Silver Creek High School cyclist killed this morning on Capitol Expressway.

RIP: Silver Creek High School
student killed
photo: dbking

Sad news this morning on the streets of San Jose. An unidentified Silver Creek High School student died at a local hospital after suffering injuries from a collision with a car while riding across Capitol Expressway in East San Jose. The crash site is two blocks from the high school and just over a quarter mile from the 101 Freeway.

Silver Creek High School Principal Adolfo Laguna in this morning's San Jose Mercury News, stated "the (student's) death is a poignant reminder of how careful motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists have to be around the school area, particularly during rush hour. We want our students to be safe."

Dangerous By Design

Yes this student's tragic death is a poignant reminder; but asking motorists, pedestrians and bicyclist to be careful as a preventive measure against these types of incidents is completely wishful thinking. This intersection is dangerous by design.

Here are some reasons that make this intersection dangerous for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.

The speed limit is 45 miles per hour but given that the the proximity to the 101 freeway entrance, speeds typically can reach over 60 miles per hour.

San Jose City Council member Pierluigi Oliverio has been championing 15 mph speed limits near schools but he is limited by California state law to only two lane streets, not 10 lane expressways.  This expressway also known as" Capitol Raceway" is notorious for impromptu races among race tuned autos.

The intersection was designed to reduce congestion by increasing the speed at which autos can negotiate turns. As you can see in this photo (Google Maps), the intersections uses large radii turns creating a triangular area to place the traffic signal. This design to increase the speed of right turning cars is a safety risk to cyclists and pedestrians.

Given San Jose suburban development pattern this expressway channels a high volume of traffic to the freeway during rush hour, bringing large volumes of traffic and young students together in a dangerous mix. The school, with almost 2,500 students also creates its own commuter congestion with parents rushing to bring their students to school before heading on the freeway to go to work.

Crossing Capital Expressway subjects student, cyclists, pedestrians, and the elderly to a 200 foot crossing with no refuge or rest area in the middle of the intersection.

I am always amazed that we have been lead to believe that the suburbs are by design safe than cities. It is evident in this Wall Street Journal Blog post titled "Is Generation Y a "Game Changer" for housing?"   The article quotes a financial services consultant who recently bought a 2,500-square-foot house in south San Francisco. The 23-year old single woman mentioned that she anticipates moving to the suburbs later in life, stating, "In my 20s, I definitely want to live downtown; I like the whole high-rise, in-the-city feel,” she said. “But, definitely when I have children, I want to live in a single-family home. It’s easier for parking, transportation and it’s safer to live in the suburbs away from the city."

The community should use this tragic incident as a starting point to do something about the lack of safety so close to their children's school.

A side note: When I went to the Google aerial photo of the school a counted 9 bikes (out of a student population of 2,500) in one bike parking location; and I'm not surprised.

Update (San Jose Mercury News): The bicyclist, believed to be 16 years old, was traveling east along East Capitol Expressway around 7:35 a.m. when a white Ford F-150 pick-up going northbound on Silver Creek Road collided with him, Officer Albert Morales said. Emergency personnel performed CPR at the scene and took the injured boy to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:10 a.m.

Could New York soon become safer than San Jose?

Interesting article posted by the Associated Press yesterday afternoon on the significant decrease in the homicide rate in New York during the Bloomberg administration. Last year the city experienced 418 homicides, the lowest number since reliable statistics have been kept since 1963. In 1990, New York City had an all-time high of 2,245 killings.

A couple of other interesting statistics from the article are that each year on average 33 people each down die due to homicides (over 12,000 annually) and 40 Americans commit suicides with a gun each day (over 14,500 annually).

Using quotes from the article for New York and Chicago and data from a homicide map that was produced by the Bay Area News Group I came up with some statistics of homicides per 100,000 residents

All homicides are for 2012. Population figures are from Wikipedia.

San Jose
46/958956=.000048               4.8 per 100,000 residents

New York

418/8224910=.000051           5.1 per 100,000 residents

Chicago
487/2707120=.00018            18.0 per 100,000 residents


View 2012 San Jose homicide map in a larger map

Bikes collide on a downtown street; one injured.

