Registerguard--
Oregon Sen. Floyd Prozanski, just six days before the end of the legislative session, pushed for a bill that would create a new "vehicular homicide" law that would make it easier for negligent drivers who cause the death of another person to face criminal charges and jail time.
Senate Bill 1058 was just one of four introduced in the final two weeks of the legislative session intended to protect bicyclists on the roads.
"He was doing everything by law, doing everything he was supposed to do, and she just killed the guy and walked away with a fine," Prozanski said of the Aloha resident who hit O'Donnell who was killed last month riding his bicycle outside of Portland. "
Of the four bills, Senate Bill 108 crates the offense of "unsafe passing of a person operating a bicycle" which requires a motorist on a country road to allow enough space that a cyclist could fall onto the road and still be passed safely.
Senate Bill 789, which has already been signed into law by Governor "Ted tax and gouge me", the creates special license plates that read "share the road."
Senate Bill 3314 would impose harsher penalties for drivers who injure other "vulnerable users" of the roads, which include pedestrians, cyclists and skaters.
(Photo by Brian Davies -- Registerguard)
this is all good and well, however, I would also like to see stiffer penalties for bicyclists who break the law.
For example, the other night as I was heading over to a friends house... I was at a stop sign, looked both ways of course... and as soon as I started to proceed... suddenly out from the shadows come these two bike riders riding at a pretty good clip with no lights, dark clothing, riding in the middle-of-the-road way, and I came very close to hitting them. I slammed on the brakes to avoid them, and of course they're yelling at me because I did not see them.
Maybe we should pass a law that requires ALL bicycles to come equipped with lights.
speaking of illegal... in the picture above, I don't think you're supposed to be riding two a breast, and riding on the white line of the bike lane.
4 comments:
Bicyclists are allowed to ride two abreast in Oregon as long as they don't impede traffic.
I am not sure as to the on-the-white-line rule.
Cyclists are required to ride as far to the right as is safely possible, with a couple exceptions. And they are required to use the bike lane if there is one.
And cyclists are subject to the same penalties as cars for running stop signs. And are ticketed as well. If you look at bike blogs, cyclists are receiving $250 to $350 fines for rolling through stop signs.
But the bigger issue here is *safety*.
No matter what you think about cyclists - why should all laws not reflect the best way to keep people ALIVE. I am sorry if a bicycle inconveniences you, but the simple fact is that CARS KILL.
Do people deserve to die simply because they are riding a bicycle?
More laws. Stiff fines are going to be of little consequence to the dead cyclist. How does riding two abreast add to the safety of cyclists? A little commonsense on both sides would be the best deterrent to accidents. I ride bikes and drive cars and realize that the safest way to avoid being killed on a bike is to limit my contact with autos.
Laws like this encourage cyclists to exert their "legal" presence on unsafe highways. What is the point of being "dead" right?
Anon
You don’t have to tell me that cars kill. I have assisted with over 200 motor vehicle accidents when I used to belong to Lane County REACT. The majority of those accidents were caused by someone doing something stupid.
I am also a bike rider, and a motorcycle rider, and I obey the laws of the road.
As far as being inconvenienced by the bikes (which I was not by the way) the point was that they knew it was dark and that they could not be seen, and there for should have been more cautious of vehicles instead of riding down the middle of the roadway and darting through an intersection. That was nothing but stupid!
Your right! It is all about safety and common sense, for both sides.
Yesterday I observed a car tailgate, yes tailgate a bike, honking the horn continually as the car followed for several blocks. All of us walking had to stop and express our disgust. The person on the bike was having a hard time keeping the thing upright. Safety is the BIG issue and we all need to learn to tolerate the other. And I think the guy in the car should have gotten, at the least, a ticket.
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