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On Monday night, the well-known cyclist and activist, who goes by Roadblock, was thrown from his bike after a driver rear-ended him going 45 miles per hour. The accident occurred on N. Glendale just before Park and the driver was said be in a dark gray sedan, plate number 6GYC11.
Unfortunately, it seems like such stories are becoming much too frequent, especially in this part of town, around Glendale between the 101 and Sunset.
Roadblock (recently interviewed by KCET) is most known for his involvement and dedication to the LA bike scene, as he made up part of the original 6-person crew that set out on an 18-mile ride around the city back in 2004 which later became the Midnight Ridazz. According to Metblogs' Will Campbell:
When Midnight Ridazz blew up huge a couple years later with rides at times drawing more than a thousand cyclists, the founders decided to step back and give the once-a-month phenomenon over to the bike community. From there Roadblock opened up midnightridazz.com as something of a portal and incubator in which people could hatch and grow and celebrate their own rides. Genius.Just before the accident occurred Monday night, Roadblock joined a group of cyclists at a City Hall meeting, to testify against the proposed budget cuts that would eliminate LADOT's Bikeways program.
Early Tuesday morning, at 5:15am, Roadblock posted to midnightridazz.com and shared the details of the incident and his injuries:
Yep, I'm at county USC. Was heading N. On glendale blvd. Was in far right lane preparing for a change to left lane to make left at park. I looked back and saw a car approaching at extremely high speed. I aborted my lane transfer and the car swerved into my lane and rear ended me at about 45mph. I flew up onto hood and probably dented hood and windshield. Drive applied breaks and I flew off into the street in the right lane. My read wheel is taco-ed and rear of bike smashed. I had a helmet on. I was solo. Rear light on. Reflectors on shoes and headlight on flash minewt night rider.
Since then, a countless number of Ridazz have chimed in with their support and eagerness to help, serving as a testament to the strength of this community that Roadblock has helped to create. Fortunately, his injuries were not as severe as they could have been, and he is in the process of recovering.
With hopes of gathering more information from the night of the crash, and finding the driver, friends of Roadblock posted signs around the scene of the accident.
In just a few weeks, cyclist Jesus Castillo was fatally injured in a hit and run, and shortly after the Hummer vs. bike incident ensued. How do we make sure our streets are safe for cyclists and that the people committing these crimes are brought to justice?
Photo: midnightridazz.com
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At the la bicycle summit about two months ago, Roadblock spoke to an audience about how he was run off the road and when the police responded, they said they couldn't do anything, even though he had the license plate.
Then he asked if he could get into a car and run cyclists of the road, too. They police answered that you can't.
If it was a vehicular hit and run, and you got the license plate, couldn't you write up a police report? Then get the name of the owner of the vehicle and sue?
Applicability to bicycle hit and runs?
Just to be clear, Linkracer, the incident I described happened before the actual hit and run. But in both cases, it seems he was able to grab the license plate, a first good step.
I feel for this guy. Even with the license plate number hit & runs always seem to go nowhere without a clear ID of the driver.
Are the Midnight Ridazz the same guys that block intersections while hundreds of cyclists ride through red lights?
Yeah, the Midnight Ridazz is one of the groups that "cork" intersections.
Thought that was them. I hate those guys with a passion. I once got trapped in a crosswalk with my infant by them as they skidded in and blocked us so they could ride through several red lights. Then when they abandoned their "cork" we were left standing in a crosswalk mid-green light with cars headed toward me. Fond memories.
It doesn't seem it is just with hit and runs, I have seen crime reports with plate numbers (robbery, etc). I am dumbfounded why they just don't plug the plate into the computer and go make an arrest.
BTW...45 mph? That guy would've been hamburger...probably alot less speed was involved - not diminishing his pain, suffering, or the wrongness of getting hit and then left, but at 45 he would've been through the windshield (or at least I imagine).
A hit-and-run driver swerved during a right turn and collided with me in my Volvo a while back, almost head on, while I was in waiting in the left turn lane. A bunch of good Samaritans called the police and gave chase, got the license, and even followed the driver home, but even then I don't think they got a prosecution.
I think positive ID is required or something, but as we all know in photo or live lineups it's hard to get those right when everyone looks vaguely similar.
just going to say this and hear the riducle of the self riteous bike dorks - if this guy used the cross walk instead of the tactic of changing "far right lane preparing for a change to left lane to make left at park" this would not have happened.
incidentally i was roadblocked by some bike dork on the way to work this morning - this was going north on pacific/neilson in santa monica/venice. THERE IS A BIKE LANE ON MAIN STREET - 50 FEET AWAY - WTF?