First responder to the incident
scene comforts a young cyclist.

In what has become on almost weekly occurrence, I came upon a traffic incident; although this time I was not the first responder. Last night at approximately 9:45 pm two cyclists collided on the walkway at Paseo San Antonio and 1st. St. (on the south east corner of the Fairmont Hotel).

The incident involved a young man riding eastbound on Paseo San Antonio and a young woman riding southbound on the sidewalk on 1st. St. Now here is the sad but strange part of this unfortunate event;

• Both riders were riding at night without lights.
• Both riders were not wearing helmets.
• Both riders were wearing earbuds and listening to music when they collided
• One rider's bike has no brakes.

The woman in the picture was in severe pain and the male rider mentioned that she might have hit her head. The male rider did not appear to have any injuries.

Conversation with an engineer, a road engineer.

This video is from my good friends over at Strong Towns who we might be seeing this fall in the San Jose area. If you ever wondered how suburbs have evolved and how streets have turn into arterial conjestion pits, this funny little animation says it all.

The story background is that it is a conversation between a city's DOT (Department of Transporation) and a local resident, a mother who's children are accustomed to playing in the street with very low traffic. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.

If you design for cars...you get cars.

New textured pedestrian crosswalk
being placed at the corner
of Campbell and Winchester.

During many San Jose General Plan and Diridon Station meetings, I remember Michele Beasley of Greenbelt Alliance invoking a well known phrase, "If you design for cars, you'll get cars. If you design for people you'll get people". Just this week I took photos of two locations in the valley that bring this point home.

One picture is of the ongoing construction work in downtown Campbell and at the intersection of Winchester Ave. and Campbell Ave. The Winchester Ave project will make for a more walkable Campbell west of the downtown area. Two years ago the city built their complete streets project to the east of downtown near the entrance of the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

These infrastructure improvements, along with the construction of a multi-story garage, and additional private investment has helped to make Downtown Campbell into a bustling retail area with shops, an extremely popular farmer's market, and a number of well known restaurants.

Almaden Blvd.; wide, with no
pedestrian activity.
The old SJDOT felt it was
better to design for cars.
The 'new' SJDOT gets it.

The other photo is of one part of the city of San Jose's downtown Bicycle Improvement project along Third and Fourth Streets, Ninth and Eleventh Streets, Almaden Blvd. (shown in the picture). The city is doing great work incorporating more bike routes in the downtown area. One of the areas is along Almaden Blvd., a suburban office park arterial dropped into a traditional downtown area. With the wide boulevard, the large medians, the mid-level office towers with large setbacks to allow for front lawns you get the feeling if you where in Tustin or Irvine, not a downtown with 250 years of San Jose history.

What would you rather have textured crosswalks or textured left turn lanes?

Which area do you perceive as being safer?

If you notice the photo, old school San Jose designed as if for cars only. The boulevard is wide, wide enough to have one of those old Soviet era May day celebrations with the parade of ICBM's (curious if the generation who grew up without newspapers knows what an ICBM is. click here for answer)

Related Posts:
New building going up in the heart of downtown Campbell
Tread Bike Shop - Just one more reason to enjoy downtown Campbell

Level of Service (LOS) <=> Level of Casualty (LOC)



pic. #1
Santa Clara Street looking west
from City Hall Plaza. Car
turning on left arrow



I spent many hours in meetings last year regarding San Jose's Envision 2040 General Plan, in which participants called for the need to "design for people and not for cars", along with other catchy slogans. But in reality most of those who advocated for people, drove cars.

I really can't blame them because the streets of downtown San Jose were designed with the movement of large volumes of cars at the most effective speed, as top priority. Transit, pedestrians, bicycles, the elderly, and the disabled were all designed into the system as afterthoughts. Yes there are crosswalks and pedestrian signals but the priority on downtown streets is to move cars; pure and simple.



pic 2
With pedestrian signal green
autos are required to yield.
(Electric sign next to signal)

Technically priority is expressed as LOS, or Level of Service.



