FABB Blog

With regard to language in the Code regarding vehicles entering a public highway from a road other than a highway, § 46.2-826 states: “The driver of a vehicle entering a public highway or sidewalk from a private road, driveway, alley, or building shall stop immediately before entering such highway or sidewalk and yield the right-of-way to vehicles approaching on such public highway and to pedestrians or vehicles approaching on such public sidewalk.” Again in this case, however, bicycles are not considered “vehicles” by § 46.2-100 because “a private road, driveway, alley, or building” does not meet the Code’s definition of a “highway.” Therefore, this code provision does not appear to apply to bicyclists on the W&OD Trail.”

"Neither bicycle was equipped with a taillight as required by 46.2-1015.B. D2 did not move into a single file formation as V1 approached from the rear (46.2-905). [According to the code, cyclists riding two abreast "shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." With an adjacent lane, the motorist could have easily passed the cyclists. Even if the two cyclists were riding in single file, a 12 foot lane cannot be safely shared with a vehicle, especially a large vehicle like a Suburban.] 

Motorist:

05/28/2008 09:30 AM 048/25 SPEEDIN
02/19/2009 02:00 PM TRESPASS AFTER FORBIDDEN (Original charge: Concealed weapon: Carry)
03/11/2010 09:30 AM FAIL PAY TIME & ATTENTION (Original charge: Fail to obey highway sign)
03/18/2010 09:30 AM RIDING ANIMAL AFTER DARK W/REF (Original charge: 74/55 Speeding) [Interesting plea bargain result.]
05/28/2013 09:30 AM OPER UNINSPECTED VEHICLE
09/29/2015 09:30 AM OPER UNINSPECTED VEHICLE Mark For Payment

Owner of vehicle:

05/06/2009 - 09:30 AM - FAIL PAY TIME AND ATTENTION
05/19/2010 - 09:30 AM - FAIL PAY TIME AND ATTENTION - 48/35
01/25/2013 - 09:30 AM - PUBLIC SWEARING/INTOXICATION
05/14/2014 - 09:30 AM - FAIL TO PAY FULL TIME AND ATTN
03/26/2015 - 09:30 AM - DRUNK IN PUBLIC
03/26/2015 - 09:30 AM - DRIV NOT RPT ACCD; DAMAG <$250
10/21/2015 - 09:30 AM - 57/35 SPEEDING

Sadly, Andrew Gooden passed away Monday, August 31, 2015 after being struck by a car .

Andrew leaves behind his wife Denise, 2 children with a baby due to be born in October. Andrew arrived to work in the US from Jamaica in 2014 and returned again in 2015 as a lifeguard and pool manager. He was loved by his friends, coworkers and clients alike.

We are creating this webpage in order to raise money for his Wife and Children back in Jamaica so that they may have the opportunity to live the lives Andrew worked so hard for them to have. Any donations will be greatly appreciated and given to Andrew's wife to help pay for funeral costs, and care of his soon to be 3 children.

If you would like to donate with cash or check you can send it to:
Andrew Gooden c/o Community Pool Service
7668 Standish Place, Suite C,
Rockville, MD 20855.

100% of donations will be given to his wife and children.

We are trying to find out more information. Fairfax Co Police released the following information, Fatal Crash in Herndon:

Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook will be charged with manslaughter in the fatal crash that killed cyclist Thomas Palermo, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby announced Friday morning.

 Cook will face charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident; driving under the influence and causing an accident due to texting while driving. Both the manslaughter and leaving the scene charge carry a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

 A warrant will be issued for Cook's arrest, prosecutors said.

The project has been carried out as a randomized controlled trial with 6,800 volunteer cyclists. After random selection, half of the group – the test group – got the bicycle jacket at once and promised to wear it each time they biked during a year. The other half of the group composed a control group that got the bicycle jacket after the closing of the project, i.e. after a year.

The safety effect of the bicycle jacket was analysed by comparing the number of self-reported accident for the test and control group. The self-reported accidents showed that the test group had 38% fewer personal injury accidents with other road users – so-called multi-party accidents – than the group who did not wear the bicycle jacket. If one only looks at accidents between participants and vehicles, the difference is 48%. The differences are statistically significant at 5% level. In the test group, 37% of the involved parties in an accident reported that they were not wearing the bicycle jacket or any other bright-coloured garment when the accident occurred.

