A group of bicycle companies, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association (BPSA), is engaged in a safety recall involving quick-release devices which, when improperly adjusted or left open while riding, may potentially come in contact with the front disc brake rotor. Watch this video to see if your bicycle is affected. […]
Category: #visionzero
U.S. Proposes Overhaul of Car-Safety Ratings
U.S. Proposes Overhaul of Car-Safety Ratings
WSJ
12/8/15
[…] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday proposed adding assessments of the features in the hopes the safety breakthroughs will eventually become mainstays on cars and trucks the way air bags and electronic stability control have over the years. Autonomous driving technologies such as lane-departure and blind-spot warnings increasingly allow vehicles to avoid crashes as opposed to simply helping drivers survive collisions. More than 32,000 people die each year on U.S. roads. [….]
DOT issues notice of proposed rulemaking on improved rear impact protection for trailers and semitrailers
This is needed and will save lives –
[…] “Robust trailer rear impact guards can significantly reduce the risk of death or injury to vehicle occupants in the event of a crash into the rear of a trailer or semitrailer,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “We’re always looking at ways to safeguard the motoring public, and today’s announcement moves us forward in our mission.”
Rear underride crashes are those in which the front end of a vehicle impacts the rear of a generally larger vehicle, and slides under the rear-impacted vehicle. For example, underride may occur in collisions in which a small passenger vehicle crashes into the rear end of a large trailer and the bed and chassis of the impacted vehicle is higher than the hood of the impacting passenger vehicle.
In excessive underride crashes, there is passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) as the passenger vehicle underrides so far that the rear end of the struck vehicle enters the passenger compartment of the striking passenger vehicle. PCI can result in severe injuries and fatalities to occupants contacting the rear end of the struck vehicle. A rear impact guard prevents PCI when it engages the smaller striking vehicle and stops the vehicle from sliding too far under the struck vehicle’s bed and chassis.
The occupant crash protection features built into today’s passenger vehicles are able to provide high levels of occupant protection in 35 mph frontal crashes. This NPRM would require trailer and semitrailer guards to remain in place and prevent PCI in crashes of severities of up to 35 mph versus the current requirement of up to 30 mph. […]
‘Protected Intersection’ For Bikes Opens In Salt Lake City
‘Protected Intersection’ For Bikes Opens In Salt Lake City
Here and Now
9/30/2015
[…] “Protected intersections,” designed to prevent car-bicycle collisions, have long existed in the Netherlands, but they are just catching on in the U.S.
After a former video game maker in Oregon created a video (below) explaining the design, one was recently built in Davis, California, and another in Salt Lake City, Utah, and plans are being discussed in cities across the country. […]
How Cyclists Are Causing Cities Worldwide To Rethink Bike Safety
How Cyclists Are Causing Cities Worldwide To Rethink Bike Safety
12/8/2015
Huffington Post
[…] In the film, [Bikes v. Cars] Gertten follows individuals in various cities at different points in their biking evolution. He focuses most on three places — Los Angeles, where a comprehensive transit system gave way to massive sprawl but a bike culture is returning; São Paulo, where car use is skyrocketing but a biker’s death has rallied activists to push for safety measures; and Copenhagen, Denmark, where bike-friendly roads are shown as a taxi driver’s worst nightmare, but are also part of what makes the city heaven on earth for cyclists. […]
Bilked out of bike lanes in Coronado? Riders take route that shows current state of street improvements
Bilked out of bike lanes in CoronadoRiders take route that shows current state of street improvements
San Diego Reader
10/18/15
[…] A group of about 30 cycling enthusiasts descended on Coronado Saturday morning (October 17) for a group ride to highlight and protest what they believe is an unwise decision to suspend bicycle-related improvements in the community. […]
A deadly year: In O.C., a pedestrian is struck and killed every 6 days
A deadly year: In O.C., a pedestrian is struck and killed every 6 days
The Orange County Register
10/18/15
[…] Forty-eight people have died since January – including two just in the past week – according to county coroner data through Oct. 15. That’s roughly one pedestrian killed every six days. […]
Don't Door Me
Dooring accidents are far too common and serious, or even deadly.
Yet, in much of the USA we don’t count this specific type of injury accident in a way that can best yield data to improve safety infrastructure and awareness. In most states opening a door into a cyclist, pedestrian or even another car is a traffic code violation, yet enforcement is rare and fines are often very low amounts.
In 2011 Chicago Bicycle Advocacy won a huge victory and got the state of Illinois DOT to officially start tracking and recording dooring incidents.
In 2012, after 7 bicycle dooring fatalities in 5 years, NYC DOT started a media dooring awareness campaign as well as safety improvements to the sidewalks and taxi cab windows to try and raise awareness.
Bikers call for state to count ‘dooring’ accidentsAdvocacy group says untracked collisions are most common
Chicago Tribune
March 20, 2011
[…] A Tribune request for violations data showed that since 2008, Chicago police issued no tickets for opening a vehicle door into the path of a bicyclist or turning in front of a bicyclist. […] Excluding dooring accidents from crash counts likely decreases reported vehicle-bike accident numbers by at least 15 percent statewide, said Dan Persky, director of education at the Active Transportation Alliance. […]
1 In 5 Bicycle Crashes In Chicago Is A Dooring
Chicago-ist
May 16, 2014
[…] The city passed an ordinance in 2008 that addressed doorings. […] That was followed in 2011 when IDOT, after lobbying by Active Trans, began counting doorings and crashes and tracking them. […]
Cyclist sues after Uber, private insurance fail to cover crash
Cyclist sues after Uber, private insurance fail to cover crash
Oregonian
10//15/15
[…] Pavenko was cited for improper opening of a door. […]
Police recorded Pavenko’s personal auto insurance information, but Root’s attorney, Michael Colbach, said Pavenko’s insurer wouldn’t cover the liability because Pavenko was driving for hire at the time. […]
Uber drivers are employees, labor commissioner says
Uber drivers are employees, labor commissioner says
Oregonian
10/15/15
[…] Avakian characterized the opinion as a “helpful explanation” to Uber on how he has interpreted Oregon’s labor laws. […] Uber is also fending off a class-action lawsuit that seeks to have all California Uber drivers recognized as employees. […]