Current planning tends to evaluate transportation system performance based primarily on motor vehicle traffic speed and delay (tables 1 and 2). There are generally no LOS ratings for other modes or problems. This tends to favor highway expansion over other types of transportation improvements, contributing to Automobile Dependency. (Multi-Modal Level-of-Service Indicators Tools For Evaluating The Quality of Transport Services and Facilities

- Victoria Transportation Institute)

Given this priority, automobiles assert this right whenever possible and this morning was no exception. I had my own encounter with an automobile that although had violated traffic laws, obviously felt that it was in her right to do so.

pic 3
S. 4th Street looking south
towards 280 entrance

In downtown San Jose 3rd and 4th Streets mainly serve as arterial collectors for autos entering and exiting Interstate 280 to the south. These serve as 3 lane thoroughfares on the eastern end of downtown adjacent to dense areas such as San Jose City Hall and San Jose State University.

While crossing S. 4th Street heading east towards City Hall Plaza this morning I was almost hit by a driver that did something which is becoming more common on our streets these days. When a vehicle approaches another from behind at a stop sign, signal, or intersection it is assumed many times that if the car is stopped in the intersection it is because the driver is incompetent or confused. The driver behind many times will not see the pedestrian or cyclist that the first vehicle is yielding to. Horn honking and hand gestures are the usual result.

However this morning the impatient driver didn't even wait but continued into opposing traffic to and narrowly escaped from hitting me (see map below).

This morning's incident brings up to important questions:

1. Does a struggling downtown still need to give automobiles top priority or should it encourage shoppers, residents, students, and employees to the area by making the streets safer and more comfortable. Should we revert 3rd and 4th Streets back to two-way streets?
2. Given that 4th Street is a high speed connector to the Interstate, if the driver had hit me would she have continued at high speed to the freeway without stopping? Hit and run incidents are becoming more common.
3. This intersections is only two blocks from a large downtown elementary school which is in conflict to a move traffic at high speeds at all cost policy.

So more than just provide a two minute public comment at planning meetings let your elected officials (and your newspaper's auto columnist) know how dangerous your streets are. In fact encourage them to try walking, cycling, or taking transit for at least one month to experience the status of our streets. Until then, Level of Service might as just as well be an indicator for Level of Casualties.

View San Jose City Hall in a larger map

City of San Jose to host public meetings on bikeway improvements

Photo: StreetsblogSF

The City of San Jose's Department of Transportation will be holding two neighborhood meetings highlighting exciting changes to downtown streets. Come get the latest and most detailed information and provide input to these long awaited projects.

Please also pass this information along to your bicycling friends as well. (Check map links for detail room locations at City Hall)

10th &11th Street Bike Lane Improvement Project
Neighborhood Meeting

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM
Location:  City Hall Wing, Room W-119 & 120, 200 E. Santa Clara Street
Description: Class II Bike Lanes on 10th & 11th Streets (between Hedding and Keyes Streets)

Agenda:
  1. Sign In
  2. Project Overview Review 
  3. Project Update and Schedule                    
  4. Question and Answer Portion                        
  5. Adjournment


3rd  Street, 4th Street & Almaden Blvd Bike Lane Improvement Project
Neighborhood Meeting

Date: Monday, February 27, 2012
Time: 6.30 PM
Location: City Hall Wing, Room W-119 & 120, 200 E. Santa Clara Street
Description:  Class II Bike Lanes on 3rd & 4th Streets (between Julian/St. James and Reed Street)
                    Class II Bike Lanes on Almaden Boulevard (between St. John and Grant Street)

Agenda:                
  1. Sign In            
  2. Project Overview Review
  3. Project Update and Schedule 
  4. Question and Answer Portion   
  5. Adjournment

Santa Clara to Diridon Station capital improvements almost complete



New underground passageway
 is now complete.



South Terminal Station Improvement Project

Phase I - Construction is almost complete at the Santa Clara and Diridon San Jose Caltrain Stations on track, signaling, and platform improvements. These improvements fit into a larger plan to upgrade the Caltrain system in preparation for electrification in 2015. With a new signal and track improvements between the two stations track capacity will increase. Due to the current reduced capacity a slight delay in the Caltrain system can have effects on other train lines. The total cost of Phase I of this project is $52 million which is funded through Federal, State, Regional, and Local sources.



View from Santa Clara Station

 SE to downtown San Jose. New platform

improvements are visible in the background

 (just before the train).



