal (news that is. I don’t expect balance in the editorial content), Rhonda Rundle’s story from August 1, 2008 fell into the same familiar pattern. The title, Risking Life and Limb, Riding a Bike to Work in L.A., should have been a give away Continue reading “Yet another cycling is dangerous story”