[B' Spokes: Can you imagine if this was common in Maryland?]

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Via Urban Places and Spaces

[B' Spokes: Filed under news you will not see in Maryland.]
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By Sarah Vasquez, Austinist

May is National Bike Month, and with more than 8,000 Austinites commuting to work by bike, the Austin Police Department is partnering with the Public Works Department Bicycle Program and local nonprofit Please BE KIND to Cyclists to start the first phase of a bike safety initiative May 8.

According to KUT, cops dressed in plain clothes will ride on bicycles with chase vehicles nearby to monitor safe spaces between motor vehicles and bicycles on the street. The Vulnerable Road Users Ordinance requires motor vehicles to allow three feet of space when passing a bicyclist and other vulnerable road users. Large trucks and buses are required to provide at least six feet of space.

However, if a motorist has to cross over the double yellow lines to give the allotted space, APD has included guidelines not to cite them—just be safe about it.
These new safety provisions come after a record year for traffic fatalities. And Republic of Austin writes that the city has already reached 28 traffic-related fatalities this year. Cyclist Brian Lindquist has undergone more than 10 brain surgeries after he was hit by intoxicated driver Truett Jones last October.

http://austinist.com/2013/05/03/post_24.php

[B' Spokes: this is what happens when the police are well connected with the cycling community... good safety advice that benefits all road users. And just in case you have missed MDOT's answer to this question 6. Can a driver cross a double-yellow line to pass a bike?" we have essentially the same thing but with no public announcement. This kind of information should not be top secret!]

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"The template--informing the public that traffic safety laws will be strictly enforced followed by high visibility, zero-tolerance enforcement, culminating in publicizing enforcement data--changes driver behavior."

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2013/04/distracted-driving-awareness-month-guest-contributor-capt-shannon-trice-enforcement-works.html

B' Spokes: Note the "publicizing enforcement data" which is a very rare for the Baltimore Metro area.

B' Spokes: Those that are familiar with § 2-602. Public policy (http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20111025010622931 ) might be amazed that Maryland does not do these signals... so filed under News You Will Not See in Maryland.

http://dcist.com/2013/04/new_signal_allows_pedestrians_to_cr.php

[B' Spokes: Filed under "News you will not see in Maryland." You did see the the extra passing width for trucks and buses along with "No room? Wait and don't pass." In Maryland MDOT has given the advice (paraphrased) No room? You can pass anyway. :(]

[B' Spokes: Filed under "News you will not see in Maryland" as our approach to pedestrian safety is ticket jaywalkers while not doing anything to make sure crossing at a crosswalk is safe. Seriously, if very few drivers stop where they are legally required to do before making a right-on-red what makes using a crosswalk safe?]

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Via Philly's Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities

This morning 7 clowns stood guard at the corner of 15th and JFK.  The clowns were on a mission: to make sure that Philadelphia drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists obeyed traffic laws. The clowns specifically targeted distracted drivers and walkers; drivers not wearing their seat belts; drivers and bicyclists impeding crosswalks; bicyclists on the sidewalk; pedestrians crossing against the light and pedestrians failing to obey no crossing signs at Dilworth Plaza construction site.

This April Fools’ Day celebration was a unique pro-bono partnership with the Pig Iron’s School for Advanced Performance Training, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and other Philadelphia based thespians and reminded drivers, pedestrians and cyclists to not act like fools any day of the year.

Each year about three dozen pedestrians lose their lives after being struck by cars, trucks and busses. On average, every five hours a pedestrian is sent to the hospital after being hit by a vehicle. Distracted driving and walking, running red lights in cars or on bike, jaywalking and sidewalk bike riding are no laughing matter. Better engineering, stricter enforcement and more engaging education are all parts of the solution to reducing deaths and injuries on our roads.

Philadelphians laughed along with the traffic clowns.  However traffic safety is no laughing matter: Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler noted, “The financial toll of these fatalities and accidents is in the hundreds of millions each year, but the personal toll is incalculable. We need to constantly find ways to engage the public on traffic safety issues, as safety must be our top priority. This April Fools’ Day program is great opportunity to build on the nearly one thousand Drive Right, Ride Right, Walk Right ads being seen on busses, subways and transit shelters across the city this spring.”

If you are interested in watching the clowns in action, check out Newsworks’s video coverage from this morning.

http://phillymotu.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/traffic-safety-is-no-laughing-matter/

[B' Spokes: Yup, you guessed it, we will probably not have anything like this here, so filed under "News you will not see in Maryland. It really saddens me when we passed the three foot law we were hoping for something like this but instead we got MDOT saying in essence "Whenever you cannot safely pass a cyclist you can unsafely pass.", We need something better then this!]
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by: Lauren Lea, WOAI

SAN ANTONIO - Undercover officers are targeting unsafe drivers in a sting operation, to enforce the city's "Safe Passing" ordinance.
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"It's a scary thing because they have this vehicle that's $2,000 pounds and I'm on this 20-30 pound bike. My life is in their hands," Officer Roger Zuniga said.
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The next cyclists you see could be undercover officers because they plan to continue this sting over the next several months. Officers say they want to educate the public and keep cyclists, and other road users, safe. If you're ticketed, you could have to pay up to a $200 fine.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Undercover-bike-officers-target-unsafe-drivers/UED1eeJUBEC_Id1LBbXAAw.cspx

Via Slow Twitch

Today on a ride in Tucson Arizona my Jamis-Hagens Berman pro cycling team was intentionally assaulted by a man in a car. He came by our our group screaming obscenities like "Fucking cyclists get of the road" etc. He then came to the front of the group, got extremely close and THEN rammed the front left rider causing him and Tyler Wren to crash (the rider who made contact with the car is Todd Herriott of Sports Performance in Seattle). The driver then sped off from the scene, not even putting on his brake lights for a second. Luckily neither Todd or Tyler were seriously injured but they did get banged up, got some road rash, and Todd destroyed the saddle on his brand new Jamis Xenith SL.

Our director, Sebastian Alexandre, was up the road and after a quick phone call was able to intercept the car and our photographer, John Segesta, was able to get a photo of the car's plates. I called 911 and the Tucson Police arrived about 15-20 minutes later. The police took statements from every rider, got descriptions of the man, and sent detectives to his house. At the mans house detectives found the car had been washed just after the accident but still had a prominent scratch on the passenger side door. The man admitted to yelling at our group but not to hitting Todd, even accidentally.

In short, the guy is spending today in jail and is being charged by the Tucson City Prosecutor with class 3 felony Aggravated Assault (the same as if he had used a bat or gun). Apparently Tucson did not like the idea of their reputation for being a great cycling town tarnished when they saw the report of this incident on Cyclingnews.com. The gentleman in the car is looking at up to 15 years in prison and a serious criminal record.

Hopefully he will not be able to plead down his charges and this will be a serious wake up call to drivers that pull this shit. He must have been insane thinking that he could hit someone in front of 15+ witnesses and get away with it.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Dirt_bag_picked_the_wrong_cyclists_P4440220/