The Danish Road Traffic Accident Investigation Board (AIB) has a working hypothesis stating that lack of visibility can be among the reasons for the higher accident risk for cyclists (AIB, 2008). This hypothesis is supported by a project on the use of permanent running lights for cyclists completed in collaboration with the Traffic Research Group at Aalborg University and Odense Municipality. The project documents that the use of permanent running lights significantly reduces the accident risk for cyclists. Specifically, the probability of cyclists being involved in multi-party accidents is reduced with 47 %. These accidents are typically the most severe ones for cyclists, and the reduction most likely caused by the cyclists’ increased visibility. (Madsen et al., 2013)

Police Chief Mary Gavin announced the additional deployment of bicycle and motorcycle officers along the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail to promote education and enforcement of park and traffic laws. As one of the region's premier recreational sites, police have seen an increase in shared usage of the trail, from casual walking to commuting via bicycle. The increase in use within the City has created more opportunities for hazards and accidents to occur.

A little after noon this past Sunday, September 29, police responded to just such an incident when a report came in of a crash involving a jogger and a cyclist near the intersection of the trail and Little Falls Street. Initial reports indicate the jogger was attempting to pass walkers on the left and collided with the cyclist traveling in the opposite direction. Both the cyclist and the jogger sustained life-threatening injuries and are currently being treated at local hospitals. An investigation is ongoing to determine the precise cause of the crash.

A bicyclist hit by a driver on Maple Avenue told police the driver stopped after the accident, but left the scene without providing his information.

The man told police he was traveling west on Maple Avenue at 7 p.m. July 6 when he tried to enter the left turn lane near Courthouse Road SW.

As he entered the turn lane, a vehicle side swiped his bicycle, knocking him to the ground, according to the Vienna police report.

The driver stopped, but left the scene without exchanging information.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Vienna Police Department at 703-255-6396 or glose@viennava.gov.

It states that "An 18-month study of reportable bicycle crashes shows that at least a quarter of the bicyclists were not wearing reflective clothing at the time of the crash; five bicyclists were reported to have been drinking alcohol and about 44% were performing an improper action such as: operating on the wrong side of the road, failing to maintain proper control or disregarding a stop or yield sign." 

Wearing reflective clothing, always a good idea, is not required by law. The discussion focuses soley on actions of the bicyclists. What about motorists? In more than half of all bike/motorist crashes (57%), motorists were at fault. Shouldn't there be some mention of motorist's actions that cause crashes such as speeding, distracted driving, failing to maintain proper control, disregarding a stop or yield sign, drinking? We'll relay our concerns to our police contacts.

Here's a copy of the news release:

We received the photo at the right from a FABB member who arrived a few minutes after the crash. The photo was taken from near the W&OD Trail looking toward the traffic signal at Cross School Road/Robert Fulton Drive. It appears that the cyclist was thrown forward a considerable distance after being struck by the black SUV in the photo.

This is a dangerous intersection. There are two lanes of traffic in each direction. What often happens on roads like this is that a motorist in the far right lane will stop for a cyclist, the cyclist proceeds into the intersection, and a second motorist does not stop and hits the cyclist. This has happened multiple times on Wiehle Ave at the W&OD Trail. In some states it is illegal to pass another motorist who is stopped at a crosswalk. Virginia needs such a law.

If you know more about the condition of the cyclist, please leave a comment.

Update August 6: Many people have asked for an update on the injured cyclist. Her name is Cat Freck. She is an amateur racer with an extensive list of race results listed on the USA Cycling website, including 19th place in the Air Force Association Cycling Classic in the Pro/Cat 1/2 class. Her family is maintaining a Caring Bridge site that includes updates on her condition.

Police said that starting this month, enforcement and education efforts concerning pedestrian safety have been stepped up across Fairfax County. Efforts began April 6 with a focus on areas near the two Metro stations in the McLean District. Commuters in those areas this month can expect to see officers monitoring crosswalks, posting electronic signboards and strictly enforcing traffic laws for both drivers and pedestrians. Tickets and warnings will be issued for drivers who are exceeding the speed limit, not yielding to pedestrians and committing other violations. Pedestrians will also be expected to use crosswalks and comply with existing laws.

“That also goes for cyclists,” said police spokesman Bud Walker, who compiles bicycle crash statistics for the Fairfax County Police Department.

