Subject:     Bicycle Newsletter 6-16-00
Date:        6/16/00 10:33 AM
Received:    6/16/00 10:42 AM
From:        Michael Bluejay, bluejay@mail.com
To:          Bicycle Newsletter, austin-bike-news@topica.com

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     /__/   ==       
      /_____/       BICYCLING IN AUSTIN NEWSLETTER
  ___/ \  _/ \___   covering bikes as alternative transportation
 /  /\  \/___/\  \ 
 \___/   &   \___/  bluejay@mail.com  *  michaelbluejay.com/bicycle

  Michael Bluejay, editor                              June 16, 2000
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[See the very end of the newsletter for how to subscribe/unsubscribe.]

[Please visit our website:  http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle ]


T W O   W H E E L S   G O O D ,   F O U R   W H E E L S   B A A A A D.
######################################################################
####  LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS:
####
####      * ELECTION RESULTS
####      * BEN CLOUGH CASE POSTPONED
####      * CAMPO PASSES UNWORKABLE 25-YEAR PLAN
####      * LIGHT RAIL NEWS
####      * MAYOR WATSON PROPOSES FUNDING PLAN
####   
####  NATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS:
####      * BERKELEY CONSIDERS BAN ON CELL PHONE USE BY CYCLISTS
####      * GAS PRICES SOAR
#### 
####  NO JUSTICE FOR CYCLISTS
####
######################################################################


======================================================================
 LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- - - - - - - - - 
ELECTION RESULTS

   In our last issue, we endorsed Raul Alvarez in the runoff election 
for City Council.  Alvarez squeaked by, winning by just 201 votes.  
Bicycling in Austin has close to 600 subscribers.... Could we have made 
the difference in the election?  Probably not, but it's fun to 
fantasize.

   In the May election, local cycling celebrity Amy Babich lost her bid 
for a City Council seat.  And for the first time in a while, the Austin 
Chronicle's endorsees for council, generally seen as environmentalists, 
lost to the Statesman's endorsees, generally seen as more conservative. 
(Clare Barry and Willie Lewis lost to Will Wynn and Danny Thomas).  
Thomas was a police officer prior to joining the council, and it will
be interesting to see how he handles citizens' concerns about the
police, especially the disparity in justice afforded to cyclists vs.
motorists.

   In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate earlier this year, bicycle
advocate Charles Gandy was trounced by opponent Gene Kelly. Kelly faces
Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison in the November general election.

   More coverage at:  http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/elections.html



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
BEN CLOUGH CASE POSTPONED

   The case against the motorist who ran a red light and killed cyclist 
Ben Clough has been delayed, again, to Thursday, July 6th.  In related 
news, we discovered that the motorist's attorney is friends with at 
least one local judge.  Read more on our Ben Clough page:

   http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/justice/clough.html


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CAMPO PASSES UNWORKABLE 25-YEAR PLAN

   CAMPO is the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a 
governmental body made up of city councilmembers, state legislators, 
and others, which oversees transportation planning and funding for 
Travis County.  Earlier this month, CAMPO approved a 25-year plan 
which, according to the plan itself, we cannot afford.  The plan 
explains that new money will have be found somewhere to pay for all the 
mindless sprawl-inducing road-building they're planning, and they even 
mention LICENSING FEES FOR BICYCLISTS as a possible source of money!  
Read the sordid details at:

   http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/planning.html#campo2025


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
LIGHT RAIL NEWS

   MEETING:  The next general meeting of Light Rail Now is Saturday, 
June 17, 10am at the New World Deli (41st and Guadalupe).  All 
supporters of light rail are welcome.

   MAILING LIST:  To get on the light rail mailing list, send your 
request to nawdry@aol.com .

