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Arrest made after cyclist killed in fatal crash

by Rory McKeown, Daily Echo
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Police are continuing to investigate the incident and have today confirmed a 33-year-old man from Waterlooville has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by driving without due care and attention.
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<a href="http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11699100.display/">http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11699100.display/</a>;
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[B' Spokes: Could you imagine the impact if this happened here after every cyclists and pedestrian fatality? Why do we let drivers that kill off while investigation takes place, why not jail or posting bond while investigation is on going?]
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AGENCY TRAFFIC FORECASTS & REALITY

-&gt; According to an Oct. 20th Streetsblog article, &quot;The amount that the average American drives each year has been declining for nearly a decade, yet most transportation agencies are still making decisions based on the notion that a new era of ceaseless traffic growth is right around the corner.

&quot;The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, for example, has overestimated traffic on its roads by an average of 73 percent, according to a recent study. And Dallas-area planners recently produced traffic projections that predicted a much larger increase in driving than the state DOT was even predicting.

&quot;Thats why a new traffic forecast from the Washington State Office of Fiscal Management is so interesting: It actually acknowledges how travel habits are changing. Seattle-based environmental think tank Sightline spotted the above traffic projection in a new government report. In its most recent financial forecast, the agency has abandoned the assumption of never-ending traffic growth that it employed as recently as last year. Instead, the agency has responded to recent trends, even projecting that total traffic will start to decline within the next ten years...&quot;

Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/1CUZ6Wf">http://bit.ly/1CUZ6Wf</a>;

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling &amp; Walking.
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THIS: Driving instructors get on their bikes [UK]

by Mark Sutton, Bike Biz

Video and training course about cyclists' road positioning to help driving instructors educate next generation of drivers.

A video about cyclists' road positioning, and a training course on the same subject, are reaching out to driving instructors in an attempt to educate the next generation of drivers. Cycle Training UK  of London has started to offer a Cyclist Awareness Course for Driving Instructors. Lambeth Council commissioned the course to help driving instructors understand what new drivers need to know about sharing the road with cyclists, and it is to be rolled out to other areas. Driving instructors and cycle trainers compare teaching techniques and methodology, and driving instructors get a practical experience of riding bicycles on road and discuss key points that drivers need to know to ensure low risk interactions on the road.

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http://www.bikebiz.com/index.php/news/read/driving-instructors-get-on-their-bikes/017075
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New law fines careless drivers

By Patricia Gay, Wilton Bulletin

A new Connecticut law holds accountable careless drivers who injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists.

The Vulnerable User law, Public Act 14-31 went into effect on Oct. 1 and requires a fine to be imposed on reckless motor vehicle drivers who cause the death or serious injury of a pedestrian, cyclist, wheelchair user, or other “vulnerable users” who were using reasonable care. The fine is capped at $1,000.
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<a href="http://www.wiltonbulletin.com/29121/new-law-fines-careless-drivers/">http://www.wiltonbulletin.com/29121/new-law-fines-careless-drivers/</a>;
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Drivers cited for not yielding to officer in traffic cone costume

[B' Spokes: How they do pedestrian safety in California but not here.]
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More than a dozen motorists were cited for allegedly failing to see an undercover officer dressed as a giant traffic cone during a pedestrian crossing sting. (Riverside County Sheriff's Department)

<a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-deputy-traffic-cone-costume-sting-20140814-story.html">http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-deputy-traffic-cone-costume-sting-20140814-story.html</a>;
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Davidson: Are the City’s New Pedestrian-Safety Measures Strong Enough?