Fairfax County had 106 reportable crashes involving bicycles in 2012, which is approximately a 26% increase in bicycle crashes over 2011. Twelve crashes were a hit and run where a bicyclist was struck and the motorist fled the scene. None of these crashes involved the death of the bicyclist. In 43% of the crashes, the bicyclist was held at fault. [In 53% of the crashes, the motorist was held at fault. Comment added].

The leading cause of most crashes involving bicyclists was one party failing to yield the right of way. In 19 crashes (18%) the bicyclist was found to not have the right of way and in 30 crashes (28%) the driver was found to not have the right of way.

Accidents between vehicles and bicycles in Fairfax County are happening more frequently this year.

There have been 54 collisions between vehicles and bicycles this year with one fatality, up from 44 accidents between bicyclists and vehicles with no fatalities in 2011.

On Nov. 12, Elizabeth P. Shattuck, 58, of Falls Church, was hit by a pickup truck. Police pronounced her dead at the scene, marking the first Fairfax County death resulting from a bicycle-versus-vehicle collision in two years. The incident is still under investigation, and charges have yet to be filed.

Greg Billing, a spokesman for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, said there are an increasing number of people taking to the roads on bicycles across the region.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in crashes between vehicles and cyclists as more people are getting into cycling,” Billing said. “Enforcement is a huge issue across the region and there are a lot of motorists out there that are distracted and speeding and don’t see the cyclists on the roads.”

Ashgrove Pl/Columbia Pike intersection

Fairfax County police are investigating a crash that left a female cyclist dead on Monday in Falls Church near the intersection of Columbia Pike and Ashwood Place.

Elizabeth P. Shattuck, 58, of Falls Church, was pronounced dead at the scene when the bicycle she was on was hit by a 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck while she was attempting to cross Columbia Pike from the north to the south around 2 p.m., police said. As the truck traveled westbound on Ashwood Place, Shattuck was hit as she crossed the westbound lanes.

Police said she hit the hood and went over the roof.

Police do not believe the 72-year-old man who was driving the pickup was speeding or under the influence of anything.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

The research will provide weighty evidence for advocates of dedicated bike infrastructure precisely because transportation engineers have long believed the exact opposite to be true. For years, they’ve counter-intuitively argued that you’re actually better off learning to ride alongside cars than having your own bike lane.

"That became a very often repeated philosophy," says Kay Teschke, a professor at the University of British Columbia and the lead author of the new study. She traces it back to a guy named John Forester, who popularized the idea of "vehicular cycling" 40 years ago. Forester famously argued against separated bike lanes in Palo Alto, on the grounds that bikers should learn instead to behave like drivers.

Some spotty research followed on this topic that seemed to reinforce Forester’s idea: Biking in traffic did appear to be safer than many of its alternatives. But the alternatives that researchers had to examine in North America were unpaved routes, sidewalks, off-road and even mountain bike trails. At the time, we had little of the dedicated commuter bike infrastructure many cities are just creating now.

"I think a little bit of what happened was [engineers] knew this was counterintuitive, they knew the few studies out there were not particularly well controlled or appropriate," Teschke says. "But it just further entrenched them."

So along comes this new study. Teschke and her colleagues worked with five hospitals in Toronto and Vancouver to identify adult bikers who were treated in an emergency room within 24 hours of a bike accident. Over an 18-month period between summer of 2008 and fall of 2009, they identified 2,335 injured cyclists. Of that group, 690 were considered eligible for the study and agreed to participate.

In the end, Teschke was still concerned about one other question: Are the safest routes the same routes that bikers actually want to use? Several years ago, she conducted another study into this question of preferences, using the same 14 route designations employed in the latest research.

"We were told in advance that young males and people who are experienced riders would tell you they’d rather ride on major streets without bike infrastructure," she recalls. "It turned out not to be true. Everyone had the same order or preferences."

So how did those preferences line up with this latest injury data?

"When my statistician finally finished doing the analysis for the injury study, I can remember sitting at the desk, and my heart was just pounding because I thought 'what am I going to do if the injury results are the opposite of the preference results?'" Teschke says. How can anyone advocate for safer bike infrastructure if no one wants to use it? “Isn’t that going to be just awful for the present situation?” Teschke was relieved (bike advocates more broadly should be, too). Here the results of the two studies are plotted on a single graph (above).