   WEB PAGE:  Check out our new coverage of light rail at:

      http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/rail

(Thanks to Phil Hallmark for keeping us updated about light rail.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
MAYOR WATSON PROPOSES FUNDING PLAN

  The mayor has proposed a regional source of money for transportation 
projects.  Read the article at:

  http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/roadways.html



======================================================================
 NATIONAL NEWS TIDBITS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BERKELEY CONSIDERS BAN ON CELL PHONE USE BY CYCLISTS

   This is just as absurd as it sounds.  Doesn't the real danger from 
cell phones come from MOTORISTS using them?  Not according to Betty 
Olds, a Berkeley, CA city councilmember who has proposed a ban of cell 
phone use by bicyclists, but not by motorists.  Get the full story:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/leads/stories_two/nocell_20000609.htm

(Thanks to reader and bicycle vigilante James from Chicago for
 alerting us to this issue.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GAS PRICES SOAR

   It's no secret that gas prices have been skyrocketing, with gas 
prices well over $2.00/gallon in many parts of the country.  The 
massive coverage that this issue is getting in the media speaks loudly 
to this country's oil addiction.  Of course, you'd have to expect that 
the gas price explosion would be a major news item, given that the 
media has been only too eager to report nickel-a-gallon increases over 
the years as though it were earthshaking news.  But for all the 
attention to this issue given by the media (along with the requisite 
whining by consumers), the media rarely mentions that gas is still 
cheaper in the U.S. than in any other western country, and that in 
terms of per capita use, we're far and away the world's energy hogs.  
Gas in European countries has been over $3/gallon for years, and was 
over $4.50/gallon in England in February (the most recent figure we 
could find as we went to press).  The media also rarely mentions that 
many world economists are predicting an end to cheap oil much earlier 
than originally thought, which could sharply increase the cost of 
commerce and increase tensions between various countries.  (Hello, 
Iraq/Kuwait/etc.)  Many expect a global oil crisis within the next 5-10 
years.  Here are links to more information:

 
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Project%20Censored/CensoredNews_1999.html

  (Scroll down to the last article, "Global Oil Reserves....")

 http://www.oilcrisis.com/debate/udall/joyride.htm

(Thanks to local transportation guru Roger Baker for his frequent
 warnings about the imminent intersection of the doo-doo and the
 ventilating device.)


======================================================================
 NO JUSTICE FOR CYCLISTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Motorists frequently receive little or no penalties when they're at 
fault for injuring or killing cyclists.  Frankly, this is such a huge 
issue that we could have a newsletter devoted to this issue alone.  
Even with the reduced coverage we do give to this topic in the 
newsletter, it's depressing to have to cover it.

There's a flipside to this issue that just adds insult to injury:  
while motorists get off the hook for hitting us even when it's their 
fault, cyclists routinely get ARRESTED and GO TO JAIL for minor traffic 
offenses like riding on the sidewalk.

Below are some details about recent cases.  For more coverage, check 
out the full reports on the website.  Also, this is an area that we 
haven't had a lot of time to investigate.  Please write if you'd like 
to volunteer to help with the research.  No Justice for Cyclists is at:

   http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/justice


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BEN CLOUGH'S KILLER MAY FACE NO PENALTY

The motorist who killed Ben Clough has been charged with Criminally 
Negligent Homicide for running a red light and killing Ben, and a trial 
is set for July 6th.  However, the motorist was never charged with 
running the red light in the first place.  That means that if she beats 
the homicide charge (a distinct possibility), then she won't have been 
penalized for even running the red light.  Gee, I got arrested for 
running a red light on my bicycle five years ago, but I didn't even 
kill anyone.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DPS BLAMES CYCLIST FOR GETTING HIT BY INTOXICATED DRIVER IN BIKE LANE

Here's an excerpt of an email we got from a reader, Amanda Smith
(Asmith@selec.net):

My father, Conrad F. Anderson, was struck and killed May 7, 2000 in 
Tomball, TX at about 8:15 a.m. by a drunk driver.  He was riding his 
bike on the shoulder and was hit by a 16-year-old and was killed on 
impact.  He was not wearing a helmet but we were told it would not have 
mattered anyway.  His neck was broken and his body had either been 
launched or drug 26ft. from original impact. His body was in such bad 
shape he was not suitable to view in an open casket funeral -- not just 
because of his head but due to the fact the funeral home could not 
patch all the leaks in his body. 

We were told by DPS that my father should not have been riding on the 
shoulder.  Just a little way from where he was riding is a posted sign 
for a bicycle lane.  We are outraged that this thought could even be 
uttered considering the blood of the criminal in question contained 
cocaine, pot, and a 0.04 alcohol level.  The driver also ran down a 
ditch and into a residential fence.  Anyway, what good is a bike lane
if you're not supposed to be using it?

