Boing Boing » cyclist

NYC cyclist vs. bike lanes - kamikaze law-abiding

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:21:42 +0000

A NYC cyclist who received a fine for straying out of the bike-lane recorded this video of his attempt to ride around town without leaving the bike-lane, instead crashing merrily into any obstacle that he encountered, from taxis to construction equipment.

Guy Crashes Multiple Times To Make Point About NYPD Ticketing Bicyclists

CycLAvia attracts over 100,000 cyclists to car-free Los Angeles streets

Sean Bonner — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:25:29 +0000

If you'd told me a year ago that the City of Los Angeles would close off almost 8 miles of primary city streets to let cyclists have free rein for a day I never would have believed it. If I hadn't seen it actually happen with my own eyes yesterday, I'd still be suspicious. But it's true: thanks to the amazing efforts of the die-hard volunteers behind the project, yesterday the first ever CycLAvia (a riff on the South American Ciclovía idea) took place and some 100,000 residents took to their bikes and got a glimpse of what the city might be like if at least some parts of it were car-free.

As an avid cyclist living in LA, I've long said this is an amazing city to bike in and that it takes on a whole new life when you see it from a bicycle. But most often the reaction I get from non-cyclists is that I must be crazy to ride a bike in LA. I'm not, and judging by the photos on flickr and reactions on twitter a ton of people now see the city a little differently. With any luck this is just the first of many upcoming bike-friendly events in the city. I know I can't wait to see where this leads! (Follow @Cyclavia for future details)

Photos by Tara Brown and Jory Felice

SFPD won't investigate hit-and-run car-v-bike accident

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:57:30 +0000

Two months ago, I blogged about the hit-and-run driver who ran down JWZ and friend on their bicycles in San Francisco. The victims lavishly documented the crime, including getting witness names, a photo of the license plate and so on. They filed a report with the SFPD, and waited. And waited.

After two months, they've been told that the SFPD doesn't intend to investigate the crime. Apparently, driving your car into a cyclist, causing injury, and failing to remain at the scene isn't a serious crime in the SFPD's books. JWZ thinks that this is part of a pattern of the SFPD ignoring motor-vehicle crimes against cyclists and pedestrians.

John called SFPD, went down to the police station in person and filed a report (case 091-062-114), and after several followup phone calls over the next few weeks was told:
"No action has been taken on your case, but you can call the DMV and get the person's plate if you want to file a civil suit."
Apparently prosecuting hit-and-run drivers is beneath the notice of our police department, and the piece of shit driver who almost killed us both gets off scott free.

SFPD hates bicyclists

Previously:

Hit-and-run driver who hit cyclist - Boing Boing