Breaking news: Andrew Woolley found not guilty of violating CVC 21202(a)
I'll just quote briefly from the City Attorney's Response:
The evidence at trial established that at the time of the citation traffic was moving very slowly, creeping along, and that Appellant was riding to the left of the traffic in the number two lane, passing the slow-moving cars. The officer cited Appellant for failing to ride along the right edge of the roadway in violation of Vehicle Code section 21202(a). However, that section applied only to a person operating a bicycle "at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time (emphasis by City Attorney). At the time of the citation, traffic was creeping along and Appellant was riding at a speed greater than the speed of traffic at that time.
Appellant may have violated other statutes (e.g. Vehicle Code section 22350), but does not appear to have violated Section 21202(a). Accordingly, Respondent concedes the conviction should be reversed.
More analysis will be posted later, along with the actual response.
I am not a lawyer, but I was surprised to see the Deputy City Attorney Steven K. Hansen introduce a speculation that had not been established at the trial (i.e. the possible violation of 22350).
More will be posted after this busy day has passed, including details about Officer Root personally harassing Andrew Woolley long after the trial was completed.
Our E-Mail to SDPD About the Crash that Killed Walter Freeman
It has been more than a month since a marked SDPD cruiser struck and killed avid bicyclist Walter Freeman in University City. No information has been forthcoming from the SDPD regarding the results of their investigation, which they initially promised would be completed and released within a week of the incident. Below is the e-mail we sent to Chief William Lansdowne this morning, reminding the SDPD of their obligation to the citizens of San Diego to provide a full and public investigation of this deadly incident involving one of our public safety officers:
Dear Chief Lansdowne,
I am writing both as a concerned citizen and as the editor of Bike San Diego, a news and advocacy blog highlighting bicycling issues in the city and county of San Diego. The concern I would like to bring to your attention today is the lack of information coming from the SDPD regarding the investigation into the crash that killed bicyclist Walter Freeman on November 9, 2009. As you know, one of your officers was driving the marked patrol car that struck and killed Freeman. It has been more than one month since the crash, and your department promised information within a week of the incident. That information has not been forthcoming, and I would like to remind you of your obligation to the citizens of this city to provide them with information about public safety. This includes disclosing the details and results of this investigation, at the very least so that concrete steps can be taken to make this intersection a safer place to ride a bicycle. Naturally, I and other bicyclists in San Diego are very interested to hear the results of your department's investigation.
Respectfully, Thomas Bahde
Naturally, we will also post the SDPD's response, if any, and as soon as we have details of the investigation, we will share them with you.
Greetings from behind the handle bars.
Hello, my name is William. You could label me the average person, and you’d be right. In fact, as extremes go, it’s accurate to say that a person such as myself is the bland chicken soup of cycling. The avoiding-chicken-soup of cycling. The anti-extremism of cycling. Just someone who wants to ride a bike. So, what good is a bland chicken soup cyclist? Perhaps the world needs some chicken soup. Or perhaps more. For many years, my cycling perspective, personal views and feelings were posted on several succeeding blogs. Kokusai, sdfixed, and then sdcyclist were the titles. Some here may have read them in the past. Periodically, a need for a change would come and I’d delete one blog and open another. A few months ago I deleted mine all together.
I came up with bikesd.org. That is, I dreamt of it back in December of 2008. More of a loose concept, a fuzzy idea in my brain one morning while riding into work. You’re probably wondering why this is my first post. And how someone can just come up and say such a thing, when it’s evident two others here have done sooo much work, or actually, all of it. One of our contributors and I sat in coffee shop once and talked about this idea. That contributor took the idea to another. They made it a reality. While I pondered if it might work, if anyone would listen, or stirred over the colors of the borders, two sat down and put it out there. They didn’t as much take “my” idea, as much as they took “an” idea and made it the reality you’re reading today. To which I am grateful. Because San Diego is a community, and my selfish writing and point of view is only a small portion. Now, in this format, I can contribute to a greater, more diverse view, and be a part of something important. The fact that they’ve allowed me to post my ramblings here is laudable. So, when I use the bold statement, that I came up with bikesd.org, there is NOTHING more qualifying to say other than some people took a fuzzy idea and dream that was in my head (and probably a few other’s heads) and made it a reality.
What do I write about, what am I going to be contributing? The view from the handle bars. Things seen while navigating our city’s streets, waiting at stop lights, locking up somewhere to sit for a bit, at local cycling events, all of it from my perspective, from behind the handle bars. Part personal view, part commentary, part anecdotal stories, it’ll just be bits and pieces from my point of view. My history, just a rider, in San Diego; not a weekend crit racer, not a downhill racer, not a neon commuter, not an activist, not an anarchist… Just a rider. Since about May 2000. If you like the writing, let me know. If you think it sucks, let me know. I ride through downtown 2–3 three times a week, I always LOVE meeting other cyclist and talking about what we see, how we think about cycling and life and everything in general from the view behind the handle bars.