THERE IS A SIDEWALK 5 FEET FROM YOUR CAR-WHY WEREN'T YOU WALKING?-WTF?
Your ignorance is part of the problem.
Cyclists are legally allowed to turn or cross intersections like a car or like a pedestrian. You CAN get off your bike and walk through the crosswalk with the pedestrians, but that slows you down quite a bit. The OTHER legal way to do it, like a car, is by using your hand signals to turn. Yes, even left.
Bike = vehicle
Car = vehicle
Once again, the same laws apply to both.
I know! The nerve of some people, how dare he make a legal lane change.
I'm sorry you were 45 seconds late to work this morning. Have a nice day.
"if this guy used the cross walk instead..."
First of all, crosswalks have proven to be just as dangerous, especially this year, or at least as highlighted by the media.
Secondly, a bicycle is considered a vehicle on the road by state law, therefore a cyclist would obviously treat a lane change like a vehicle and not act like a pedestrian.
Thirdly, sorry you were blocked this morning. Just like the thousands of drivers who break the law and get ticketed, there are lots of cyclists who also break the law and sometimes get ticketed.
ven_nem
You live and drive in Santa Monica/Venice. Bicyclists will increase exponentially in your area in the future. Like it or not, you may be behind numerous bicyclists on your way to work in the coming years. You can either dump your car and join the green revolution, or you can move to a more car friendly, less bicycle congested city. Perhaps Detroit or Cleveland.
Ven_NM,
Man... you are just not getting it in regareds to BIKES BEING VEHICLES. THEY HAVE THE SAME RULES AND LAWS AND (SHOULD HAVE) THE SAME PROTECTIONS.
This 'crosswalk' argument is enraging. It makes me want to follow all of the rules of the road, legally, and still get hit by a car.
And one more thing Ven, THE GUY DROVE OFF. Leaving the scene of a crime when you are not in imminent danger yourself isn't legal in a car, on a bike, on the sidewalk, in a plane, on a train. Here, there, anywhere, Sam I Am.
So, a guy almost gets killed in a hit-and-run accident and all you can do is work up another screed about how cyclists are self-righteous?
I don't understand why you get all worked up about a bike getting in your way one morning when it's clearly the cars making short trips that cause congestion and traffic jams every single day.
Why don't you get angry at the people who get in their car to drive 500 feet for a coffee, or the person who can't be bothered to walk or bike the half mile to work? Why don't you get angry at the bureaucrats who use your tax dollars to subsidize cars so that even more drivers can clog the roads but don't provide any alternatives to taking a car everywhere? Why don't you get angry at drivers who create a hostile environment for bikes and pedestrians, ensuring that people will only drive for even the shortest trips?
Bikes have maybe caused me to lose maybe a few minutes a year but I've lost countless hours in traffic jams because of cars and car-only policies and have nearly been killed (in my car) by jerk drivers who make the roads dangerous for everyone.
RTFA:
"Was in far right lane preparing for a change to left lane to make left at park. I looked back and saw a car approaching at extremely high speed. I aborted my lane transfer and the car swerved into my lane and rear ended me at about 45mph."
He was in the far right right. Decided against going into the left turn lane because a car was approaching. So he stayed in the right lane. The car swerved into his lane and rear-ended him.
In other words, he did everything right. He didn't figure that he had the right-of-way and cut-off other drivers so he could make a left turn--unlike some other bicyclists.
Soooo.....
His name is ROADBLOCK and he was hit by a car.
Roadblock... hit by a car.
Roadblock...
Sadly, had his nickname been more apt, the driver would not have gotten away.
While I am all about the bicycle community and (responsible) activists working toward a good cause, I find it extremely likely I will ever be able to take seriously a group that chooses a name in which they replace an "s" with two "z"s. "Ridazz"? really?
haha. That's a good call, actually Paul.
and I meant "unlikely." Guess it'd be hard to take me seriously too, eh?
This past Monday, I saw a driver in a Toyota Camry clip the handlebars of a bicyclist and send him flying to the asphalt. The Camry did not stop, or even slow down. I wish I could have gotten the license plate number of the Camry! The cyclist had a couple really bad scrapes, but no serious injuries. His helmet saved him. BTW, the cyclist was as far over to the side of the road as he could be, and the Camry had plenty of room to avoid him.