[B' Spokes: Note that New York's pedestrian fatality rate is ranked at #17 while Maryland is ranked #7 by FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System by NHTSA.) The one thing New York has that we don't is: &quot;The police department, too, has reclaimed traffic enforcement as a high priority&quot; ]
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By Justin Davidson, New York Magazine

This should not be controversial: When the light turns green and you step off the curb and into a crosswalk, a car should not whip around the corner at the same time, causing your body to crumple and snap. If that does occur, it shouldn’t be legal. And if it’s illegal, it should be punished. And yet motor vehicles did hit 854 pedestrians all over the city last month, killing eight of them — a run of grief, violence, and horrific injuries that, statistically speaking, makes April a relatively peaceable month. And unless they were high or stoned, the vast majority of those drivers are back on the road. Menace a child with a baseball bat, and you will likely go to jail; kill that kid with an SUV and you’ll pay a few-hundred-dollar fine. Manslaughter by motor vehicle is a perfectly legal crime.

The de Blasio administration and its allies are pushing hard to change that state of affairs, but success will require more than just adjusting stoplights or redesigning intersections; it means transforming an entire culture. We have to recognize that crashes are preventable disasters rather than random events — not accidents at all, but the product of individual decisions. Reckless and distracted driving must become a new taboo.
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<a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/davidson-on-the-small-steps-toward-vision-zero.html">http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/05/davidson-on-the-small-steps-toward-vision-zero.html</a>;
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Motorists fined for overtaking cyclists? It’s about time

Via The Telegraph

A new proposal from the Department of Transport recommends a 15mph speed limit to help protect cyclists. It's a pedal revolution in the right direction, says Chris Harvey

I admit I was taken aback earlier this week when the Department of Transport released a proposal for designated “cycle streets” in cities.

All too often, the narrative around cycle safety focuses negatively on cyclists' behaviour. Take, for example, MP Kate Hoey (who once labelled cyclists &quot;law-breaking lycra louts&quot;), who now thinks that cyclists should have to pay for safety measures to protect them from motorists. Or Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin's suggestion that cyclists have to &quot;do their bit&quot; to make the roads safer. Even Boris Johnson, who is normally admirably pro-cycling, copped flack from the cycling community after appearing to suggest that a series of fatalities on London's roads was down to &quot;very risky&quot; cycling manoeuvres.

So it's genuinely refreshing to see a proposal that aims to make the roads fundamentally safer for people to use. The plan would see cyclists given priority over motorists on “lightly trafficked roads where cycle flows are high”. A 15mph speed limit would be imposed, along with a potential £100 fine (and three penalty points) for overtaking a cyclist.

Quite frankly, it’s about time this kind of measure was introduced.
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<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/recreational-cycling/10830450/Motorists-fined-for-overtaking-cyclists-Its-about-time.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/recreational-cycling/10830450/Motorists-fined-for-overtaking-cyclists-Its-about-time.html</a>;
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NYC Opens Traffic Crash Data -- Finally

After years of prodding from safe streets advocates, the New York City Council, and the tech community — not to mention reporters — New York City has finally released comprehensive traffic crash data.

“This is amazing, and more than what we were expecting,&quot; said Noel Hidalgo, the head of civic technology group BetaNYC. &quot;The geocoding and integration with the data portal are unexpected and *extremely* pleasant surprises.”
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<a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/nyc-opens-traffic-crash-data-finally/">http://www.wnyc.org/story/nyc-opens-traffic-crash-data-finally/</a>;
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Areas With Most Shootings, Robberies to Get More Police on Bike Patrols

By Casey Cora, DNA Info Chicago

BRIDGEPORT — Police officers on foot patrol in high-crime areas will ride bicycles to help boost their visibility in the neighborhoods, city officials announced Friday.

More than one-third of the 360 officers assigned to foot patrol in &quot;Operation Impact&quot; have been equipped with the police bikes since April 1, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said.
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The policing-by-bike strategy, tested during the 2012 NATO summit, allows for more interaction with residents and gives police more mobility, officials said.

McCarthy said crime rates have dipped in the 20 impact zones — murders are down nearly 50 percent, shootings are down 43 percent and overall crime is down 26 percent.
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<a href="http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140418/bridgeport/areas-with-most-shootings-robberies-get-more-police-on-bike-patrols">http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140418/bridgeport/areas-with-most-shootings-robberies-get-more-police-on-bike-patrols</a>;
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