Q: Last week’s motorcycle accident on the Bay Bridge and the resulting hours-long backup forces me to ask:
It seems that the percentage of accidents involving motorcycles during commute hours is far greater than the percentage of commuters in automobiles. I would also guess that a far greater percentage of those crashes result in injury/death than with auto accidents and take far longer to clear than non-injury accidents.
Is there any data to back up my reasoning?
Doug Fairbairn, Los Gatos
A: Here is what I can tell you. Lane splitting in commute times and at speeds under 50 mph is considered safe and leads to fewer crashes than other times of the day.
Yet motorcyclist deaths occurred 28 times more frequently than fatalities in other vehicles. In fatal crashes, the motorcycle is almost always the striking vehicle. In 40 percent of crashes, the motorcycle was the only vehicle.
A motorcycle crash is more likely to result in injuries and significant delays and get big play on radio reports.
And 37 percent involve crashes where a motorcyclist has been drinking, and that is on weekends or non-commute times.
Q: What’s going on with the down escalator on the north end of the Montgomery BART station in San Francisco? It’s been out of service for at least a month, and it looks like maintenance workers have completely torn it apart. It creates a major pedestrian traffic jam during commute hours as people try to get into and out of the station.
T. W., San Jose
A: This unit suffered a step crash, and crews need to repair the track and truss and correct the alignment. It’s a major repair job but could be done by this weekend. The parts that were damaged must be custom made due to the fact Westinghouse is no longer in business. This makes the process take longer. There are three crew members each day working in a pit 30 feet below the unit prepping equipment to get this done.
This will be one of 41 units replaced starting next year. BART will spend $96.5 million from Measure RR and target escalators that regularly malfunction in downtown San Francisco.
Q: Oh esteemed provider of all traffic-related knowledge, what are the regulations regarding the use of the carpool lanes from the West Grand approach to the Bay Bridge? I was informed by a Caltrans worker that anyone with a FasTrak transponder could use them on weekends.
Richard Sheng, Kensington
A: No. The West Grand bus/carpool lane can be used by buses at any time; and by 3+ carpools weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Solo drivers and 2-person carpools cannot use this lane, regardless of whether they have FasTrak or not.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