It’s a big deal to contribute here, essentially riding in the shadows of giants, my hope is to provide just a sliver of humor and perhaps a poke of insight.
I think 2010 is going to be a HUGE year for cycling. HUGE.
Stolen Bike Alert!
Unfortunately one of the downsides of a growing bicycle community is the existence of the lowest of the lowest forms of organisms - a bicycle thief.
A reader, T. Smith has just had his bicycle stolen. He unfortunately does not have a picture of his steed, below is a description:
Hi, I am a student at UCSD who recently had his 2009 Giant Rincon stolen. Black with a few scratches. The seat was taken off at the time along with the back light. The front light was a Quark-5 Super Brite LED. It had disc brakes and was a 24 speed. The tires are different. I have both the serial and license numbers. Any leads would be greatly appreciated! Please contact me at (281)217-8468 or gulfcoastsurfer[at]gmail.com.
If anyone has any leads, please leave a comment or contact the owner directly.
An update:
I had the bike locked over Thanksgiving break outside my dorm (Argo) with all other bikes (lesson learned.) The lock was a Kryptonite combo chain and U lock. When I returned after break, both the bike and lock were missing, no trace that my bike had even been there. I have already reported it to campus police. Thanks for all the support so far!
NPR Story on Aggressive Drivers Normalizes Motorists
This story was originally posted on vélo-flâneur by Esteban who lives, works and rides in San Diego.
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In a story on All Things Considered, NPR reporter Mandalit del Barco uses the road rage conviction of Dr. Christopher Thomas Thompson to discuss the perceived growing tensions between cyclists and drivers in Southern California, and by implication, how the “problem” unfolds nationally.
(I listened to the first edition on the East Coast feed on WFCR, Amherst MA - ed.) The transcript can be found here.
The story begins with some numbers regarding cyclist fatalities and injuries:
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic crashes killed 716 cyclists last year and injured 52,000 people riding bikes, trikes and unicycles. That includes recent fatalities from Brookline, Mass., to Portland, Ore. But unlike the Los Angeles case, Mooney says drivers who kill or injure cyclists are rarely convicted.
The problem of driver convictions is made plain. Importantly, the story does not mention that there were 39,800 total motor vehicle-related deaths in 2008 (a record low!). Certainly, cars and trucks represent a threat to cyclists. But the numbers make clear the fact that motor vehicles are deadly for tens of thousands of people every year – a vast majority traveling in cars and trucks.
Yet, del Barco uses the Thompson case from early this year to dig into the issue of motorists’ growing resentment toward cyclists:
The Mandeville Canyon driver’s reaction was perhaps an extreme example of the everyday resentment heard from other motorists.
"These bicyclists are extremely rude, and they take up the road — four, five people at a time," complained one caller to NPR member station KPCC’s show AirTalk. The caller said he lives in Mandeville Canyon, and he has had it with cyclists.
"When you pull up alongside them and ask them to stay out of your way, they yell at you," he said. "They’re extremely provocative, they’re asking for trouble, and this is not the worst case that’s going to happen. Someone’s going to get killed, and to be frank with you, the residents aren’t going to feel too bad about it."
This story constructs the problem as cyclist behavior, not the aggressive driving, honking, and impatience. This frame is strengthened by two subsequent passages: the first tells of reasonable but lawless behavior:
"When I see the light turn red, I try to race as fast as I can through it," she says, "because I know I will have a block of peace and quiet, where there won’t be cars behind me."
And the second provides an example of cyclists complaining bout law-breaking cyclists:
But even Thompson and another bike blogger, Ted Rogers, disapprove of reckless bike riders who maneuver through traffic as if playing a video game.
"Oh, we hate these guys," says Rogers. "We absolutely hate them. The driver you tick off is the one who’s going to run me off the road."
These instances are not out of the ordinary. For responsible and safe cyclists, sometimes running a red light is safer (like waiting to make a left turn) than standing in the middle of an active intersection like a sitting duck. And much of the "problem" of cyclist behavior comes from irresponsible riders who flaunt both safety and the law.
This story has some real positives for cyclist safety – it gives advocates a voice and lays out the danger that motorists facilitate. But the overall tone of the story is that the problem lies in cycling, if not specific cyclists. We have a right to be on the road, and we should be treated as normal. Most motorists are patient and friendly in my own experience. But also in my own experience, far too many drivers are aggressive, rude, and outright dangerous. Why aren’t motorists and motor vehicles treated as a variable here? In this story, it is the cyclist who causes things, not the drivers. del Barco, in effect, further normalizes "motorism" and implicitly marginalizes cycling as a normal, appropriate, and legal method of travel.