http://bit.ly/LB4Lsurv

Share it on your twitter account, share it on Facebook, and ask your friends, family, and community to take the survey.  This survey will get them thinking about hit and run, driving privileges, and what should come first – life or license?  We have to change the law for 37 million Californians . . . we better get started now!

Life Before License had it’s first organizing meeting last Sunday, the 15th, in Hollywood.  Activists of all stripes came together and we discussed means and plans of attack for addressing hit and run.  The free ranging discussion led to a consensus position – the laws that govern our streets, from top to bottom, must be reformed.  Life Before License, therefore, is our first step on a tough journey of comprehensive reform.

We left with a plan to build a broad coalition of all road users and a commitment to changing hearts and minds.  The first step toward change is understanding the lay of the land.

If you want to go a step further and get involved, we’ll be holding our 2nd Life Before License organizing meeting this Sunday, 8/29:

Life Before License Organizing Meeting
Hollywood Adventist Church - classroom
1711 North Van Ness Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90028

Or contact Bikeside via email at contact@bikesidela.org

You can RSVP via Facebook or Twtvite!

Life Before License gets rolling from 1pm-3pm on Sunday, August 15th in Hollywood

Bikeside will be hosting a meeting (RSVP on Facebook, Twitter) this Sunday, August 15th, from 1pm till 3pm, to get organized for our Life Before License campaign.  The Life Before License campaign is Bikeside’s campaign to change state law so that hit and run drivers have their license revoked; it is part of Bikeside’s larger StreetLife initiative.

This meeting is for anyone who wants to participate and support the campaign.  We’ll talk about strategy, connecting with supporters, and talking points.  We may even do some role playing.  We’ll also start to work out some other areas of responsibility, such as legislative support, graphic design and relating to media.

The meeting is from 1pm to 3pm at the Hollywood Adventist Church in Hollywood.  We’ll be in a classroom, and I’ll post signs to direct you inside.  We’ll have to lock up outside.

Bring your brainz, your pens, and your hit and run stories.

For stories about Hit & Run, check out Bikeside’s Hit & Run category:

http://www.bikesidela.org/category/campaigns/hit-and-run/

“Oh but what about the nice weather, the beach, the movie stars, the abundance of avocados??”.

No.  None of that makes up for the huge inequalities, lack of humanity and compassion, and the bad air quality.

Sure, there’s a cute, livable, walkable bubble here and there, but they’re too far apart to make LA feel like a cohesive city.  As a whole, Los Angeles blows.
First step to creating change is to complain and create a ruckus, let folks know you’re not happy.  That involves, well, a whole lot of complaining.  More cyclists (and Angelenos in general) need to complain, on a regular basis.  Stop going straight home after work to your TV shows, it’s making you lethargic and impassive.

But while you complain as loudly as you  can, you should concurrently try to find out why things aren’t the way they should be.  That’s what I’m hoping to accomplish here.  Why does my daily commute to work feel so unsafe?

Let’s start with one of the most obvious offences.  The reason so many cyclists’ commute through Beverly Hills and the LA Country Club sucks is due to the fact that they have to avoid the few streets that are direct routes through this area.  Sunset, Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevard.  Further south, we have Olympic and Pico.  Sure, if they’re bold enough, they chance it anyway and deal with the fast moving traffic and bad pavement.  In some lone cases, even a dead-ending bike lane.

Sunset has some decent stretches. But once it starts winding around those blind curves north of the Country Club, you’re using up an extra life riding on a street with no shoulder and no sidewalk to bail out to.

Santa Monica Bl is great throughout West Hollywood, that short-lived bike lane is the best part of my commute.  Slightly better than Wilshire when crossing through Koreatown or Mid-City, but still not a pleasant ride.

Wilshire.  Oh Wilshire.  Potholes the size of craters.  Maybe one day I won’t feel like Don Quixote on a bike, fighting against the rapid buses, and dueling with fast cars with no license plates.  I keep hearing about this bike/bus lane of epic proportions – I’ll believe it when I see it.

Beverly Hills is part of the problem.  I don’t want to be the next Brandon Chau.  We need more enforcement, more accountability – why can’t the police and judicial system be biased in the cyclists’ favor for once?

Whomever is in charge of the Gauntlet on Wilshire is part of the problem.  And we’re not the only ones with a shitty street by that name.  A major part of the problem is the sheer size and placement of the Los Angeles Country Club.  Why is that monstrosity even there?!?  It feels like a slap in the face of riders commuting through there.

Residential streets are not an option – I’ve tried it enough to know that the more you turn off a street and onto another, you increase your chances of getting hit by a nonchalant unattentive motorist.  Therefore, these major thoroughfares must be made safer to ride.

From what I can tell, Los Angeles has been sucking for at least the past 30 years.  All of its major problems still haven’t been dealt with.  Regardless of what cards we’ve been dealt, we can’t let it get any worse.  If you give a damn about this city, you better complain every chance you get.

LA get your standards up!

(There’s been some great coverage of both Critical Mass and the Blood In & Hit and Run protests. Check out Alex de Cordoba’s blog – the Engaged Observer – for Critical Mass coverage, as well as this Midnight Ridazz thread for a deluge of videos, and the photo gallery. WeHo Daily covered the ride and protests, as did SoCal Soft Pedal, among many others. Post your links in the comments!)

On Friday, at 7:45 pm, a thousand cyclists turned the bend and confronted a mean red sun, low in the horizon, melting West LA. The crowd slacked and quieted, drawing a deep breath while fixie punks, bike commuters, and LAPD bike patrol took in the reds.

The cyclists of Los Angeles Critical Mass paused at the corner of Venice and Crenshaw, and then turned north, heading for Beverly Hills, and a protest at the Beverly Hills Courthouse.  When they entered Beverly Hills the LAPD escort peeled off, respecting the BHPD jurisdiction. 1300 cyclists, according to BHPD estimates, arrived to the sight of riot police arrayed on the courthouse steps.