Most riders coming into Diridon station have noticed that the train slows to a crawl on the last two miles before reaching the station. Now with the new system trains will not only come into Diridon faster, but the system will allow for additional trains. The new improvements also added an additional track to the Santa Clara Station which will require not only an additional platform but a safe passageway to the platform as well.





Two new tracks (four platforms at 1,200 feet in length) are being added to Diridon Station. With five different train operations (Caltrain, Amtrak Coast Starlight, Amtrak Capitol Corridor, ACE, and Union Pacific freight trains) using the station it can get a bit hectic at times.

Phase II - This phase will consist of the addition of an additional mainline track which will allow for operational flexibility north of the station benefit the Caltrain, ACE, and Capitol Corridor systems. This will allow these train lines to increase service levels in the future. The total cost of Phase II of the project is $37 million.



New platform

improvements are

almost done.



Caltrain by the Numbers

Passengers: 11.9 million annually

Trains: 98 weekdays, 32 Saturdays, 28 Sundays

Stations: 32

Track Miles: 50 mainline and 27 - commute hour only.

Terminals: San Francisco, San Jose, and Gilroy





Looking North.
Concrete work on right
will include skylighting
within the passageway.



The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Great autumn commute this morning,

The Good. Yellow leaves on Curtner.
.

The Bad. Black Holes on South First.

The Ugly. The official city tree, sycamores in fall on Meridian.

Blast from the Past - Thinking of the Current Transportation System as a Health and Safety Issue

This was originally posted on my sister blog - One Less Car in the Silcon Valley. I am reposting here due to the recent increase in pedestrian and cyclists casualties. I hope to have more updates and comments later. Notice the links to fatal Silicon Valley accidents at the bottom of the post. I used to geo-track these statistics to get a sense the most dangerous Silicon Valley roadways.

All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

You've got to say, 
"I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!" 


Three vehicular events in the Silicon Valley area this weekend highlight the fact that we are all subject to property damage, trauma, critical injury and even death from vehicles.  With this weekends death of a solo driver in Los Altos, a hit and run pedestrian accident in downtown San Jose, and a hit and run accident involving two cyclists, we need to stop and seriously consider the pain and suffering these events cause.

I am acquainted with Ashley (Ashleigh), through work and we share several mutual friends.  Ashley was riding with her boyfriend  this weekend when she was struck by a car that drove into the bike lane.  As I have written before, death and injury has visited family members, a favored author (David Hallberstam's tragic death near the Dumbarton Bridge), three high school friends, a college friend, and bike riding buddies.  Many years ago, while riding my bike, I witnessed a accident victim's final seconds as the blood from his head flowed onto the asphalt, on that early spring morning.  I was stunned and helpless.  Unable to move the truck that had just slammed his head to the ground and was now pinning his body to the roadway, all  I remember was the color of  his face, and how it seemed to change color the more his blood drained from his motionless head.

Several years after witnessing speeding and erratic behavior by a driver on a southbound San Diego Freeway, I came upon the prostrate body of the driver in the middle lane; motionless as we drove by, suddenly making the connection that the driver had met his end in his own horrific way.

With almost two years of a car free lifestyle under my belt, people often ask me; "isn't bike riding dangerous?  I'm to afraid to ride my bike.  I think I'll just go to a spin class instead."  First, bikes can be dangerous, but not many people fail to consider the large number of car accidents every year; whether classified as solo vehicular accidents, alcohol related accidents, accidents due to youth and inexperience, or just sheer and utter stupidity.  We seem to just accept, "as if that's the way it's supposed to be.   

"We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." 

Ask anyone who rides or walks and they will tell you horror stories of the streets.  Freeing yourself from the cocoon of your car you notice more.  In the two years since my own accident, I have witnessed four accidents involving a car running a red light ( myself  a victem as well).  Of those four, I was the first responder on three of them.  One involved a person trying to flee the scene.  Six victims required medical attention.

 In the two years since giving up my car in favor of a lifestyle involving cycling, walking and public transportation as a means of mobility, I have kept tract of most of the accidents involving cars, whether solo, with other cars, with bicycles, or pedestrians.  Also motorcycle accidents; which seem almost to be predictable in rider age and accident location are document.

