Cycling Bill Dies

I posted about my opposition to this bill a couple of weeks ago. Well, it looks like the bill died in committee yesterday:

Utah bicyclists will have to keep stopping at stop signs or risk a ticket, regardless of whether there's any traffic.

The House Transportation Committee on Tuesday deadlocked 6-6 over a bill that would legalize a rolling stop when a bicyclist finds it safe to cross and also allow for stopping and then riding through red lights when there is no traffic. The tie vote means the bill fails to advance to the House floor.

Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, said the change would confuse drivers and send the wrong message to children taught to wait out red lights and walk their bikes across the street. Like others on the committee, he added that he believes drivers would be sued and found at fault for hitting cyclists who make poor choices.

HB 91-- A bad Bicycling Bill

Blue in Red Zion has pointed out a bill being run by Representative Carol Spackman-Moss that "allows bicycle riders the right to blow through intersections when no other cars are there. No having to legally wait for the light to change in a downtown commute, no need to stop in a residential area with a stop sign, no riders can simply keep on riding, provided it is safe for them to do so."

I used to ride my bike a lot. Anyone who has seen my calves can attest to that. However, anyone who has seen the rest of me can probably guess that I haven't been on a bike much since getting home from my mission a decade ago. My parents and I have been involved in the local cycling community in varying degrees since the late 80's.

I think this is a bad bill for many reasons. I feel that one of the problems cyclists face today is that they don't get any respect from drivers, compounded by the fact that they many in their ranks don't respect the laws that are out there. How many times have I seen a cyclist just about get themselves killed blowing through a stop sign or a red light. Now, having times that they are allowed to is just foolhardy. Even fewer cycling laws will be enforced.

You see, in Utah, a bicycle is a vehicle, and has the right to be on the road (at least in the right half of the right-most lane of traffic) with a few exceptions (freeways when there is an alternate road, some local restrictions). With that right, bicyclists have to obey the same laws as everyone who drives a car. Yes, I have heard of cyclists getting cited for speeding and running stop signs.

So, creating a special set of rules for cyclists is a dangerous path to go down.

-Bob