LA Critical Mass, July 2010. Photo by Barleye.

The riot police wore smiles. I shook Sgt Ceja’s hand, and he reminded me that we had met on Tuesday. “We know you guys are good, we’re just here to dissuade any of the troublemakers who sometimes take advantage of large groups,” Sgt Ceja explained.

Tuesday cyclists stood on the same steps, many covered in fake blood, to protest the plague of hit and runs which afflicts this city, and which has taken down so many in the cycling community.  Oddly enough, though cyclists are the first to take this issue on in recent years, they are less likely to be the victim of a hit and run. At least, according to reported collisions – 38% of all collisions in Los Angeles are hit and run whereas 23% bike involved collisions end as hit and run. Either number is obscene but it’s clear that the pain is shared – motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians can all expect to be victimized by hit and run.

With Sgt Ceja’s input we set up a PA, and speakers took to the mic. Only a hundred or so of the 1300 cyclists approached our impromptu stage, so I walked into the crowd to explain our purpose. I found out that many, maybe most, of the cyclists present are not tuned into the greater movement in Los Angeles. I gave them a crude introduction. I asked crowds of 30 or 50 cyclists if they had ever been hit, if they had been left afterward? I asked them if when they had been hit, if it hadn’t been taken seriously by the motorist or law enforcement? With each group, each time, their were nods and shouts – most everyone had been hit or had a friend who had.

It’s the sort of conversation we ought to be having in neighborhood councils and community meetings. Who has been the victim of a hit and run? What was the outcome? We can go broader – who has been the victim of a serious crash? Who feels safe on the streets when driving, walking or biking? Or broader still – who is happy with LA’s street-life?

We can ask next – do you want to do something about it? Many cyclists who I asked this question gave me puzzled looks. In talking with cyclists, and non-cyclists, I find most people haven’t considered that we could change LA’s streets. It’s taken as a given by most that our streets are unsafe, unfriendly, and dysfunctional.

The speakers argued that night that we can change our streets. They are our streets: the condition of our streets is a product of every citizen’s relationship to them. Changing them is a simple matter of changing how citizen’s use them, and that is only a matter of changing how citizen’s think of them. Readers, aren’t we all persuasive people? Can’t we change hearts and minds?

Cyclists ask for bike lanes because it offers a (perceived) safe place on the roads for cyclists. We’re told there’s no room, that our streets are built out. I don’t agree, but all we really want is safety and respect. If we have the respect of motorists, we don’t need the space. Our interest is getting safety and respect, and if we can’t get space from LADOT, we can work with LAPD to get respect.

LAPD asks for more officers because they feel it is needed to police the streets better. They’re told that there isn’t the budget for it, that we don’t have the money. What LAPD leadership wants, as I perceive it, is to be able to better police these streets. Ultimately they want a safe streetlife for Los Angelinos. If a positive relationship with cyclists, who provide another set of eyes and ears on the streets, is a way toward safer streets LAPD will pursue it.

Cyclists and LAPD have discovered a common interest in safe & respectful streetlife The next step is for motorists & pedestrians to join the cabal. Once we all make great streetlife a priority, it will become a reality.

(Dr. Alex Thompson is the President of BikesideLA.org, a cyclist advocacy organization, and the Treasure and Community Director of Mar Vista Community Council. He can be reached at alexcthompson@gmail.com.)

"Cool Ass" Mike Bowers of 1000Bikes.org (via The Engaged Observer)

Blood In protest, Photo by Gary Kavanagh

“The drivers that hit us and run are driving in your neighborhoods, past your kid’s school, your mother’s church, and your house” – that was the message from cyclists to citizens at a protest on Tuesday.  The protest was sparked by a light sentence handed down by Judge Elden S. Fox last Tuesday in a case of felony hit and run.

Seven months ago Celine Mahdavi clobbered cyclist Louis Deliz so hard his teeth were left in her car.  Mahdavi drove away, leaving Deliz to die in the street.  Deliz was rushed to Cedar Sinai where his life was saved by modern medicine.  He spent 8 days in a medically induced coma, 11 days in the ICU and 49 days total hospitalized.  Today Deliz suffers from debilitating physical injuries and suffers panic attacks and seizures.

For felony hit and run, Judge Fox sentenced Mahdavi to 90 days community service, 3 years probation, and ordered her to pay full restitution to Deliz.  Mahdavi will serve no jail time for nearly killing Deliz, and her 90 days of community service amounts to 720 hours, much less than 1176 hours Deliz spent in a hospital bed.

When Mahdavi was breathalyzed several hours after the hit and run, she blew a .05, in violation of California’s zero tolerance law.  Judge Fox therefore included alcohol counseling as part of her sentence, and stipulated that even when Mahdavi turns 21, as part of her probation she is not allowed to drink.

While Fox addressed the drunk part of the drunk driving (2 counts: felony hit and run, violation of CA zero tolerance law for underage drinking), he did nothing to address the driving aspect of the felony count. Mahdavi’s license is currently suspended, but not by the justice system, by the DMV.  If the DMV chooses, Mahdavi could be back on the roads in January.  She’ll be driving to work on your streets, past your kid’s school, you mother’s church, and your house.

Joining her will be Glenn Gritzner, who hit cycling icon “Roadblock” and fled the scene.  Gritzner plead “no contest” to the charge of misdemeanor hit and run, and paid a small fine.  In the style of hit and run, Gritzner didn’t attend the hearing, but sent his attorney on his behalf.  He drives a Jaguar, and he’ll be driving it past your kid’s school, your mother’s church, and your house.

Sounds like cyclists have a problem, doesn’t it?  Sounds like cycling is an unsafe thing and we should probably stick to cars and buses.  Not exactly.