We strikes me and also troubles me the most however is the continued increase in hit and run accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.  I have read somewhere that it may approach 50%.  That would be one out of two accidents involve a vehicle leaving the scene; an absolute disgrace on any measure of moral, ethic, or civic responsibility.

Anyway here are three Google Maps so far that I have put together.
(Blue - Vehicle, Red - Pedestrian, Yellow - Motorcycle, Green - Cyclists) Dot in the marker represents a fatality.

2007

2008

2009

Airport Service Road Closed-but not for cyclists

Ewert Rd. a little used access road just to the north of the main San Jose International Airport runways is a great cut through from the Guadalupe River trail system to Central Expressway and De la Cruz Avenue. Due to recent airport changes the area has been abandoned by the car parking lots, the rental agencies, and some freight operations.

Currently work is being done on the main sewer pipes leading to the bay so the the lane has been closed. However it is still open to bicycle traffic making the East / West ride.







View Larger Map

2nd Annual Walk 2 School Day a big success

 

Asembly member Paul Fong
 with Walk 2 School Organizer
Richard Zappelli


This morning Lincoln Avenue in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose was full of children walking and bicycling to school. Over 400 children and their parents gathered in the Bank of America parking lot to gather their baloons in preparation for one of three trips to Willow Glen Elementary, River Glen Elementary, and Hammer/Galarza Elementary school.

This event which was organized by local resident Richard Zapelli is in its second year. This year several local elected officials who recognize the value of walking and bicycling to school were on hand to send the kids off. California Assembly members Jim Beall and Paul Fong were on hand as well as San Jose City Council members Donald Rocha and Pierluigi Oliverio.



Archie Moore, Councilmember
Oliverio, Richard Zapelli and
 local students prepare to
Walk to School

Willow Glen Neigborhood
President David Dearborn and
VTA's Brandi Childress

Yellow Balloons were
out everywhere this morning



Asembly member Paul Fong
 with Walk 2 School Organizer
Richard Zappelli

New Santa Clara bicycle improvements

While cycling along Monroe St. in Santa Clara this morning, I got the chance to see the city's recently installed bike lane and lane reduction project.

The main funding sources were from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's (BAAQMD) Transportation Fund for Clean Air and TDA BEP (Transportation Development Account- Bicycle Expenditure Program) funds.


The road diet is on Monroe Street from Scott Boulevard west to San Tomas Expressway connecting to the recently completed San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail. To see how the roadway looked prior to the work see the satellite image map below. Let's hope the city continues with the project to the west of San Tomas given that the four lanes encourage drivers to speed through a residential neighborhood.



The project does include a portion of the bike lane that is colored green at the intersection of Scott and Monroe (see picture), but the green paint is surely need as you cross San Tomas Expressway.


- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Monroe Street and Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, Ca

Toyota's Mea Culpa - fund industry safety research

Toyota announced on Wednesday that they will be partnering with leading universities in automotive safety studies. Toyota is stepping up research partnerships with several U.S. universities to study increasingly important safety issues facing the auto industry. This was prompted by public and congressional backlash after series of deadly accidents caused by stuck accelerators (later proven to be caused by poorly designed floormats). Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) announced that they will spend $50 million over the next five years to "better protect the most vulnerable traffic populations, including children, teens, seniors and pedestrians."

This announcement comes after congressional, media, and public scrutiny on the heels of the widespread safety and quality issues during 2010. Toyota has vowed not only to take on the cost of the research but also to share it with others in the auto industry. It is interesting to note the new found willingness on the part of Toyota to not only bring their research out in the open but their willingness share it with the industry after spending $50 million for the academic partnerships. Given Toyota's previous reluctance to share safety data this is a big departure from the past.

In the Wall Street Journal version of this story reporter Neil Boudette picks op this gem of a quote;

"Twelve teens die each day in accidents," said Tina Brunetti Sayer, an engineer at Toyota's Collaborative Safety Research Center, the group set up to work with outside institutes in North America. "That's 5,000 a year. This is a group that really needs help in learning to drive."

