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No statistics here, but....in my semi-rural neighborhood it went nuts almost a year ago. Electric bikes, trikes. even an ellipti-go in the neighborhood. Now we are almost back to pre-pandemic.
Video captured footage of a driver hit-and-running a kid riding his bike in the bicycle lane:
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local … 87929af259
I didn't watch the video.
I would have a hard time watching that also. Bad enough to know that it happened.
Here's hoping the driver is caught.
The drivers who get their panties in a wad about bicyclists rolling stop signs are curiously silent about incidents like this one.
Plastic posts are all there is to discourage someone of jumping on or off a Mopac toll lane in a non-approved spot.
Plastic or not, I would not risk tearing up the bottom of my car by driving over those.
It was far more acceptable 30 years ago. I had my last drink about 25 years ago. Before that I stopped for a stout drink -- or more -- every night driving home. I deserved literally thousands of DUIs and never got one.
But agreed, we have a long way to go.
Don
A little safety booklet provided by the scooter companies. Renter has to sign that he read and understands the rules?
Except that won't work they way these are rented. Perhaps part of the app is a page that stays up for 30 seconds. "DO NOT RIDE AGAINST TRAFFIC!!"
Wrong-way is the worst thing. I have seen very few cyclists doing this lately unless so slow it almost makes sense.
There was a scooter in the parking space in front of the shop a few days ago. When you move one an alarm goes off.
There was another behind the gate in my little driveway -- gate was closed and locked. I don't understand that.
I was not very gentle when I moved it out of the way. Tempted to throw the next one in the scrap metal recylcing barrel. :)
Don
And the scooter operator could well have been killed, making me have a really bad day despite being relatively blameless -- at least IMHO.
I was at Terry Black's BBQ on Barton Springs parked nose in at one the 90* spaces at the street. There was a pickup to my right so visibility to the west was not great. I looked all around and checked my rearview mirror and rearview camera and all looked clear. I was slowly backing out and fortunately, out of the corner of my eye, saw and stopped for a WRONG-WAY scooter operator to my left hauling ass west in the bike lane. Thank god an excellent eye doc arrested glaucoma before I lost significant peripheral vision.
Not the first wrong-way scooter operator I have seen, and yes, wrong-way is fine for walking but not for 20 mph+ speeds!
I guarantee that scooter operator hasn't a clue how stupid his behavior is.
OK, heart rate and blood pressure starting to come down now.
Don
Doug dropped by to meet us before we went on our Sunday AM ride. He was walking on his own, wearing a back brace. Working from home. More than 5 months before he can get back on a bike. All things considered and given that he could have easily become paralyzed and a paraplegic, he is doing quite well.
Don
Damn! Doug, is there anything we can do for you? Visitors? 90% quality real chocolate? Would be far more nourishing than hospital food!
Don
And my cell, five-one-two-4l3-7oo1
I'll leave sharing the details to Doug, but I did want to quickly assuage folks worry. I spoke with him online earlier this morning, and he is in good spirits and recovering.
Jason, thank you!
Mr. Bluejay's post had me feeling really bad! Not feeling good, but better, now.
Don
I am going to try a new tactic. The next time this happens, I will first vigorously wave the driver on his way, then quickly look down at my front tire and grab it as if to check for a flat. I will attempt to keep an eye on traffic while appearing to be distracted by a mechanical issue in the hopes that the driver will just go ahead and move through the intersection. This may be more complicated if there are other drivers also approaching the intersection, but I will experiment to see what might be done.
I wish the over abundance of 'courtesy' had been around when my chain snapped while I was crossing 1325 and cr172 in rush hour traffic. Could have used it then! Oh well, I'm still alive.
Pull out your water bottle and have a swig or two.