It’s worse for motorists … 38% of ALL collisions in LA are hit and run.  For cyclists the figure is 23%. Our problem is your problem.  Pedestrians get it worst of all – more than 1/3 of all traffic deaths in LA in 2008 are pedestrians.

Tuesday, 60 cyclists stood in front of the Beverly Hills Courthouse, where Judge Fox gave his tepid sentence, and agreed on this: these are our streets, they ought to be a safe, they can be safe, we can make them safe, and we will make them safe.  We are committed to this.

Today the streets are dangerous.  They’re dangerous because we let them become dangerous, we let them stay dangerous.  I allow it, you allow it, we all let this happen.  We allow people like Mahdavi and Gritzner to drive.  We make stupid excuses about needing a license to get to work.  Is it more important that dangerous drivers get to work, or is our safety more important?  We send people for alcohol counseling but we don’t take away their license.  We let people who drive carelessly, who drive recklessly, who don’t care one whit for human life, we let them go out there and do it again.

We are rewarded for it with oppressive, unwelcoming street lives.

These are our streets and this is our fault.  It is our responsibility to do something about it.  We do have the power to take back our streets.  We can insist that we step into a welcoming environment.  We can demand that LA’s streetlife be civilized and enjoyable, safe and secure.  These are our streets, and we control their destiny.

Drivers who hit and run are, simply put, ill.  Their self interest overrides their empathy at the most critical moment, when they have a human obligation to render aid.  You may argue that self interest is paramount, but you would be wrong.  Greater is the instinct, greater in civilization and greater in nature, to attend to suffering.  Drivers who hit and leave, ignoring that instinct, should not be driving.

Bikeside LA, a cyclist advocacy organization, will seek legislation in Sacramento that makes the revocation of hit and run drivers’ licenses mandatory upon conviction.  We hope that activists and community leaders of all stripes will join us in our initiative to put Life Before License – a small step toward restoring life to our streets.  Join us!  If you would like to support, endorse, collaborate or participate in our efforts, email me at alexcthompson@gmail.com.

Die-In at LACM, RIP Jesus Castillo

Last year when Jesus Castillo was killed LA Critical Mass went to the site of his death, joined together around his ghost bike, and held a die-in to honor him, and call attention to the driver’s crime.

A little over a year later we are still plagued by hit and runs.  I humbly suggest that those at the front of Los Angeles Critical Mass, who set it’s direction and pace, take the ride to the Beverly Hills Courthouse, where protesters gathered on Tuesday to decry hit and run.

Here’s a route proposal:

A suggested LACM route - south on Western, west on Venice, north on Crenshaw, west on Olympic, continue west on San Vicente, continue west on Burton Way

I respect the fact that LA Critical Mass has no leaders per se, and I value that the route is set by the collective will.  Let’s all work together and bring the ride to the courthouse, a symbolic site of failed justice, and make ourselves heard!

By the way – this video from Tuesday was just released by filmmaker Rick Darge:

On Tuesday, July 27th, and Friday, July 30th, cyclists will gather at the Beverly Hills Courthouse to protest the tepid sentence handed down by Judge Elden S. Fox for Celine Mahdavi.  Mahdavi hit cyclist Louis Deliz and left him to die in the street on December 1st, 2009; Deliz was hospitalized for 49 days.

Mahdavi pleaded “no contest” to felony hit and run charges and threw herself on the mercy of the court, instead of accepting the plea deal offered by the DA.  Judge Fox gave her 90 days of community service, and 3 years of probation.  Mahdavi will spend less time in community service – 720 hours – than Deliz spent in the hospital – 1176 hours.

Cyclists are calling it the last straw.  Bikeside LA President Alex Thompson said “this sentence is symbolic of the lack of respect cyclists get throughout the justice system.”

Many expressed frustration that Fox made no effort to restrict Mahdavi’s driving privileges, leaving decisions about the status of Mahdavi’s license at the discretion of the DMV.

At both events Bikeside LA will announce a new campaign:  Life before License.  Life before License will specifically address hit and run, seeking state level legislation to change how hit and run is treated by courts.

The Friday protest may be joined by the hundreds of cyclists participating in LA Critical Mass – the ride which recently drew headlines when it clashed with LAPD.  LAPD and riders made peace in June when LAPD facillitated with a large police escort.

Event details:

Tuesday, July 27th, 6:15 pm
Beverly Hills Courthouse
9355 Burton Way
Blood In Press Conference
interviews to follow press conference
open mic available to attendees after press conference

Friday, July 30th, 8:15 pm
Beverly Hills Courthouse
9355 Burton Way
Press Conference
interviews to follow press conference
open mic available to attendees after press conference

Lindsay Lohan will likely serve 14 days of the 90 day sentence in County jail she began today.  She violated the terms of her probation on DUI charges.

The same day that Lohan turned herself in to the Beverly Hills Courthouse, the case against Celine Mahdavi was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on the 3rd floor.  I know because I walked through the gauntlet of photographers so I could surrender my tools and my camera to security to go upstairs and observe.

Celine Mahdavi hit Louis Deliz so hard that his teeth were embedded in her car, then drove away, Deliz’ body dislodging from her car and landing face down.  He lost most of the lower half of his jaw, all his lower teeth, broke both legs, broke nearly all his fingers, broke his hip, and punctured a lung (if memory serves.)  Just a few days ago, Louis had a massive seizure, and he is still seeing double from it.  To this day he can’t walk right, he can’t talk right, he can’t see right, and he has nightmares and flashbacks.  Mahdavi, 18 at the time, was pulled over a half mile from the accident where she tested positive for alcohol.

A few hours after Lohan began her 90 days in jail, Judge Elden S. Fox sentenced Mahdavi to 90 days of community service – 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, to be done in a 180 day period.  Most likely Mahdavi will be picking up trash with CalTrans or taking part in graffiti removal.

