We've Moved!

Our blog has moved to http://www.rahmanlawsf.com/blog/

This site will no longer be updated so be sure to check out our new home for the most recent posts.

Congratulations San Francisco!

We are the 4th fittest city in the Nation!

Keep up all of the cycling, walking and general healthiness.

Source: SF Streetsblog

Memorial Day Weekend Kicks Off Most Dangerous Time to be on the Road

Memorial Day weekend kicks off summer in California with great weather, end-of-the school year celebrations, picnics and barbecues. It also kicks off the most dangerous time of the year to be on the roads in California.

May-September sees nearly twice as many fatal motorcycle crashes as other months. Better weather means more people on the roads and this has already led to a spike in vehicle-related fatalities this year. Failure to wear seat belts and drinking-while-driving are huge factors in these accidents.

CHP Officers advise awareness of one's surroundings and caution when on the roads. "I don't think the average citizen realizes how many impaired drivers they share the road with" cautioned CHP Officer Sarah Jackson.

California has amazing weather, plenty of attractions and out-door activities and tons of roads to travel and explore.  However, it is important to be aware and to be safe when sharing the road.


Source: SJ Mercury News Article

BART Bike Plan Focuses on Secure Parking

BART is setting a goal in its new bike plan to double the rate of passengers who bike, currently at 4%, within 10 years. Their updated bike plan includes:

• Expansion of secure parking facilities 
• Reduction of 'blackout periods'
• Reevaluation of the bike ban on escalators

According to a SF Streetsblog post, the plan is supported by the SF Examiner and the SF Bicycle Coalition. SFBC Executive Director Leah Shahum commented that the organization "commends the BART leadership for stepping up their commitment to encouraging more bicycles on and to the BART stations." 

The final plan will be presented to the BART Board on June 14, 2012. 

The draft BART bike plan can be accessed in its entirety here. 

Shaana Rahman Featured in the American Association for Justice's Trial Magazine

For their February 2012 edition entitled "Moving Violations", the AAJ's Trial Magazine chose to address motor vehicle and bike accidents and their place in the law. As such, I'm pleased to say that our very own Shaana Rahman was featured in Trial Magazine with her highly informative essay on what attorneys representing bicyclists should expect, and what they should be doing to protect your rights.

Rising Rate of Pedestrian Accidents Caused by Headphone Use

"Injuries to pedestrians wearing headphones have more than tripled in six years, say researchers from the University of Maryland."

On the average day, we see dozens of people walking across the street with headphones plugged into their ears. And as city-dwellers, we are practically allergic to silence. So it's not difficult to feel a bit scared when we read statistics that say, out of the times where headphone-wearing pedestrians have been deaf to train whistles and car horns, 3/4ths of them end in fatalities.

According to a Care2 article, "Distraction and sensory deprivation while using electronic devices is called 'inattentional blindness'." Case reports published by associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland, Dr. Lichenstein, and his associates listed the following statistics regarding injured pedestrians who were wearing headphones at the time of their accidents:

• 68% of victims were males.
• 67% of victims were under 30 years old.
• Over 50% of accidents involved trains
• 29% of vehicles involved reported sounding a warning prior to the accident

While pedestrians have no control over reckless drivers, they can help their odds at least a little by keeping their ears open. So try to keep both unplugged and aware of your surroundings out there.

Used Motorcycle Review's "Most Common Causes for Motorcycle Accidents"

Last Thursday's Used Motorcycle Review's blog post touched upon the 4 Most Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents. These are the difficulties faced by motorcycle riders that might be helpful to keep in mind while riding safely:

1. Driver Negligence/Blind Spot

Many drivers have difficulty spotting or noticing motorcyclists on the road.

"Approximately 70% of collisions are the result of the negligence of drivers."

2. Poor Road Conditions

Many collisions occur "due to the presence of curbs, debris, potholes, bumps or even roadside barriers" when a rider tries to avoid an accident. These are the accidents that have caused severe lower body and spinal damage, and sometimes even brain damage.

3. Speed Disparities

Accidents don't always occur because of speeding, but can also occur as a result of going too slowly, compared to traffic flow around the rider. These accidents manifest as rear-ending or being rear-ended.

4. Other Factors

- Climbing skill of the driver

- Drunk driving

- Undivided roads

- Aggressive driving/recklessness

- Old bikes or old bike parts

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Source: Used Motorcycle Review

Assembly Bill 819 to Aid Bikeway Developments

For those unfamiliar with it, Assembly Bill 819 is the important new bill that would give California cities a significant boost towards advancing bikeway designs and renovations. Introduced in February 2011, the bill aims to "amend Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to bikeways." The bill's opening statement is as follows:

"Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with county and city governments, to establish minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways, and authorizes cities, counties, and local agencies to establish bikeways

[...]

This bill would include a class IV bikeway among the bikeways subject to the above provisions and would define a class IV bikeway to include a segregated bike lane which provides exclusive use of bicycles on streets, as specified." ^[1]

How would AB 819 change current bikeway advocacy plans?

Around this time last year, select San Francisco streets were newly painted with green bike boxes. The effort and lobbying put into implementing these boxes are often ignored, but it is important to acknowledge that just these 7 boxes took a year to complete. ^{[4, 5]}

Such delays in development are caused by current state laws and Caltrans guidelines, which dictate what and how new bikeways are created. And "under current state law, facilities like protected bike lanes and bike boxes--which are not established within Caltrans guidelines--must go through an expensive and time-consuming approval process." ^[2]

Meanwhile, AB 819 would allow planners to "use guidelines that have been established outside Caltrans, like the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, which includes designs for protected bikeways." Such guidelines have allowed cities like New York, Chicago, and DC to develop protected bikeways with greater ease, efficiency, and therefore success than those in San Francisco. ^[3]

Current status of AB 819

Last Monday, the State Assemble Transportation Committee passed AB 819, but with crucial corrections. The amended bill "would only require Caltrans to create an experimentation process through which engineers can establish bikeway standards" ^[3] before making any real and effective changes to bike lanes and bikeways.

Though a step forward, it is still not the greenlight the California Bicycle Coalition and other advocacy groups have been waiting for. Despite such setbacks CBC Communications Director Jim Brown says, "We're continuing to work with Caltrans to figure out how innovative bikeway designs already used in other parts of the U.S. and Europe can be implemented in California." ^[3]

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Sources:

¹ AB 819 Assembly Bill

² New Bill Could Free CA Planners to Use More Innovative Bikeway Designs

³ State Assembly Undermines Bill to Let California Cities Build Safer Bikeways

⁴ Eyes on the Street: San Francisco's First Green Bike Box Remains Unfinished

⁵ Eyes on the Street: San Francisco's First Green Bike Box Gets Bike Stencil