Wear a helmet cam, and get justice done

After two recent right hook crashes on Phase IV of Diamond Drive that have knocked two of our cyclists off their bikes, I am wondering if we should start wearing helmet cams. In one of those instances, the cyclist,who was injured seriously, was cited for an implausible violation--a pedestrian jaywalking type violation. This case is currently headed for court so I won't comment further, for now.

Mind you, I am not suggesting helmet cams in lieu of competent cycling. Please ride through that section with your head up and mind focussed. Use the SEE (Search, Evaluate, Execute) concept. Know how to perform an evasive act; there are plenty of places to practice. But when all else fails, don't be caught short on good data..

When all else does fail, a good video of a crash or near miss is worth a thousand words, especially since the cyclist is often lying on his back wordless and the motorist is putting the best spin on things to cover his or her own okole after safely emerging from his or her "cage".

I've had several close calls south of Orange/Sandia and on two instances, stopped and asked the driver why he and she put me in harm's way. The answer both times was "I didn't see you". Uh, yeah, uh-huh....this is an unimpressive display of less than stellar vehicle operation in what should be the "World's Greatest Driving Protecting America". God help us if these folks work in a sensitive or high hazard facility and work as carelessly as when they drive.

From the NY Times:

Cameras Are Cyclists’ ‘Black Boxes’ in Accidents

"WASHINGTON — When Evan Wilder went flying onto the pavement during his bicycle commute one morning here, he didn’t have time to notice the license plate of the pickup truck that had sideswiped him after its driver hurled a curse at him. Nor did a witness driving another car. But the video camera Mr. Wilder had strapped to his head caught the whole episode. After watching a recording of the incident later, Mr. Wilder gave the license plate number to the police and a suspect was eventually charged with leaving the scene of an accident..."

A video from Springfield, MO. In a bicyclist friendly community, why is cycling so rare?

From what I can see, not much difference between Springfield and Bombtown. Frankly, I'd rather be riding here than in Amsterdam if those video segments of Andy Cline's are representative of Amsterdam now vs. Amsterdam in 1986, when I spent a week there.

Bicycling is cultural. The reason we don't have more cyclists here has far less to do with infrastructure than it does with our mistaken belief that cycling is dangerous and not a good idea.

As far as actual hazard? Bicycling is no more dangerous than many activities we take for granted. Stop drinking the kool-aid, and start riding.

Does anyone know of an overtaking crash on NM-4 climbing into the Jemez?

I'm curious, after penning the following letter. Does anyone know of any bike-car crashes resulting from motorists overtaking bicyclists who are climbing into the Jemez? I've never seen or heard of one, and have had, in 11 years, only one instance of grumpiness on the part of an overtaking motorist. If you know of any crashes, send a comment.

Dear Transportation Board

Yesterday I received a phone call from a Los Alamos resident who was referred to me by one of the Chandlers (I forget which one, and did not write it down). The caller thought I was on the bicycling subcommittee of the Transportation board.

I told him that to my knowledge, the Transportation Board has not re-created a bicycling subcommittee and I'm certainly not on one, so anything I say would be offered as the $0.02 of a private citizen. 

The person went on to suggest that bicyclists riding uphill on NM-4 (into the Jemez) create a dangerous situation since there are a lot of tight curves and no shoulders, and that something should be done to make the road more hospitable (such as adding pullouts for slow vehicles).

I told him that to my knowledge based on living here since 2001, there has not been a crash resulting from a motorist overtaking a cyclist climbing into the mountains on SR4 and that while overtaking on a mountain road (or any road) often requires patience and attention to detail, that does not translate into danger--it is the expectation in the West that we need to plan on  such situations, whether the slower vehicle is a bicycle, large R/V, or a truck hauling horses.  Back East where I am from, it is often Amish buggies.

The two crashes on NM4 involving bicyclists and motor vehicles that I am aware of were both caused by conflicts between oncoming vehicle operators, in one case a cyclist and an oncoming motorcyclist, and a recent crash between a cyclist and an oncoming car on the last hairpin. I'm not privy to the finer details.