Fox also ordered that Mahdavi should pay full restitution to Deliz, serve 36 months probation, take part in alcohol counseling, participate in the Hospitals and Morgue program.

"She shouldn't drive unless she has a valid driver's license" - Judge Eldon S. Fox to hit and run perpetrator Celine Mahdavi, who permanently disabled Louis Deliz

The prosecution offered Mahdavi a plea of 1 year in jail and 5 years probation.  Instead, Mahdavi’s defense submitted a memorandum of disposition, effectively falling on the mercy of the court, and allowing the judge to sentence Mahdavi without trial.  Fox offered the far lesser sentence, with a variety of self contradictory justification.  Sometimes calling the collision an “accident” – implying that there was no intent without explanation – Fox explained how he considered a 1 year, 6 month, then a 4 month, and finally a 90 day sentence in County jail.  Finally, he explained, he settled on no jail time at all (or 1 day for each count, but 1 day also credited for each count.)

Fox talked tough to Mahdavi saying “I do not believe for one minute that you did not realize you were in a collision for a cyclist” and went on to specify that she should have known that he injured someone.  He explained to Deliz’ family that he found it hard to look at the photographs and evidence.  “My heart goes out to you”, Fox said.

Fox told Mahdavi that she cannot carry any deadly weapons during the 3 years of her probation, listing guns and knives as examples of deadly weapons.  Fox did not list cars as deadly weapons, only ordering that Mahdavi should not drive “unless she has a valid driver’s license.”

Know this cyclists – no one will defend you.  If you are hit it is unlikely the police will care.  If they do care, it is unlikely it will go to court.  If it does go to court, it is unlikely the judge will care.  You are on your own.  If you don’t have a big family like Louis does – one that will step in and step up to take care of you – then you can’t get hit.  You can’t get hit because you won’t get treated fairly.  I know getting hit isn’t under your control, just understand that no one that matters cares about you, and the “justice” system will not take care of you.

There is basically no reason not to hit cyclists and pedestrians – it’s open season.

(edited for correct spelling of “Celine” – thanks commenter Rach Stevo)

(Edit: Celine Mahdavi’s license is currently suspended it is my understanding, as a result of her not responding to inquiries from the DMV re this incident.  Lawyers at the hearing seemed to agree that she will be able to apply for removal of the suspension early next year.  What’s absurd to me is that she would be allowed to obtain a license at all, that her license is suspended and not revoked, and that the judge would leave this decision to the DMV, rather than ordering it suspended.

So, no Mahdavi on the streets (at least legally speaking) now, but possibly early next year.)

I’m outside the Beverly Hills Municipal Courthouse awaiting the arrival of Louis “Birdman” Deliz. The air is crisp and full of the murmur of morning gridlock along Burton Way. Louis shows up, I give him a handshake and we wait for more people to make the scene.

I learned about Louis’ devastating hit and run several months ago and just recently we met at the Bikerowave. Louis was allegedly left hooked by Celine Mahdavi, then age 18, and her Mercedes SUV at the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and Holloway Drive. She is charged with two felony counts: Felony Hit & Run, and Felony DUI under the age of 21. She got out on a $10,000 bond the next morning. Louis wasn’t so lucky: he spent 11 days in the ICU, 9 days in a coma, and 49 days in the hospital. Louis suffered massive injuries to his face, broke both his hands and his hip is now made out of steel. After a 3 year PRO cycling career riding with strongest and fastest cyclists in the world he had to depend on a machine to keep him alive. Celine Mahdavi might have taken away his physique; but, the “Birdman’s” determination to make her pay the price in court is strong.

We’re now in the wood paneled courtroom and taking up a row of seats to support Louis. To our right is Celine Mahdavi with a few family and friends. She looks sullen until a brief conversation with her defense attorney and she casts a short lived, beaming smile. I wonder, to myself, what is that about? We’ve been waiting a long time since the arraignment in February to get to the next step in the case: the preliminary hearing (March 22 was the initial hearing date that was moved to today, June 11). We just want this case to get started so Louis can move on with his life.

The court is called to order, and after a Pledge of Allegiance, Judge Eldon S. Fox calls Louis’ case. Immediately Celine Mahdavi’s defense attorney states that due to being unable to obtain the evidence of Louis’ damaged bicycle he wants the preliminary hearing to be postponed and moved 30 days. A harsh uproar erupts from our side of the courtroom. The defense attorney states that he does not know where the bike is and has no way to let his expert witness to examine the evidence. Another outcry breaks out from our side of the courtroom.

The fact is Louis’ bike is being held by the Sheriff’s Department. It’s locked away in storage locker somewhere. A sad, lonely, mangled bicycle left in a dark corner of The System.

To our dismay the prosecuting attorney accepts the defense attorney’s request and amends it with 15 additional days. 45 days until the preliminary hearing, which we expected to take place today, is just too long to wait again. Our row bursts with anger and upset. After some back and forth about schedules, vacations, and furlough days the Judge sets the preliminary hearing date for July 20, 2010. The attorneys agree and the defendant, Celine Mahdavi gives her consent.

I think I catch a smirk flash across Ms. Mahdavi’s face as she turns to exit the court. It quickly morphs back into a look of dread as we watch her return to the security of her friends and family on the far side of the courtroom. 45 more days until her next court date. 45 more days we wait till justice can take it’s course.

Want to help Louis “Birdman” Deliz and show that his hit and run has hurt the whole bicycling community? Write a statement of how it has affected you and show up to the Beverly Hills Municipal Court on July 20, 2010 to read it. Write a letter to the District Attorney stating your concerns about the case and it’s delay in bringing Celine Mahdavi to justice:

[Celine Mahdavi (Case #SA073459) – Victim – Louis Deliz]

Steven Katz, Esq.
Deputy District Attorney
Beverly Hills Area Office
9355 Burton Way, Room 400
Beverly Hills CA 90210

This two hour session attracted many folks from Caltrans, SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments), California Highway Patrol, LAPD, Burbank PD as well as Metro. Unfortunately there was no sight of LADOT, who would have really benefited from this presentation.

