In discussions of street safety there is a tendency to view traffic fatalities as isolated incidents or just another statistic. It’s important to reinforce the human element of these crashes: people are injured or killed in our own neighborhoods more frequently than we realize. We’ve recently looked at the Dangerous by Design report by the […]
There’s long been a heated debate surrounding mandatory helmet laws, but up until now sexism hadn’t really been one of the talking points. However, a recent complaint from an Australian woman has changed that, as she claims helmet laws unfairly target women with otherwise fabulous hair by forcing them to put vanity on the back […]
As we’ve examined previously both here and here, the Dangerous by Design 2014 report contains a wealth of valuable information on the pedestrian safety crisis in the United States. One of the most striking aspects of the report is the clear connection drawn between speeding and pedestrian deaths. Consider the breakdown of pedestrian fatalities by […]
Last week we looked at the Dangerous by Design report. One of the useful features is the map tool, which overlays the locations of every pedestrian fatality in the country on Google Maps. This tool brings the challenges of street safety to life in every community across the country, and allows us to pinpoint the […]
It happens more than it should. Someone (here we will call her Ms. H.) invites some friends, maybe a lot of friends and maybe their friends as well, to a social gathering, where food and drink, lots of drink, is provided. Something bad happens, either to one of the guests at the party, or maybe […]
Street safety depends on the fair enforcement of traffic laws, but enforcement is not always fair. The juxtaposition of two stories over the past week illustrates the incongruent enforcement of traffic laws in San Francisco. On Bike to Work Day last Thursday, SFPD organized a sting to ticket bicyclists rolling through stop signs on the […]
The City of Berkeley is a well-known leader in environmentalism, social justice, and public health. Given that active transportation plays an integral role in each of these fields, it’s no surprise that Berkeley has long been one of the most bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly cities in California. Berkeley was one of the early adopters of complete […]
Telegraph Avenue is one of Oakland’s key transportation corridors, linking Downtown Oakland with Downtown Berkeley. It serves thousands of transit riders, drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians every day, and also functions as the commercial backbone of the popular Temescal, Koreatown/Northgate, and Uptown districts. However, Telegraph is one of Oakland’s most dangerous streets because of its antiquated […]
Bicycle accidents and auto accidents, technically, are treated identically under California law. The rules of determining who is at fault are the same. Practically Are They Treated Different? As a practical matter, they really are treated differently. And the reason they’re treated differently has to do with what city or county the case is handled […]
Recently we discussed the ongoing battle between California cities and Caltrans over street design, most notably cycle tracks. As it turns out, Caltrans just announced its official endorsement of the NACTO guide at last week’s Cities for Cycling event by NACTO, thereby paving the way for cycle tracks to be implemented across California. Let’s take […]