Generally, we who live in the mountains drive and ride that road with due diligence, as explicitly required by our traffic law. The speed limit on NM-4 West of Back Gate to the top of the climb is posted at 30 mph and sharp curves are posted with lower advisory speeds. I am a regular cyclist on that road and assert it is quite safe if overtaking motorists use prudence; cyclists can help motorists overtake, such as by shading right when it is safe to do so. Since the road is narrow, the position of a cyclist is moot on overtaking since a proper overtaking distance (5' by county law, reasonable and prudent by state law) requires motorists to encroach into the oncoming lane regardless as to how far out a cyclist is riding from the edge. For the record, I generally ride about 18 inches from the edge of the pavement. It is in fact in a motorists own interests to use care--no one knows when a deer or rockfall will lurk around a blind curve.

While improvements to NM-4 would be welcome, especially given the damage to the road from heavy vehicle use during the Las Conchas fire, asserting danger on the basis of one's personal comfort level reduces the concept of danger to a subjective reaction rather than one of science or engineering and that doesn't usually translate into good public policy, whether it be mountain roads or roundabouts. 

While I would cheer on the County if we were to contact NMDOT on their future plans to improve NM-4, I say that with some trepidation since the Law of Unintended Consequences will undoubtedly kick into high gear--an improved road will probably encourage faster speeds and more complacency. Right now, I think people hang up and pay attention, given the nature of NM-4.

I'm writing the T board and Chief Torpy since I was contacted assuming I was a board member, so this is simply an FYI, in case it comes up.

Avoiding right hook collisions

I'm posting this long version here, and a short version in the LANL Reader's Forum page. An intermediate version appeared in the Sunday, 1 July Los Alamos Monitor (subscription required) and in the Los Alamos Daily Post (free).

In the last few months, there have been two crashes on Diamond Drive that occurred when a right turning motorist crossed  the new bike lanes in close proximity to a bicyclist riding in the bike lane. Without going into who did what to whom ( I wasn't there), I’d like to offer some suggestions on how to manage this facility.

Regarding sharing roads equipped with bike lanes, and turning across bike lanes. Some of the law is not exactly clear (at least to me), but the law on changing lanes is clear. When turning right across a bike lane, which is a lane designed for the exclusive use of bicyclists and part of the traveled portion of the street, you as the motorist are moving out of your lane and across the bike lane and must do so safely. The same applies to a bicyclist leaving the bike lane to make a left turn or moving out of the bike lane to merge into a regular travel lane. Here is the code, followed by some comments.

Sec. 38-257. - Driving on streets laned for traffic.

Whenever any street has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic, the following rules in addition to all others consistent herewith shall apply:

(1)   A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety; 

The law is in black and white and reinforces best practice. Some of the recent scary interactions leading to close calls and crashes on Diamond Drive south of Orange/Sandia are in the shades of grey area of applying the law, or are caused by inattention.  Safe, alert, defensive driving and biking can keep you out of harm’s way.

So if you are the motorist:

1. When making a right turn on a road with bike lanes, make sure you have safely overtaken a cyclist before going into your turn. The act of turning causes you to slow down and that cyclist you passed may have caught up to you; you may turn directly into the cyclist.
2. Signal your turn in advance and check your blind spot before turning to make sure there is not a bicyclist on your right or about to overtake you.
3. If you see a cyclist slightly in front of, or along side you as you approach your right turn, let the cyclist proceed through the intersection and turn behind the cyclist. Speeding up to pass the cyclist and then slowing down to turn can result in a crash.
4. Cyclists and motorcyclists are more vulnerable than you are. Train yourself to be aware of these smaller vehicles.

If you are the cyclist

1. Watch for motor vehicles slowing down and signalling to turn as you approach intersections and driveways. If a motorist is slowing down as he approaches an intersection or driveway, he may be preparing to turn right across your path.
2. If you are overtaking a motorist on the motorist’s right, you are in that motorist’s blind spot. That could result in a crash if you are passing on the right at an intersection or driveway and the motorist indeed turns. Don't expect people to have eyes in the backs of their heads; mistakes are indeed made.
3. If motor vehicle traffic is slower than you are, and you are overtaking the motorists, be aware of locations where a motorist can turn across your path.  Ride defensively at an appropriate speed, keep your head up, and be observant.
4. If you are traveling at the speed of traffic in a busy area or one where the bike lane may be screened from side streets or parking lot entrances by visual clutter, one can signal and merge out of the bike lane (safely) or slow down to a prudent speed in the bike lane.
5. You are more vulnerable to injury than motorists and not as visible as a car. You must take this into account and ride your bicycle (or motorcycle) with extra awareness for your own safety. Stay alert, practice situational awareness, and always wear a helmet to protect your head in the unlikely event of a crash.