Cyclists on the street know the roads and the issues better than bureaucrats sitting in an office.

The LA Bike Map, created with data from the LAPD, has more impact when presented by a cyclist, who has experienced those incidents that he is addressing and that he is researching. Alex Thompson did a wonderful job and his presentation drew a lot of comments and questions resulting in some nice brainstorming going on in the room.

Hit & Run incidents are always more shocking when one knows the victim. Having had Louis Bianco at the Bikeside SPEAKS! presentation on Saturday left people upset and at the same time fired up to change our streets.

It was no different today, when Sara presented her data about the various incidents that occurred in the past few years. Sara talked about Roadblock, Ed Magos, Jen Diamond and Jesus Castillo among the many other victims of hit and runs and Sara brought her vulnerability to the table, because she knows the people she talked about.

After our presentation, Sgt. Krumer showed the LAPD officers training video and CHP’s Officer Vince Ramirez and Burbank PD Motor Officer Justin Meadows made themselves available in a panel discussion about law enforcement and how each entity deals with cyclists on the streets.

Questions were raised and discusses about how we can educate the motoring public, about law enforcement around Freeway ramps and about jurisdictions. Metro vs. Cyclist incidents were again brought up and Sgt. Krumer repeated that LAPD will handle those incidents because the crime occurred on the street and they are responsible to cover those incidents. Krumer said that just like with any collision on the street, there needs to be the same informational exchange between cyclists and Metro driver and LAPD will help us handle those situations.

It was a great meeting with robust discussions, great crowd and great energy. Bikeside had 6 people representing, including Stephen Box, Jeremy Grant, Max Berson and DJ Wheels.

Check out our photos on facebook and don’t forget to follow us on twitter for up-to-the-minute updates.

Ten minutes earlier ‘Mouse’ and I are walking south.  We hear skidding tires, and we turn around to see two things.  We see an SUV rocking back, as if it had just braked hard.  We see a car careening toward a pole.

It slams into the pole.

Mouse and I start walking, then start running toward the wreck.  The SUV eases forward, as if evaluating, then guns it, turning left down Venice Blvd, leaving.  “Chase it down” the bikeless Mouse says to me, but in the space between setting my bike down and mounting it, I realize there’s no way I’m catching him, not at 3am with no traffic and no lights in sight.

A green cab takes off after the SUV.

We run up on the car.  It’s wrapped part way around the pole, and the airbags make it impossible to see inside.  Out of nowhere, a young man, and then a young woman pop out from the car.  “Are you alright?”  “Are you ok?”  “Yes.”  “Are you alright?”  “Yes, I think so.”  We ask again, but they seem ok.

Mouse is on the phone with dispatch.  What a great guy – he’s on top of it.  “Alex, they want to talk to you.”

“Hello?”  “Do you need paramedics?”  “No.  No, I think they’re ok.  It was a hit and run, are you sending police?”  The girl says her arms hurt.  I look at the mangled car.  “I was wrong.  Send rescue, send paramedics.”  “Ok sir, we’re sending paramedics.”  “Send rescue . . .”

We all stand around, talking, and I notice a car run over some debris in the intersection.  It’s way out in the intersection, like the collision threw it.  I go and pick it up.  It’s a license plate.

____________________

I wrote a post a while back, when LAPD told us that 23% of bike involved collisions are hit and run.  The way I wrote it, the way it was received, it was like “how obscene is this?”  You get hit riding a bike, 1 in 4 chance you’re left for dead.  1 in fucking 4.  Disgusting.

We are not special.  38% of all collisions in LA are hit and run.  Motorists are MORE likely to be victims of hit and run.  More likely.

Does this make anyone mad?  Does this make anybody else furious and embarassed for the human race?

This isn’t a cycling issue.  It’s an LA issue.  It’s an issue everywhere there are roads.

____________________

She’s fine, but she’s animated, fretting about her car.  She just nearly died and she’s so upset about her car.  It doesn’t make sense to me.  Why would you think about that?

Shock.

Mouse and I try to get her to sit down.

The driver of the green cab returns.  We all go over and he tells us how he got some numbers off the plate.  “It’s a Ford SUV.”  We talk about how old it is, how it’s shaped.  I wonder how we will get her to sit down again?  “Not like an Escalade” I say, “but high and narrow.”  “Like an Explorer” he says.  Silver.

He’s working, so he’s got to go.  We take down his info and he leaves

The firemen, show up next, and then the cops show up a second later.  They examine the victims.  While Mouse and I talk with the cops, a fireman sits her down.  He puts the blood pressure cuff on her arm, and then I guess her adrenaline wears off, and she starts to cry.

Mouse and I are talking with the investigators about the accident, and while we’re talking, illustrating the collision with our hands, we’re toeing the license plate on the ground.  I noticed that the plate on the ground doesn’t match the plate on car, but I don’t put it together.  The cop – he does.

The plate is from the SUV.  It doesn’t match, because it’s not from the car.  And like the cabbie said, it begins in 6, and there’s a 75.

We didn’t see the two cars make contact.  How would the plate come off if they didn’t make contact?  All me and Mouse saw was the SUV stopped, and the car careening into the pole.  I just assumed that the SUV participated in the accident, possibly forcing the victims to swerve, but there was no contact . . . except, by the time we turned around, the car was past the SUV.

We all go and look at the side of the car.  The door to the back seat is crumpled in.  The SUV must have hit the side of the car and knocked it’s plate off in the process.  The victims were probably turning left, the impact deflected their turn, directing them into the pole.

They run the plate.  It’s a Ford.  SUV.