Don
Wow. Your experience and mine seem to differ greatly, here in the same city. Sometimes a driver does something poorly (intentionally or not) in my vicinity and sometimes a knuckle-dragger yells something at me, and sometimes a "coal roller" will do his "thing," but the vast vast majority of rides to and from work, or to and from whatever errand, or out and about for exercise/recreation, whether alone or in a group, go without any sort of aggravation at all. Sometimes drivers even show a ridiculous level of caring courtesy.*
*not that I'd be sure a driver would stick around were an accident to happen. http://cyclingsavvy.org/2017/10/stories-from-the-road/
Jack, that has been my experience also. It has been quite a while since a motorist has been intentionally rude to me. My biggest issue is when the motorist clearly has the right-of-way but does not just take and then we can move on.
Don
I feel you. I used to take S. 5th when I did a commute in that area in the early 90s. I probably took S. 1st once, and then said, "Not doing *that* again."
I think many new cyclists just take the same streets they used for driving, not realizing they should choose entirely different streets. That was one of the first things I pointed out in a recent lecture I did on bike safety, that when you start biking instead of driving, you should try to go through neighborhoods as much as possible and avoid high-speed streets that don't have enough room for bikes.
I guess that is why. When I choose a route I question and consider EVERYTHING. I live out in Oak Hill off of Circle Drive. I came up with a couple of what I consider quite creative routes in to my shop on south 1st. I could have just ridden on the side of 290 and saved about 3 miles, but that seemed like an incredibly bad idea!
Don
Yes it is totally legal to ride on this stretch, and it is legal to take the lane as well. But why would somebody want to do that? Just to prove a point? I have a business at 1636 S 1st and also cycle a lot so I am somewhat familiar with the area. No bike lanes and traffic that is, at times, quite heavy and is not particularly bike-friendly. I see wrecks in front of my shop on a regular basis. Haven't seen one with a cyclist involved, but did see an innocent motorcyclist injured and his bike totalled. A block or two or three to the west we have Dawson/S. 5th, Bouldin, and further south we have Garden Villa and S 2nd. These streets have a tiny fraction of the traffic that S 1st has, and vehicles speeds are much lower and drivers also seem more accommodating. If one is riding for the sake of riding as opposed to commuting and needing the very fastest most direct route possible, why would anybody ride an unfriendly street when friendly alternatives exist? The riders I see seem to be fitness riders not people going to work. A cyclist friend who lives a few blocks south of my shop says she would never ride S 1st either.
Somebody tell me what I am missing here?
Don
I guess it depends on exactly what those tickets were for. The article says she is legally blind. If she got a ticket for something she did while driving legally blind, I say Hell No! If these are just parking tickets, and tickets for non moving things like parking on the wrong side of the road, I wouldn't feel as strongly.
But yeah, my initial reaction was similar. I am fed up with car drivers getting away with everything up to and including murder.
$790 seems like a lot of tickets. I'd kind of like to know that she came away from it with a better sense of citizenship before I use up all of my tissues crying over this story.
Her driving at all -- even parking a car -- if legally blind is NOT good. I would like to think the tickets were from before she became legally blind, but blindness is not usually an overnight condition.
Don
Whatever we can get is good, but visit Portland, Oregon and you will see how dramatically behind Austin is!
Don
Thank you Michael. I can't get behind being outraged over the denial of freedom to put innocent people's lives in danger. That is essentially the argument, unless one feels that texting while driving is safe for the overwhelming majority of motorists and I consider that notion absurd.
Don in Austin
Don,
Agreed that the trail is about 11 miles complete now.
Thanks for leading the rides from your shop in south austin up the SWCT. Wife and I have both/each wanted to ride with your group bringing others, as many folks in South Austin have not ridden the trail or even know it is out there. I have been riding it before it was opened or even complete. We connected through the incomplete portions. I now regularly use the SWTC for commuting and connecting to our NE. It is my preferred route to get NE of 183/71 interchange to MLK, Loyola, Travis County Expo, and beyond. I regularly ride the trail to get up to the Travis County Agriculture Extension Office and Travis County complex on Blue Bluff Rd. It is very useful and of very high quality. Thanks again for leading groups by bike across our city and for a lap of what I consider to be the current best bicycle facility/Urban Trail in COA.By the way, I have ridden this trail from south austin on my main heavy duty commuter/touring rig, my steel CX touring rig, my old Univega road bike, my old steel Bridgestone mtn bike, and our Triple Tandem Family Traveler 20" wheel Bike Friday, Wife and I have made the run from SA and lap on trail pulling one kiddo each on Adams TrailABike tag alongs behind steel rigid mtn bikes a couple of different times. Ours are set up for multi-surface commuting. It is odd to see the people on fat bikes riding the glassy smooth concrete trail, though. I have also seen cargo bikes and even one bakfiets on the trail. Multiple 'bents.