There is a good video here demonstrating the right turn problem.

Video acknowledgements to Mass Bike Vids. 
The safe and lawful cyclist is demonstrated by John Allen

An optimal commuter is not an optimal time trialer.
Here, handlebars are level with seat. It helps to sit up 
so you can easily keep track of traffic.
Deep drop bars can be installed 
and used when appropriate. 

 There is no easy, quick, and foolproof fix to having bike lanes next to driveways, side streets, and other midblock curb cuts. If there were, we (i.e., the County and its traffic staff) would have thought of it already.  For example, one commenter reminded us "...Some time back, I (the anonymous commenter) posted an anonymous comment to a thread saying that it seemed to me that the safest course for a car driver on turning right, was to merge into the bike lane and thereby avoid right hook configurations by filling it up and making it impossible for bikes to be there. I got confirmation responses from folks here that that was indeed the correct thing to do. Unfortunately, the legal quote above "entirely within a single lane" seems to go against this conclusion. It is impossible to be entirely within a bike lane when you are driving a car..."  Assuming for the moment the motorist properly merges without cutting off a cyclist or blocking the bike lane as well as part of the regular travel lane for half a block if traffic stalls, it indeed results in a conflict between two laws: one, that says to keep your vehicle entirely in a single lane as much as is practicable, and another that says to make right turns from as close as practicable to the right curb or road edge. The more basic law is that you don't leave a lane until it is safe to do so, which should be one's basic guidance regardless of what one is driving or riding on.
 
The problem seems to be that bike lanes were created with the simple concept that bikes will be to the right of cars and this will reduce conflicts. Unfortunately, and especially in urban areas, that is not always the case. What I've done here, after considerable discussion with LAPD and Dept. of Public Works, is provide some safety guidelines but not tell people how to make turns. That will be determined by what is going on around you at time zero.

To quote Keri Caffrey (as posted on Carbon Trace) "Bike lanes, which are promoted as being safe, generate a lot of manufactured conflict in urban areas—because channelizing traffic by vehicle type, rather than speed and destination, violates the principles of movement and breaks an otherwise functional system" But many cyclists (not to mention motorists) want them, so we all have to work with the compromises to travel they require.

Both motorist and cyclist are responsible for being observant, aware of each other’s presence, understanding and working within the system as it exists, and negotiating safe passage to their destinations in an area which is busy, such as Diamond Drive south of Orange/Sandia.

Some other information tuned to Los Alamos is here.

Thanks, and keep it safe and away from the ragged edge out there.

Khal Spencer

Chair, LANL Traffic Safety Committee

Co-Author, 2005 Los Alamos County Bicycling Transportation System (i.e., “bike plan”) as adopted by County Council

LANL ramps up after-hours vehicle security at entrance portal (aka Large Intestine)

As reported in the Sunday Los Alamos Monitor. So if you are riding up towards the Jemez on Truck Route/West Jemez, be prepared for this.

LANL ramps up after-hours vehicle security 
 
"Despite concerns expressed by local businesses regarding its potential impact on efforts to bolster tourism, Los Alamos National Laboratory is taking further steps to ratchet up security.

Beginning Monday, all vehicles entering the LANL Vehicle Access Portal at East Jemez Road must use center lane number 4 between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays and around the clock on weekends. All other lanes will be closed during LANL’s non-work hours."

Read the story on our website!

Beam me up, Scotty, they're after me again!

VeloNews and Red Kite Prayer are reporting on the USADA's newly opened investigation of that guy Lance Armstrong. Or, as Charles Pelkey put it "Just when I thought I was out...they pulled me back in"

Long ago and far away, before this all started getting murky
Or, was Lance already aware he would some day need that Transporter?
Picture by Graham Watson