____________________

We talk a lot about hit and run.  We talk a lot about hit and run on cyclists.  And cyclists getting hurt.  And the injustices of that.

This issue is so much broader.  As immersed as many of us are in cycling, it’s hard to think that something could be more important.  But the fact is that most victims of hit and run are not cyclists.

It’s happening out there, and it’s happening to everyone – not just cyclists.  Hit and run perps are getting away with it, and you know where they drive once they leave the scene?  They drive in LA neighborhoods where people walk and run.  They drive past churches and swimming pools and farmers markets.  They drive on freeways.  They drive past elementary schools.  They are, very much, among us.

Leaving the scene where someone could be dying, where they may need aid, it’s uncivilized.  It’s sociopathic.  It’s a conscious decision not to take care of a person in desperate need.  It’s inhumane, hell, it’s not ever mammalian.  Mammals take care of their own.

We need to think broadly about it.

____________________

It’s time for me and Mouse to go.  I’m tired, he’s tired, and we’re not doing shit.  I mean, there’s nothing for us to do.

I approach the girl.  “Can I have your number please?”  Between sobs she gives me ten digits, and I read them back to her.  “I’m going to call you tomorrow and we’ll talk about this, ok?”  She nods.  I leave her sobbing, having done nothing to soothe her.

I’m so lame.

Earlier today Glenn Gritzner plead no contest to misdemeanor hit and run, specifically to violating California Vehicle Code 20002(a): leaving the scene of an accident where there was property damage.  Roadblock, a well known and respected leader in the cycling community, was hit by Gritzner’s Jaguar months ago, and left lying in the street. Today, Gritzner’s attorney came to the Metropolitan Courthouse in Downtown LA to plead guilty on his client’s behalf, in a plea bargain worked out with the city attorney.

For his sentence, Gritzner may choose between seven days in county jail, 47 days of community service, or a $510 fine (after fees this amounts to about $2k.)  He also must pay restitution to Roadblock, and he will be booked within the next 6 months.

As part of the plea deal, Gritzner stipulates that there is a factual basis for his plea, a legal admission that there is strong evidence that he committed the crime.  The case now heads to civil court.

I just learned that the Porsche driver who hit cyclist Ed Magos has had charges filed against them by the City Attorney.  No word on the specific charges, but since it’s going through the City Attorney instead of the District Attorney, that probably means that it’s misdemeanor hit and run, not felony hit and run.  Read about the Ed Magos hit and run at SoapBoxLA.

Louis "Birdman" when he raced on the Le Grange Racing Team

Today, he smiles and laughs, through the scars that have etched their way across his face and down his neck. He shows me his right hand, his fingers had been mangled in the accident and he is unable to bend them. Earlier that morning, he found out his hip, which is now made of steel, will be okay and he will be able to put the pressure he had been putting on it without the guilt. He tells me all of this with a laugh and that crazy sparkle in his eye, the same one I remember seeing months prior. Though he has been through so much, Louis is still the same old Louis, only stronger.

I ask if he doesn’t mind sharing the details of that fateful night, and he sits back, puts the pin in the bottom of the weights and tells me to push on the weights with my legs. I look at him as if he’s nuts, I’ve never lifted weights before, let alone ALL of the them at one time! He laughs at me, “What do you think, you got chicken legs?” I ponder this for a moment, he is right, I do have a pair of cyclists’ legs but doing what he is suggesting seems impossible. I look at Louis, who is unable to lift the weights yet is sitting here coaching me and I realize that him even being here at all seems impossible, but it’s not. I push my doubt aside and give it my all. To my surprise, I do three in a row.

Louis settles in and eats his sandwich, between slow bites, he tells me that on December 1, 2009, right after midnight, he said goodbye to his girlfriend and made his way west on Sunset Blvd. taking a left on La Cienga and descending towards Santa Monica Blvd. where he would then continue back home to Santa Monica. However, as he made his way toward Hollaway, the cross street, the light blazing green, an SUV coming in the opposite direction, did not yield to oncoming traffic (a cyclist is considered traffic) and made a left onto Hollaway crossing Louis’ path. Louis then veered left himself, braking, but was not so lucky. His body banged into the back, right hand side of the SUV, his face entering the back window only to be jerked free as the SUV swerved forward and into the gas station where it u-turned back onto La Cienga and continued North toward Sunset Blvd., leaving Louis in the middle of the intersection.

Louis takes a break from the story and I sit back, astonished at what I had just heard. As a fellow cyclist, myself, I cringe, and ask if he’s okay. He laughs and asks if I am okay. I smile reassuringly, and let him know he can continue whenever he wants.

Louis tells me that a man put his car in front of him to block oncoming traffic and told Louis that help was on the way. The men at the gas station called 911 and gave them a description of the SUV. It took paramedics an hour at the scene to stabilize Louis before he was able to take the eight minute ride to Cedars Sinai. During this time, a police officer who was en route to the scene, heading East on Sunset, passed an SUV that was just described over the radio and pulls it over as a routine traffic stop. As the driver rolled down the window, the police officer smelled the liquor emanating from inside the car, so he gave the driver a field sobriety test to which the driver failed and was detained. Four hours after the accident, at Cedars Sinai Hospital, the driver’s blood was taken and the alcohol level was recorded at .05. At the time of the accident, the driver was eighteen.

Louis was rushed into the emergency room and taken right into surgery for his face and hip. He then spent eleven days in the I.C.U. and was kept alive by machines as he was out in a chemically induced coma for approximately 8 days. Louis is not all laughs, his tone changes through the story, but he never wavers in his confidence for knowing what he has lost and how much he has gained. He lived at the hospital for forty-nine days. Through Christmas and New Years and even his Birthday. His family and friends guided him day in and out. And the voice of his girlfriend gave him strength as he heard her in his dreams during a time he could not hear or understand anyone.

