November 3, 201320 Comments on Cyclist killed by Tesla in Santa Cruz County
Update: Cyclist identified as Josh Alper of Santa Cruz. He was a librarian at UC Santa Cruz with a love for music and comedy. My condolences to his friends and loved ones.
A 40 year old Santa Cruz resident was killed after he was hit in a head on collision with a Tesla Model S on Saturday morning. The man was cycling with a small group on Highway 1 west of Santa Cruz, California.
October 22, 20133 Comments on Will gas really get cheaper through the holidays?
Numerous news outlets are republishing the AAA prediction that gasoline prices will drop to levels not seen since 2011, when the average price of gas nationwide retailed for under $3.20 per gallon.
The chart above shows the average price of gas in the United States over the past month, as tracked by gas price tracking service Gas Buddy. The AAA points at this chart and the dropping price of crude oil and predicts the price of gasoline will drop another 15 to 20 cents per gallon by Christmas.
I’ve dismissed the opinions of oil marketing expert Trilby Lundberg before, but in this case I agree with her recent assessment that prices won’t drop much more. Thanks to the Federal government shutdown, nearly a million Americans didn’t drive to work during the first two weeks of October, and uncertainty leading to the shutdown put the brakes on economic activity nationwide.
We’re still on shaky economic ground, but it’s marginally more firm than the quicksand of just 10 days ago. More economy = more spending = more driving in America, so I think we won’t see much movement in the price at the pump.
File this under Prognostications. Feel free to come back in January to mock me. Bike and other transportation news below.
September 24, 20134 Comments on Tanya feels safe in her GMC Yukon
“Tanya feels safe her her GMC Yukon” is the title of this video ad from a couple of years ago.
Never mind the child riding his bike to school in Contra Costa County you might run over, drag for 60 feet and kill with your six half-tons of American pride when you make that free right turn out of a school parking lot without looking, because you have the AutoTrac system to “help you stay in control during complex driving situations.” StabiliTrak and Proactive Roll Avoidance ensure you can zip out of the school drop off line at high speed and keep your vehicle on the road. If you push your Yukon beyond its limits and still manage to lose control while taking that sharp turn at 60 MPH, six airbags will protect the driver and passengers during the inevitable rollover, and OnStar will deploy emergency services and a tow.
Safety first!
It’s a good thing Contra Costa County CHP office already plans a safety seminar for the children at the victim’s school. Let’s put the onus of safety on these kids who have no experience with how the motor vehicles they’re supposed to watch for are supposed to move. [That was sarcasm.]
The poor victim was riding on the wrong side of the road when the driver made her free right turn onto Byron Highway. Kids riding or walking in ways that violate traffic rules next to schools is something every driver should anticipate, no matter how much safety instruction we give them. For their sake, please look left right left and look again when driving near a school. This “accident” was something every driver should anticipate and was easily avoidable.
September 19, 201317 Comments on Joy Covey RIP in Woodside, CA
That cyclist fatality on SKyline Boulevard in the hills of San Mateo County yesterday afternoon was reportedly Joy Covey, former Amazon CFO and treasurer for the Natural Resources Defense Council. I’ve met her (very briefly), and her family and her extended circle of friends and colleagues have my most sincere condolences.
August 4, 20132 Comments on Parishioners log miles for priest slain by car
As a young man, Mark Catalana set a goal for himself of 100,000 miles traveled by bike. He was 1,400 miles short of this goal when he was struck down by the driver of a gray Nissan on San Tomas Expressway over Winchester Boulevard on April 15, 2013. The driver drifted into the shoulder and sideswiped Catalana at near highway speed. Catalana went down hard and shattered his hip.
Catalana was well on his way to recovery when he suddenly fell ill, was transported to the hospital, and perished when a blood clot from his healing wounds caused a fatal heart attack. The sudden death of this 49 year old pastor stunned the congregation at St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church in San Jose.
The Bay Area native used his bicycle as his main mode of transportation. He religiously tracked his miles as he meditated on his bike. One of the cyclists in Catalana’s congregation, Bill Wright, encouraged the other members of the church to complete the 100,000 miles. 115 people logged 8600 miles — six times more than needed — in memory of Father Catalana.
Read more about Father Mark Catalana in the Mercury News: — Cycling priest’s death sets San Jose congregation on a quest.
On a related now, Elly Blue is now accepting submissions for her latest project: Bicycling and religion.
July 25, 2013Leave a Comment
This one looks especially brutal – 65-year-old man hit from behind on Highway 129 early in the morning in the north part of Monterey County near Watsonville. He was knocked into opposing traffic and hit again by another car.
More in the Sentinel: 65 year old man on bike killed by passing traffic on Hwy 129