Bike riding LA Mayor hooked by taxi

Posted on July 19, 2010 by .
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Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was riding his bike in the bike lane on Venice Boulevard last Saturday night when he was hooked cut off by by a cab driver.

The taxi driver passed Villaraigosa then pulled abruptly in front of the mayor, pulled out directly in front of Villaraigosa, causing the Mayor to lose control, tumble from the bike and break his elbow.

More:

 

 

H/T to Joe Anthony and Ross X in LA. Biking In LA hasn’t mentioned this yet, but I’m sure he will soon followed up on the story and got the details on what happened:

So while the driver did cause what the police term a no-contact collision, it was not a hit-and-run. And the only chargeable offense would be making an unsafe lane change or failure to yield.

Welcome to our world.

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s spent much time riding the streets of this city who doesn’t have a similar tale to tell. Except drivers usually don’t stop for cyclists who don’t ride with a security detail.

And I have a feeling the police took the mayor’s call a little more seriously than they have the rest of us.



See also:

  1. Oregon’s bike lane law
  2. Merging into a bike lane is not the same as turning across it
  3. Smile! You’re riding a bike!
  4. SF Mayor Gavin Newsom announces bike share


  • http://www.facebook.com/TedLJohnson Ted Johnson

    Begs the question: How did a cyclist get elected mayor in LA?

  • Bikinginla

    Ted, if he ever rode a bike before this month, he kept it a secret from all of us.

    The second biggest surprise L.A.'s bike community got was when we saw a picture of the mayor on a bike last week; the biggest, of course, was finding out he'd been hurt on one. I can't say I'd ever known him to even utter the word bike until he took a trip to Copenhagen last December.

  • bikesgonewild

    …sorry to see the man was hurt but i hope he realizes we need a raised cycling awareness in our communities, not just rules that are hardly enforced…

  • http://justanothercyclist.com/2010/07/27/tell-a-cyclist-to-break-an-elbow/ Tell a cyclist to “Break an Elbow” | Just Another Cyclist

    [...] Villaraigosa of Los Angeles for setting us up for this.  He recently found himself involved in a right-hook incident with a taxi cab while he was riding his bike on Venice Blvd, which ultimately resulted in a broken elbow for the [...]

  • http://veloreviews.justanothercyclist.com/2010/07/27/tell-a-cyclist-to-break-an-elbow/ VeloReviews | Blog | Tell a cyclist to "Break an Elbow"

    [...] Villaraigosa of Los Angeles for setting us up for this. He recently found himself involved in a right-hook incident with a taxi cab while he was riding his bike on Venice Blvd, which ultimately resulted in a broken elbow for the [...]