Louis has finished his sandwich now, and his story. And I am finishing my arm weights at 25. He won’t let me stop until I can do twenty-five in a row. We find ourselves, two friends, finding joy in the tiniest of instances after rummaging through memory of the biggest instance that has changed Louis’ life forever. He tells me it killed him. That when machines keep you alive, you are basically dead. This truth and many others Louis has brought to my attention today, makes me push harder and though I am weak in the arms and do my twenty-five, just not in a row, his relentless attitude proves why he is sitting next to me, alive and laughing.

This Monday, March 22 at 1:30pm at the Beverly Hills Courthouse, the driver of the SUV will be arraigned. I will be there with his family and many other cyclists to stand with him. Because he is not alone as the Los Angeles cycling community is much more than just that, but a family. As this could have happened to any one of us, it has. And the most inspiring of all this, Louis is still here, still pushing, still living. And he cannot wait to ride his bike again.

A happy Louis "Birdman"

“My story is my story, it is what happened. I hope that if anything I can inspire at least one person a day to wear their helmet and not to drink and drive, and then my job for that day is complete.” Louis Deliz

The streets with the most bike collisions in 2008

Earlier this month we released a preliminary report from LAPD’s Sergeant Krumer about the bike involved collisions in 2008.  Krumer has finalized that report.  You can download the report here, or view it below.  I suggest clicking “full” so you’ll be able to read it better.  There’s definitely some good stuff that has been added since the previous report, so I recommend checking it out (download):

I’ve perused the report a bit, and I think there’s some interesting data there – I’m looking forward to analysis of this data by others in the bike community.  Josef Bray-Ali, this means you!

As many know, the City doesn’t do bike counts.  In lieu of bike counts from the city, accident data serves as a kind of grim proxy.  For instance, check out the data for month of accident, on slide 15.  It shows bike accidents growing in the summer, and declining in the winter, as does riding.

On the other hand, there’s reasons why it’s not a good proxy.  For example, accident rates in Europe are sometimes 6 times lower.  So, we could easily double the number of riders in LA, but make riding so much safer that absolute accident rates go down.  That’s one reason LADOT should be doing a bike count right now, in advance of adoption of any proposed bike plan.  Without an accurate, comprehensive, and accepted bike count done by a government agency, it will be hard to infer much from other bike data.

Sergeant Krumer added an interesting chart which shows that 38% of collisions in LA were hit & run in LA in 2008.  As we reported earlier, 23% of bike involved collisions are hit and run.  I take away two things from that.  First, we’re actually at less risk for hit and run, when you ignore our injuries.  However, if you look at how cyclists fair in collisions, you see that 7.0% of (reported) collisions result in severe injury or death.  For non-cyclists, that rate is 3.2%.  Cyclists have a lot more to fear from a collision.

Second, hit and run is a city wide epidemic affecting ALL THE CITIZENS OF LA – motorists, children, pedestrians, cyclists, elderly, healthy, studly, and slimy – we are all in danger.  38% of collisions are hit and run!!  That’s nearly 2 in 5.  That is bananas, and it represents sociopathy in a lot of people out there on the road.

That means we have a common cause with all road users in addressing hit and run.  Let’s include everyone in the solution.

Brandon Chau, December 4, 2009, 9:45am

Brandon Chau speaks at Beverly Hills City Council

In a movement to stop Los Angeles’ growing epidemic of hit and runs, Bikeside, a new Los Angeles bike lobbying group is bringing awareness to City Councils through public comment on unfortunate examples mishandled in their region of the city. First up, Beverly Hills. On February 16, eleven cyclists who commute through the mine fields of Metro Los Angeles’ streets, most car free, brought to the floor a call to action to not only reopen Brandon Chau’s closed “hit and run” case, on the count of not being able to give a facial identification, but also, have bike lanes that are void on their streets as well as brighten and repave Santa Monica Blvd’s treacherous gauntlet from Camden to Doheny.

Brandon Chau, UCLA grad and at one time, employee, was victim to a hit and run as the car that hit him drove off, leaving him injured and his bike broken. A witness of the incident pursued the driver by car and was able to the woman’s license plate number. Brandon gave a full police report to the Beverly Hills police who arrived later at the scene. In mid January, 2010, Brandon was called down to the Beverly Hills Police Department to give a facial ID on the driver. When 6 photos were placed in front of him, all pictures of women in their mid thirties, white and brunette, Brandon, feeling like he had to make a choice, chose the wrong picture. The police then showed him the picture of the woman who actually did it and let him know that since he could not give a positive facial identification, the DA would not pick up the case. The Beverly Hills police officer than apologized for what they called, a “loophole.”

At the Beverly Hills City Council meeting, Roadblock, LA cyclist, stated that he too had been a victim of a hit and run in Los Angeles. If was not for his own detective work, his perpetrator would not have been brought to justice. Roadblock suggested that Beverly Hills City Council “compel the Beverly Hills Police Department to pursue and confront these driver’s who put cyclists lives in danger – if not, they are telling driver’s it’s okay.” Mayor Nancy Krasne replied, “[Beverly Hills] is the only city in town where if someone cuts off a bus and you call the police department and by three blocks away, they’re pulled over.” Her response was the perfect example of misconstrued priorities for the Beverly Hills Police regarding cyclists that ride on their streets.

Roadblock Listens to Testimony

Alex Thompson, reiterating the mishandling of Brandon’s Chau’s case, also brought to their attention, “To improve other issues in regard to cycling [through their city].” Santa Monica Blvd. Has no bike lane, the pavement quality is so bad and there are no street lights. He asked for them to focus on “making this city more livable and bike friendly.”

Ron Durgin, Resident of Beverly Hills since 1999, suggested, “Education for motorists and police officers on how to behave and share the road with cyclists” and then ended his comments with a reminder to the council of their own vision statement (pulled off their website), “Beverly Hills is committed to being the safest city in America.”

