Breakfast links: Carnage and enforcement

Driver acts responsibly after hitting cyclist

A driver hit a bicyclist in DC last week, but only caused damage to her bicycle. The driver offered to pay for all bike repairs and stuck around for an hour until the nearby bike shop could open and fix the damage. (David Duchovny, Why Won’t You Love Me? via DCBlogs, Stephen Miller)  (Tip: Stephen Miller)

Driver faces no consequences for killing cyclist

A Virginia Beach driver killed a bicyclist who was following all laws, wearing bright yellow and reflective strips. She said she “just didn’t see” the cyclist, and police determined they lacked evidence to charge her with even a minor offense. (TheWashCycle)

MPD ticketing rolling stop

DC police ticketed cyclists for slowly and carefully moving through a stop sign at Columbia and Belmont on Friday, and parked their cruiser illegally while doing it. According to cyclist Rob, this stop sign has very little traffic, while the stop sign one block away at 19th and Columbia is much busier, more dangerous and a much more appropriate place to ensure cyclists behave safely at stop signs. (TheWashCycle)

PG working on poor safety record

Prince George’s roads are more dangerous than others in the state, accounting for 21 percent of traffic fatalities. Prince George’s police are trying to solve the problem through “increasing seat belt use, urging pedestrians to obey traffic laws and working to reduce motorcycle deaths.” County leaders need to also take a look at the way they design their roads.

Reporter Avis Thomas-Lester appropriately avoids the term “accident” in almost all cases, though the headline writers aren’t so responsible. Even SHA spokesman David Buck gets it right, telling Thomas-Lester, “Crashes are no accident. Statistics show that 93 percent of all crashes are attributed to driver error. … Only 7 percent are truly accidents, where little could have been done to prevent them.” (Post)

More Metro Kiss & Park

Responding to our link to Metro employees abusing parking privileges at a Kiss and Ride, reader Kevin writes, “At Stadium-Armory the employees park on the sidewalk above the station all day, and Metro ignores this also.”

Pick the worst housing project

OObject highlights 15 terribly designed public housing projects across the globe, many designed by famous architects. Each has a design that alienates residents instead of fostering community. (Lynda)  (Tip: Lynda)