What ought to be the order of courtesy in traffic between car drivers and bicycle drivers? I think the best way to approach this question is to check what the law and common understandings of the traffic system call for. First among these is the order of right-of-way (304.351. 1. Right of Way). In general, the [...]
Wow. Newsy day transportation-wise in Springfield. Check it out. Grand St. at MSU Eyed for Improvement: Never was their a better stretch of road needing some attention to make the lives of pedestrians and non-motorized traffic better. A preliminary design shows the project would cost around $2 million to pay for upgrades of traffic lights at both [...]
Disclaimer: I am critical of our current system of traffic controls. The U.S. could be doing better. But we have a system. We know what it is. And until we come up with something better, all road users are obligated to follow the system we have. How hard is it for a bicyclist to stop [...]
The Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation is looking for feedback on its proposed 2012 legislative agenda. Below is a graphic showing my suggestions (click for larger image). For more on my opposition to the 3-foot passing law (why it is a really bad idea), check out these posts: I Want More Than three Feet What [...]
Fun in NYC! BTW, the actions of the officer and the powers-that-be who put people in danger (or allow it to happen) is immoral. It doesn’t matter that it’s his job or it’s the law (if it is). It doesn’t matter what their intentions are. Technorati Tags: bicycle infrastructure, bicycle safety, cycling, traffic design, traffic [...]
Three scenes from today: 1. As I approached the 4-way stop at Walnut and South this morning, a cyclist passed me on the right and proceeded through the stop. I was positioned in the center of a narrow lane with parked cars along the road. The bicyclist is a guy I’ve seen before. From his [...]
I’ll be in St. Louis this weekend to take two courses from the folks at CyclingSavvy — a training program of the Florida Bicycle Association. I intend to report here about my experiences with this new program. There are some important differences between CyclingSavvy and the training offered by the League 0f American Bicyclists. From the [...]
Here’s the proof: That’s me driving a rented Cadillac STS through Memphis on my way to Florida in December. Despite my best intentions to follow the letter and spirit of the law at all times (which makes me one of those people you hate to be stuck behind because your time and convenience are just [...]
OK, so it’s obvious that Carbon Trace is now a weather blog. That’s the scene from my office window — the intersection of National and Grand (passable only by cars and able-bodied people willing to jump snow mounds). I miss my bicycle. In other news… HB33, the so-called safe-passing law, has been moved to the [...]
Must be nice to have a community so harmonious and so devoid of crime and mayhem that police can waste their time (and citizens’ tax dollars) ticketing cars with bicycle racks because the license plate gets obscured a bit. You can make a contribution to Ryan Metcalf’s campaign to fight this silliness by clicking that link. Technorati [...]
To the Bicyclist riding south on Fremont at 6:45 p.m. yesterday: I like to think I’m a careful driver — even a good driver. But I know I am not good. I know this because I have taken seriously an important assertion made by Tom Vanderbilt in his book Traffic: None of us are as [...]
It is OK to hit-and-run a bicyclist as long as you are rich and powerful. Here’s a petition to sign. Perhaps we should let this guy know what we think: District Attorney Mark Hurlbert: 970-328-6947. Please spread the word far and wide. UPDATE: From Huffington Post article linked above: District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told HuffPost on [...]
I had two stop sign twofers yesterday at 4-way stops. A stop sign twofer occurs when a bicyclist stops at a stop sign (yes, you’re supposed to stop) and the driver behind treats the situation as if the bicyclist doesn’t exist. Instead of stopping once behind the bicyclist and once at the sign — i.e. [...]
File this under WTF: Yesterday a Springfield police officer honked at my 16-year-old daughter and told her ride her bicycle on the sidewalk. She was riding to school on a road designated as a bicycle route. She was properly riding to right in a sharable lane — but NOT hugging the gutter (just as I [...]
I walked to my appointment with the eye doctor yesterday because it seemed the safest choice given that I would have my eyes dilated. The office is about 1.5 miles from my house — an easy walk on the sidewalk along National Ave. The large intersection at Sunshine and National has crossing lights for pedestrians. And [...]