Did you catch that, "this is a group that really needs help in learning to drive." The engineer assumes that all teenagers drive and secondly that these deaths could be stopped or mitigated by giving driving education "help" to these teens.






Here is an abbreviated list of the universities that Toyota will be collaborating with allong with the reasearch outline.

The Transportation Active Safety Institute at Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis

· Pedestrian Pre-Collision Systems (PCS) Test Scenarios

A five-year study to develop testing protocols for automotive PCS designed to prevent pedestrian-related car accidents. The study will draw on available crash data in NHTSA databases and original vehicle testing to develop more sophisticated and realistic test scenarios for PCS with the goal of improving pedestrian safety.

Note: In the Wall Street journal article the author additionally states that; "Indiana University and Purdue University also are developing radar and camera technology to prevent collisions with pedestrians"

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

· Posture, Body Shape, and Seatbelt Fit in Senior Drivers
An 18-month project to study the relationship between age and seated occupant posture, body shape, and seatbelt fit. The project seeks to determine if senior drivers and passengers sit differently in the vehicle, to characterize exterior body shape changes that occur with age, and to understand how these factors influence seat belt fit. The statistical models resulting from the study can be used to better understand senior occupant kinetics and injury patterns in a crash event.

Wake Forest School of Medicine

· Advanced Automated Crash Notification

A one-year partnership to develop vehicle computer systems that not only notify first responders in the event of a collision, but also predict the likelihood and severity of occupant and driver injuries.

Note: This sounds like an medical engineering nightmare. Sensors in your car will determine the extent of your injuries and relay this information to the first responders. This however will not be avaiblable to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Wayne State University School of Medicine

· Driver Distraction: Cognitive Model & Validation

A three-year collaborative study to better understand the cognitive aspect of driver distraction. Combining research in the fields of driver behavior, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, the project will advance the auto industry’s understanding of a phenomenon that has been widely blamed for many accidents and injuries on U.S. roads and highways.

Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center Announces 10 New Projects and Six New Partnerships With Leading Academic and Research Institutions

Totyota Teams Up For Safety Studies - Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2011

Fatality Statistics - NHTSA FARS National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration - Fatality Analysis and Reporting System

Location:Civic Center Dr,Santa Clara,United States

City of San Jose sponsoring lunchtime bike seminar

Kidical Mass Participants
enjoying the "May Day Ride"

The city of San Jose is sponsoring a free lunch-hour seminar on practical cycling tips for commuting, shopping, and exercising. The seminar will be held in the main city hall building on the 5th floor, Room 550 at 200 E. Santa Clara, St., San Jose. For more info or to register contact John Brazil (john.brazil@sanjoseca.gov), Bicycle Coordinator with the City of San Jose no later than August 16, 2001.

See flyer below for more info:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA

This was not an accident! - Crash Kills Mom, Uncle, One Twin Son, other Twin on Life Support

We are so used to seeing those two words Traffic Accident.  But many times the incident cannot be described as an accident.  Trees falling in the roadway striking a car; that's an accident.  Deer enters the roadway causing a car to loose control; that's an accident.  But the Modesto Bee calls it an accident.

The solo vehicle accident claimed the lives of two of the Terras' adopted children, David, 20, and Sara, 23. Sara Terra's 3-year-old identical twin boys, Jason and Jessie Woodson, were critically injured. One later died.

Here are some reasons it doesn't warrant the term "traffic accident"

1. The car was travelling at a high rate of speed.
   
2. The car was seen to be weaving in and out of traffic.
   
3. The 3 year old twins were not placed in car seats.
   
4. The twins were not restrained in any manner.
   
5. The driver was driving on a suspended license.
   
6. The driver was described as smelling of alcohol (toxicology tests pending).
   
7. The driver was driving on one the most dangerous days of the year (Memorial Day Holiday).
   
8. The driver was driving at one of the most dangerous times of the day (or night).
   

With all of these risks; most of which were obvious to the mother, why did Sara Marie Terra allow her and her family to be driven in such a risky situation.  Three lives lost with one twin unlikely to make it of of life support; this shouldn't have happened.

Gone in an Instant: Modesto family devastated by Oakland wreck- Modesto Bee

Three Year Old Has No Brain Activity - SJ Mercury News 5-27-2009

Tragedy in the South San Francisco Bay This Weekend.

