Pendelton Fatality, 3 feet, Sharrows

[Jeff Gross]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/05/bus-bicyclists-crash-camp-pendleton/

Bus hits 3 Bicyclists on Camp Pendelton: 1 killed, 2 hospitalized.

Last Monday, a NCTD bus hit 3 bicyclists on Stuart Mesa Road, killing 1 (Udo Heinz) and sending the others to the hospital. The bus driver is now on standard administrative leave. NCIS is investigating. The accident happended on a section where there is no bike lane, and metal rails on both sides keep the road narrow.

I have had shouting matches with inconsiderate NCTD drivers, and I know many others have had worse run-ins. If you have a complaint history or accident history with NCTD, consider contacting the attorneys (Richard Duquette,  representing the cyclists. It would be nice to have NCTD held accountable for their antagonism toward cyclists.

More from Peter Scott:

Hi all,

On our way home through Camp Pendleton on Sunday we got stopped at a crash scene. It was at that spot where I think it's a tank crossing just at the bottom of a short climb. There was a city bus stopped at a slightly odd angle in the middle of the road.

There was military police there and we heard 3 cyclists had been hit by the bus and one of them had been life flighted out. When we were allowed to go by, the ominous thing to me was that the debris field was pretty broad with small numbered crash scene investigation cones starting at least 100 yards behind the bus.

I just heard from Randy that it was a Ranchos rider who was the worst and he / she died, and one other ride was still in critical condition.

I can't imagine how on earth that could have happened where it did and in broad daylight. It must have happened not long before our group arrived at the spot.

I just bring it up because I just wish more of our group ( or any cyclist) would start using mirrors.

Just last night on the Tuesday night ride I came as close as I've come in a long time to being hit, either by someone who was deliberately being an asshole or was distracted, but it was only because I saw him coming in my mirror that I was able to lean away from it and he still just missed me.

Randy told me that there have been 71 cyclists killed so far this year in California, 7 here in SD.

We should start a campaign to promote the use of mirrors in our group before one of us is not so lucky. Obviously it happens, and I just don't want it to happen to one of our group. That could be the last straw to make me quit.

I ride motorcycles, but I feel infinitely more at risk when-ever I'm on my bicycle than I ever do on a motorcycle.

Peter Scott

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.



3-ft Safe Passing Law in Austin gets Enforced

The new 3-ft safe passing law adopted in Austin may just be common sense, but drivers don't get it. So the Austin police set up a sting with police riding bicycles equiped with GoPro cameras and radios to catch violators. It took 3 minutes to catch the first one. As expected, some drivers are aplologeic and others are offended that bicycles are even allowed on the street.

Read more: http://ireader.olivesoftware.com/Olive/iReader/AustinAmericanStatesman/SharedArticle.ashx?document=AAS%5C2013%5C08%5C05&article=Ar02304

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.



Transportation Costs.

Every year, the AAA estimates the cost of driving a car.

• Sedan 61 cents
• SUV 77 cents
• Minivan 65 cents
• bike 10 cents

A will is a dead giveaway



Shared Lane Markings
Federal Highway Administration - Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist's impacting the open door of a parked vehicle,
• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane,
• Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way,
• Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists, and
• Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Guidance:
02 The Shared Lane Marking should not be placed on roadways that have a speed limit above 35 mph.

Standard:
03 Shared Lane Markings shall not be used on shoulders or in designated bicycle lanes.

Guidance:

04 If used in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking, Shared Lane Markings should be placed so that the centers of the markings are at least 11 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.

05 If used on a street without on-street parking that has an outside travel lane that is less than 14 feet wide, the centers of the Shared Lane Markings should be at least 4 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.

06 If used, the Shared Lane Marking should be placed immediately after an intersection and spaced at intervals not greater than 250 feet thereafter.

Option:
07 Section 9B.06 describes a Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign that may be used in addition to or instead of the Shared Lane Marking to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane.

http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part9/part9c.htm#section9C07

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.



Timing the San Diego Real Estate Market.

The housing market in San Diego hit bottom in May 2012. Home prices now continue to bubble up - up 20% in San Diego from a year ago. As mortgage rates rise, there may be a lag before prices turn downward, due to buyers panicked to buy while prices are still affordable and interest rates are relatively low. Skyrocketing price increases are never sustainable. The economy is growing at a pathetic sub 2%. Our current recovery is being sponsored by the Federal Reserve monetary policy called Quantitative Easing. Quantitative Easing is a monetary policy on heroin. It is a bubble blowing machine, now running at $85 billion a month, trying to control interest rates. It cannot end well. Real estate investors, stay with the rising trend until it ends, but don't over-stay your welcome.

If you don't pay your exorcist you can get repossessed.

Bike lots,
Jeff Gross
jeff@fullcommitment.com