The [criminal] case is being handled by the 314th district court in 
Houston by DA Barbara Twig. We are doing a civil lawsuit [ourselves]. I 
would be very interested in what I can do to change this attitude that 
cyclists are at fault when they are hit by a drunk driver in a bicycle 
lane or shoulder.

[Ed. Note: I'm very sorry to hear of your loss.  The attitude expressed 
by the DPS officer is, unfortunately, not surprising.  But as for what 
you can do to change society's attitude that cyclists are always at 
fault when motorists hit them, you might as well be asking how to 
eliminate any other kind of societal prejudice, like racism.  There's 
no easy answer to either question.  In fact, if there were easy 
answers, then I wouldn't need to spend my time documenting all the 
cases in which cyclists DIDN'T get justice.

I understand your frustration, and I feel it myself -- that's why I 
started the "No Justice" web page to inform the public about what's 
going on.  But changing people's minds -- that's a tough one.  The 
struggle continues...]


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NO CHARGES FOR AT-FAULT DRIVER IN TENNESSEE

Vince Vinson <HPVIII@aol.com> wrote to tell us his story:

I was riding my bike out of the city on a two-lane road in the country 
at 1:30 in the afternoon on a sunny day. A car struck me from the rear, 
and I was thrown onto the hood, then windshield, over the top, then 
into a ditch. The man stopped, had a cell phone, and called 911. I was 
air-lifted to a hospital in Nashville, TN. Died once in helicopter, 
then given blood, head degloved, compound fractures in arm. He told the 
newspaper that he was going to pass, when a car came over the hill he 
pulled back in and hit me. He was trying to pass on a double yellow 
line, but got no ticket and had no insurance. I am 40yrs old and have a 
business, I was hospitalized for 1 month then lost my left leg below 
the knee due to compartment syndrome that the hospital missed because 
they had the leg in cast. I am concerned that the man was never 
punished. What can be done? I will find out, I'm going to talk to D.A.

[Ed. Note:  We advised Mr. Vinson that if his talks with the D.A. were 
fruitless, he should contact an attorney.]


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
AT-FAULT DRIVER FACES NO CHARGES FOR INJURING CYCLISTS

In December, Jason Boardman and Cameron Cooper were hit on Loop 360 by 
an elderly driver who fell asleep at the wheel.  Long story short, the 
driver faced no charges.  In March, Michael Zeno Smith was killed on 
Bee Cave Road, and the victim's friend tells us that the motorist was 
also elderly and also fell asleep.

In case it's not obvious, we've got nothing against senior citizens,
but we don't think they should be driving when they're no longer able to.

  More:  http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/justice


======================================================================
 PUBLICATION / SUBSCRIPTION INFO            by Michael Bluejay, editor
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
      http://michaelbluejay.com/bicycle              bluejay@mail.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------

We currently have 588 subscribers, up 10 from the last issue.  (In the 
previous issues we were up 32, 44, 10, 14, and 14.)

Back issues are available on the Biking in Austin website.

Biking in Austin is published one to four times a month.  You're
getting this newsletter because you either asked for it, or you
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If you no longer want the newsletter, send a blank email to:

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Articles are by me if uncredited.  Articles by others may have been 
edited for grammar, clarity, conciseness, superstition, or just for 
the hell of it.

Before writing with questions, please check the Biking in Austin 
website to see if your question is answered there.  Here are some 
useful links:

  Bike Safety...........   michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/safety.html
  Back Issues...........   michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/newsletters
  Traffic Laws..........   michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/laws.html
  No Justice for Cyclists  michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/justice
  Calendar..............   michaelbluejay.com/bicycle/calendar.html
  City's Bicycle Program.  www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle
  Tracking License Plates  www.publicdata.com

Don't worry about copying, saving, and bookmarking 
all the website URLs you see throughout these newsletters.  Links to 
these sites appear on the Bicycling in Austin website, for one-stop 
URL shopping.

Thanks for reading this far.  Ride safely! :)  -MBJ-

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