This weekend the Bay Area lost two 16 year olds to tragic traffic accidents this weekend; one in Union City and One in Half Moon Bay. Not only is the coincidence of the events striking, but the young age that they were taken from us should not go unnoticed.

Juan Rodelas Jr . was killed and his passenger was injured after Rodelas lost control of his speeding Corvette on Central Avenue in Union City.

An unidentified 16 year old male was struck by a car while crossing Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay just before midnight on Friday (Google Maps ).


View 2009 Fatal Vehicular Accidents in South San Franciso Bay in a larger map

Santa Clara County Sheriff Pleads Guilty in the Death of Two Cyclists

Sentencing Set for June 25

Deputy James "Tommy" Council pleaded guilty yesterday (May 8, 2009) in the deaths of two local cyclists Matt Peterson and Kristianna Gough. 

Thinking of the Current Transportation System as a Health and Safety Issue

All I know is that first you've got to get mad.

You've got to say, 
"I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!" 


Three vehicular events in the Silicon Valley area this weekend highlight the fact that we are all subject to property damage, trauma, critical injury and even death from vehicles.  With this weekends death of a solo driver in Los Altos, a hit and run pedestrian accident in downtown San Jose, and a hit and run accident involving two cyclists, we need to stop and seriously consider the pain and suffering these events cause.

I am acquainted with Ashley (Ashleigh), through work and we share several mutual friends.  Ashley was riding with her boyfriend  this weekend when she was struck by a car that drove into the bike lane.  As I have written before, death and injury has visited family members, a favored author (David Hallberstam's tragic death near the Dumbarton Bridge), three high school friends, a college friend, and bike riding buddies.  Many years ago, while riding my bike, I witnessed a accident victim's final seconds as the blood from his head flowed onto the asphalt, on that early spring morning.  I was stunned and helpless.  Unable to move the truck that had just slammed his head to the ground and was now pinning his body to the roadway, all  I remember was the color of  his face, and how it seemed to change color the more his blood drained from his motionless head.

Several years after witnessing speeding and erratic behavior by a driver on a southbound San Diego Freeway, I came upon the prostrate body of the driver in the middle lane; motionless as we drove by, suddenly making the connection that the driver had met his end in his own horrific way.

With almost two years of a car free lifestyle under my belt, people often ask me; "isn't bike riding dangerous?  I'm to afraid to ride my bike.  I think I'll just go to a spin class instead."  First, bikes can be dangerous, but not many people fail to consider the large number of car accidents every year; whether classified as solo vehicular accidents, alcohol related accidents, accidents due to youth and inexperience, or just sheer and utter stupidity.  We seem to just accept, "as if that's the way it's supposed to be.   

"We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." 

Ask anyone who rides or walks and they will tell you horror stories of the streets.  Freeing yourself from the cocoon of your car you notice more.  In the two years since my own accident, I have witnessed four accidents involving a car running a red light ( myself  a victem as well).  Of those four, I was the first responder on three of them.  One involved a person trying to flee the scene.  Six victims required medical attention.  

 In the two years since giving up my car in favor of a lifestyle involving cycling, walking and public transportation as a means of mobility, I have kept tract of most of the accidents involving cars, whether solo, with other cars, with bicycles, or pedestrians.  Also motorcycle accidents; which seem almost to be predictable in rider age and accident location are document.

We strikes me and also troubles me the most however is the continued increase in hit and run accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.  I have read somewhere that it may approach 50%.  That would be one out of two accidents involve a vehicle leaving the scene; an absolute disgrace on any measure of moral, ethic, or civic responsibility.

Anyway here are three Google Maps so far that I have put together.
(Blue - Vehicle, Red - Pedestrian, Yellow - Motorcycle, Green - Cyclists) Dot in the marker represents a fatality.

2007

2008 

2009

Car Wash for Car Crash Victims

This isn't the first time I have seen car washes held to raise funds for car crash victim's. The article states that the young victims loved cars, only to die in a car.
Friends, family pitch in to aid young San Jose crash victims-San Jose Mercury News

with permission from A. Singer