Surprisingly, the newly appointed Beverly Hills Mayor, Jimmy Delshad, taking office on March 16, 2010, said, “[Earlier that morning], I was on my bike at 6:30. I had an eight o’clock meeting with our city manager and had to take Santa Monica Blvd. At our meeting, I told him one of my agendas will be to bring to the city council, how can we put a bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd. Safety is very important. I felt very scared today several times when I saw the cars. But it’s something in my view that needs to be discussed. And I’ve asked our city manager to bring it to the council so hopefully your comments will be heard.”

Brian Cooperman took home the point of what it is to be a cyclist in Los Angeles with, “Unless you spend a lot of time on bike, you are not aware of what it is like. People [Drivers] are really hostile. People have cut me off on purpose, threatened me and when you’re on a small twenty pound bike, all cars are scary.” Brian struck a cord with Mayor Krasne, she replied, “You inspired us to sit down and talk. You certainly inspired me.”

Beverly Hills Mayor, Nancy Krasne

But it wasn’t until Brandon Chau finally commented, telling his side of the story, that Mayor Krasne asked the City Manager if there was something they could do. The city manager, Jeff Kolin, said he “would talk to Chief Snowden to review the case and see what we can do.” And then, Mayor Krasne ended the comment session with, “If that car belongs to that person, if it wasn’t them in it, let them explain who was driving their car. As legal owner, if they are not driving, they must be responsible for who had the keys at that moment.” To which the entire room erupted in approving applause.

Cyclists of LA can only hope that the Bikeside was heard and understood, that the Beverly Hills City Council will stick to their word and investigate Brandon Chau’s case as well as make their streets safer and more bike friendly. Rest assured, this will not get swept under the table, and if push comes to shove, they’ll be back at the podium once again for “Beverly Hills is committed to being the safest city in America” and they’re making sure they stick to their word.

23% of bike involved collisions were hit & run in 2008

LAPD Sergeant David Krumer and Commander David Doan sorted through massive collision data for 2008, and found that in 2008, 23% of bike involved traffic collisions are Hit & Run – 3% were misdemeanor and 20% were felony.  This was just one statistic of many in a report on bike collisions in LA in 2008.  You can see a preliminary report here – BikeTrafficCollisions2008 – scanned by Enci Box.  Not all data are final – expect a final version within a few weeks.  This is a huge step forward for cyclists to have this data – many thanks to Cmd Doan and Sgt Krumer.

I was on my bike heading west through little Santa Monica blvd on my way to work. There are only two lanes in the west direction so I was on the shoulder of the right lane. When I got to Bedford I stopped for a red light, but this silver mercedes behind me tries to make the red light and slams into me. My bike gets run over and I fly off my bike. I run back to the car and scream at the lady driving the car to get off my bike. At this point her front tire is over the back wheel of my bike. She backs off of my bike and then takes off. I drag my bike off to the sidewalk.

Two store owners from a clothing store on the intersection called “Susanas” saw the accident, sat me down, got me some water, and called the police on my behalf. They didn’t actually see the impact of the accident, but they were both looking out the window at the time and just saw me fly off my bike into view of their shop window. About 5 minutes later another woman drives up to me. She was apparently behind the mercedes and saw the accident. She tailed the hit and run mercedes and wrote down the license plate number. She gave me the post-it with her name, the make and model of the car, and the license plate. I was very lucky these people helped me out.

A police officer came to the scene and asked exactly where I was hit and checked out the damage on my bike. He took the post-it with all the info on it, took my address and driver’s license info and told me they would get in contact with me.

FAST FORWARD: a month later its January 12, and I get a call from the Beverly Hills Police to meet at the station to identify the suspect of the car. I showed up this morning before work, and they show me a sheet of 6 people to identify. They all are about 30, and have brown hair, which is all I can remember about what the driver looked like. Everyone on the sheet looks really similar to me, and since I only got a short glimpse at the woman before she sped off I can’t say for sure which picture is the right one. The officer said that she “couldn’t make it easy” in identifying the suspect. Unfortunately, I fuck up and I pick the wrong photo. The officer points out the correct suspect photo, but tells me that since I couldn’t identify the subject the case will probably not be picked up by the DA and that’s that. I asked for the number of the witness so I could thank her for helping me out, and they gave it to me. Just before I left the station, I called Mihai, and he told me to get an official police report. All I have now is a police report, a case number, and the name and number of the witness. The police are keeping the post-it with the license# of the car.

So here I am. I got a lot of concerned friends and family who want to see justice served, and if this is the end, my faith in the justice system will be severely tainted. While miraculous that I wasn’t hurt, what if I was? Would the police handle that case the same way they handled mine? Anyways, I would really just like to see this woman held accountable in some way.

Although I’m pretty bummed and shocked that the police are leaving me cold like this, I am extremely thankful that there are kind people out there who went out of their way to help me out. I never would have made it this far without your guys’ help and the ladies who helped me get the drivers’ plates and called the cops. Thanks so much for your help and I hope we will be able to move forward!!

Within an hour of the hit-and-run crime that left Ed lying on the street, the LAPD’s Central Traffic Watch Commander referred to the incident as a “Traffic Accident.”

This simple slip of the tongue is professionally irresponsible and demonstrates the desensitization that is so pervasive in our culture.

On what evidence did a Watch Commander determine that it was an accident, especially as he professed that he had not spoken to the investigators nor did he have any information on the incident.

More and more I get the sense that LAPD leadership “gets it”, however, how long is that going to take to percolate down to the men & women on the streets?  If we’ve convinced (some) LAPD leadership that there is a problem, it would seem the next step is persuading those leaders to move aggressively to retrain the department.

And, as regards the woman who hit Magos, got out, looked at him lying on the ground, prone, and then drove away – WHAT THE HELL?!  That is staggering.