Edited to Add:
Don,
I posted your ride on Bicycle Austin Rides and Events and Nextdoor South Austin Neighborhoods. Hope you don't mind.
Thanks,
L
I certainly do NOT mind! The more the better. Hope to see you out there one of these days.
Don
"Encompassing more than 7.3 miles of multi-use trail....."
I think that "7.3" miles is out of date. Its almost 11 now one way.
I have one one of a more than a few organized rides on this trail: https://www.meetup.com/Austin-Cycling-M … 234623313/
The rides are quite popular.
More power to those who have the strength to do this, of course! But it is a little amusing to see folks on MTBs with knobby tires damn near 4" wide riding on this almost virgin concrete! I can hear them a mile away! But again, more power to them!
Come join us Saturday!
Don
Don
I lived in Austin for 15 years, and just moved to Portland a year ago. There is more bike infrastructure here, but the biggest difference is the attitude of the drivers. It took me a while to get used to cars giving me the right-of-way even when I wasn't legally entitled to it.
Indeed! You might as well go and take advantage of it because they WON'T go until its clear! I always tried to make a point of acknowledging their offer.
Still have to watch for inattentive drivers, just like anywhere else, but the level of aggression towards cyclists is much lower here.
Rod
We got yelled at one time -- without justification IMHO. But at least the girl did not attempt vehicular assault. Mostly drivers were very respectful of us. That said, it was almost nowhere put to the test of having to ride without a bike lane, if not a dedicated asphalt path.
Don in Austin
Recently went on vacation to Portland for a week and was blessed with no rain! I did a little riding on my own and went on three Meetup group rides. I was highly impressed with an extensive network of bike only smooth asphalt highways that spanned considerable distance all over the city. Well over 50% of our riding was on these. Where these crossed streets with moderate or less traffic the bike boulevard had the stop signs and not the street. However -- which took a little getting used to -- the cars would inevitably stop until the bikes passed. Friendly waves would be exchanged. Traffic control at complex downtown intersections was very sophisticated with lots of green bike-only boxes to protect from right hooks.
And they had good light rail. Carry your bike into the railcar no problem.
We have such a long way to go, I wonder if we will ever get there give what ROW costs now.
Will be vacationing there again!
Don in Austin
Rear wheel drive, geared, a Shimano IGH 8 speed would be ideal. I would put a two speed crank on the front for greater range if not already so equipped. Should have plenty of adjustment for seat and reach. Does NOT have to be feather light.
512-413 seven oh oh 1
don /at/ donsautomotive.com
I think I would rather take out my own kidneys with a spoon than read AAS comments that have anything to do with bicycle issues. I would be beyond discouraged! Just talking to the people I know - the ones who know I commute by bike - is discouraging enough.
I hear you brother! And how many times have you heard we might be worthy of respect if we were made to buy license plates for our bikes?
Don in Austin
Anyway, the penalty for hit-and-run with serious injury is 2 to 10 years. I'll be surprised if the driver gets more than two years, but I guess the chances are greater because he's a minority and an illegal alien. Comments in the Statesman article are calling for his head because of that, as though American citizens don't routinely hit-and-run each other too.
Don't read that dialogue unless you want to get really discouraged!
Don in Austin
There are some highly negative reviews of this man on Google. He appears to have paid Yelp to pull the negative reviews on their site.
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