Alice Swanson was killed when hit in a bike lane by a garbage truck driver who had an illegally obtained license. Charles Schwartz, an 85-year-old, was killed while crossing Connecticut Avenue to get a sandwich near Politics & Prose bookstore by a driver apparently using a cell phone.
| What is the law? For a guide to local biking laws, visit Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s guide: www.waba.org/resources/laws.php |
Richard Greenstein died after he was struck in a crosswalk near the National Mall by a reversing minivan.
None of the drivers was convicted of any wrongdoing connected with the crashes.
The victims’ families, plus a slew of bikers, pedestrians and their advocates, testified Friday at a D.C. Council oversight hearing under Councilman Phil Mendelson, calling for more safety measures and stepped up enforcement in the District to keep them safe on city streets.
An average of 16 pedestrians get killed by motorists each year in the city, according to D.C. police, along with one or two bikers. But many others have been hurt. Families and friends of victims urged more traffic cameras to deter drivers from speeding. Others urged the enforcement of the existing laws — such as making sure that vehicles don’t block existing bike lanes.
But some of the changes being suggested involve changing the way police deal with pedestrians and cyclists. Accident forms are written for vehicles, witnesses said. Sometimes, victims testified, they haven’t been interviewed about the accidents in which they were injured.
Washington Area Bicyclist Association Executive Director Shane Farthing said the city’s police officers “often lack a basic understanding of cycling in the District.” He cited examples of a cyclist fined $100 after a taxi rider opened his door into the biker.
Some other new rules were also proposed.
Greater Greater Washington founder David Alpert said other countries and communities, such as Sweden, don’t assume that traffic fatalities are inevitable and have started “vision zero” initiatives in which they create goals to reduce deaths by looking at road design.
Others suggested new laws, such as what’s known as the Idaho Stop. The law in Idaho lets bikers yield at stop signs instead of having to make a hard stop. Red lights can be treated like stop signs.
But Anthony Muhammad, an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Ward 8, said that bicyclists should be required to have collision and liability insurance just like drivers. He also questioned why the city allows riders to ride without helmets, horns or using hand signals.
