We All Want the Same Thing: SafeTREC commentary on the Concord crash in which an SUV driven by a teenager killed a father and his young daughter while they were riding their bicycles
When Solaiman Nuri and his daughters Hadessa, 9, and Hannah, 12, set out on a bike ride Saturday morning, April 7, along the sidewalk of Treat Boulevard in Concord (legally, according to the Concord Municipal Code), there was no reason to anticipate that their trip would be cut short by a reportedly out-of-control vehicle leaving the road and crashing into them, killing Hadessa and her father. The Nuris, all of whom were wearing helmets, were doing what is considered a good and desirable thing: partaking in physical exercise, strengthening family ties and building community by bringing human life to the Saturday streets of Concord. Treat Boulevard is a well-paved, multi-lane, signalized street with sidewalks, designed to move drivers quickly between their homes in nearby neighborhoods and places for work, school, shopping and recreation. It adheres to roadway design practices that have been in place for decades. So what went wrong?...
Headline Pick May 11:
Campus cyclists totally rock Bike To Work Day!
A bright and beautiful May day made for a busy morning at UC Berkeley’s Energizer Station. Students, faculty and staff stopped by to pick up swag bags, register their bikes with UCPD and get a quick bike tune-up from BicyCal‘s student bike mechanics. While many people were regular commuters, a cheer always came up when a cyclist announced she had made a special effort to bike to campus today. Congratulations!—from the blog of the Campus Bike Initiative: Promoting and Celebrating Cycling for Everyday Transportation at UC Berkeley
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SafeTREC Presentation Now online:
at the Second Annual Silicon Valley Bike Advocacy Summit, Tuesday, April 17, 2-8 pm, Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto
SafeTREC Communications Director Phyllis Orrick will speak on bicycle-oriented design as part of a panel for the breakout session, "Active transportation and the built environmen:t How can our roadways and other transportation facilities encourage active mobility while respecting the needs of all users?" Moderator: Jaime Rodriguez, City of Palo Alto. Additional panelists: John Ciccarelli, Bicycle Solutions; Brett Hondorp, Principal, Alta Planning + Design; and Jeremy Nelson, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard. Co-hosted by Stanford Hospital and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition.
Coming Soon: Complete Presentations from SafeTREC at Pedestrians May 3 & 4, at Los Angeles Metro Headquarters
Some presentations online now: SafeTREC GIS Program Manager John Bigham participates in the panel, "What the Data Tells Us and How We Can Use It," along with Nancy McGucken, Nancy McGucken & Associates; Elaine Murikami, Federal Highway Administration; and Leonard Seitz, Caltrans. Moderated by Deborah Murphy, Los Angeles Walks.
SafeTREC postdoctoral scholar Robert Schneider on "How To Do Your Own Pedestrian Count."
SafeTREC Associate Director Jill Cooper on the panel, "3 P’s for Overcoming Distracted Traveler Challenges and Achieving Statewide Multimodal Successes: Perseverance, Patience and Professionalism," along with Lauren Holland of the Zachary Michael Cruz Foundation, on "Pedestrian Safety in School Zones." Moderated by Chris Ratekin, Caltrans.
Pedestrians Count is the only event of its kind focused solely on pedestrians and it provides an opportunity for advocates, practitioners and researchers to come together to share best practices, ask and answer questions, work to integrate data across fields, and to continue build a solid foundation for improving the pedestrian environment. Session topics include walkability to transit and TOD, Sustainable Communities Strategies, health equity, and pedestrian data collection. Statewide professionals, academics, and community leaders will share their current and most promising work. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, share, and network with California’s leaders in pedestrian safety and walkable communities.
Key Note Speakers: Dr. Richard Jackson, UC Los Angeles Chris Murphy, California Office of Traffic Safety Plenary Speakers: Manal Aboelata, Prevention Institute Matt Carpenter, Sacramento Council of Governments Coleen Clementson, San Diego Association of Governments Mary Lee, Policy Link Michele Martinez, Santa Ana Councilmember Dana Richardson, San Diego Community Health Improvement Partners.
TIMS: New and Updated School Crash Maps for California
The interactive geospatial PDF maps of pedestrian and bicycle collisions near school sites in California have been updated to include 2007 to 2009 collisions, 2010 Free/Reduced Price Meals, and 2011 Safe Routes to School funding information.
New Data Visualizations from TIMS
On the FARS Collision Maps and Charts page new visualizations have been created to provide different ways to explore FARS collision fatality data and incorporate data from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Collision counts and rates (per VMT and population) are shown over time and by state. The visualizations can identify potential trends that would benefit from further analysis.
Safe Transportation Research and Education Center
University of California, Berkeley
2614 Dwight Way #7374, Berkeley, CA 94720-7374 (map)
Berkeley, CA 94720-7374
Fax: 510-643-9922
Email: safetrec@berkeley.edu
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 
