Bikes Safe Yield Act gets hearing — this Wednesday, March 4!
Rep. Daniel Patterson has informed me that the “Bikes Safe Yield Act” will get a hearing this Wednesday at the capitol. It is in the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.
Patterson said the bill would likely be amended at that time to apply only to bicyclists who are over the age of 16.
(The bill permits cyclists to proceed through stop-signs without stopping so long as they do so safely and only when there is no cross traffic. It lets bicyclists treat stop-signs as if they are yield signs. A bicyclist would have to yield to any cross traffic in the intersection, but could proceed without stopping if there is no cross traffic.)
This approach is already the law in Idaho, and several other states are considering the change.
One problem Patterson is trying to solve is the growing number of tickets cyclists are getting for rolling slowly through stop signs. He noted that Tucson law enforcement often park at four-way stops near the University of Arizona and ticket students who proceed through those stops without putting their foot down and coming to a complete stop. The tickets are expensive ($200.00) and often unwarranted in the mind of the cyclists, many of whom slowed nearly to a stop before ascertaining the intersection was clear.
This happened to me at a four-way stop with a roundabout in Dunbar Spring and, as readers of this blog know, I am still not over it! There was no reason to give me a ticket that night other than to boost revenues. Indeed, I have often told bicyclists who call me with these stop-sign tickets to look at them as “a tax.” A bike-riding tax. I have often told bicyclists that if they regularly use their bikes for transportation in town, they can expect about one ticket a year from the Tucson Police Department.
Patterson has asked AZ cyclists to write or email their legislators with stories about unwarranted stop sign tickets and to alert their legislators to this bill.
Cyclists are particularly asked to write these legislators, if you live in their district.
Ray Barnes, District 7 rbarnes@azleg.gov
Sam Crump, District 6 scrump@azleg.gov
Patricia Fleming, District 25 pfleming@azleg.gov
David Gowan, District 30 dgowan@azleg.gov
Barbara McGuire, District 23 bmcguire@azleg.gov
Carl Seel, District 6 cseel@azleg.gov
Jerry Weiers, District 12 jpweiers@azleg.gov
You can find your legislators by using this map.
Thanks for supporting this important bill! Contacting the above legislators will make the difference in advancing this bill toward law!
Erik Ryberg
February 27th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
[...] can follow it here: HB2479 (2009, 49th 1st regular session). The bill will make it’s debut on March 4 before the Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 4:16 am
I am writing in regard on two bills which concern me greatly. You will be able to vote on HB2479 and HB2546. I don’t own a motor vehicle and the bicycle is my primary mode of transportation. I cycle around 5,000 miles a year and having these two bills pass is extremely important to my safety. Arizona is a great state to cycle in by passing these two bills Arizona will maintain its leadership which the nation has been following. Most noticeably with the three foot passing law. Which was passed in 1990.
The first bill HB2546 is known as “Bikes safe at stop signs”.
It allows a cyclist to roll through a stop sign at a safe speed provided it has the right of way to do so. Basically treat a stop sign as a yield sign.
In the following links you will be able read why this bill needs to be passed.
http://azbikelaw.org/blog/why-i-support-bikes-safe-at-stop-signs/
and
http://www.tucsonbikelawyer.com/thoughts-on-the-stop-signyield-sign-debate/
It should be noted that an amendment making this apply to people only over the age of 16.
The second bill HB2546 is known as “motor vehicles; bicycles; operation requirements” Contains a bunch of things. It contains several of the same elements of HB2503 (46th 1st regular session, you MUST “change sessions” FIRST before clicking the link) that died in 2003.
This bill contains some very basic rights and allows a car to move into the center lane legally among other things.
4. Touching or throwing an object at or in the direction of any person riding a bicycle.
C. If a collision occurs between a motor vehicle and a bicycle, the collision is prima facie evidence of the driver’s failure to leave a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle.
Center lane language
(ii) If no traffic is present in the lane, a driver may enter the lane a sufficient distance to provide the minimum three foot safe passing distance to bicyclists required by section 28-735.
As you can see these are some fundamental laws in both of these bills which would make riding a bicycle safer. At the same time allow the motorist to pass with a safe distance by using the center lane. Please send a yes vote for bicycle safety.
Thank You
So how is that for a letter?
February 28th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
bb:
The content of the letter is great but the grammar is god-awful. Please rewrite it using complete sentences!
February 28th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hey BB–
I know what Tom is saying, but grammar and complete sentences are totally overrated when it comes to getting the attention of a legislator. Your reader will get your point and get it well, I think. So yes, I think it is a great letter and you should send it! And the rest of you should send one too! Let’s do this!
EBR
February 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Whom should we be pulling for as the new police chief? Can we get one of the five candidates on the record as promising to enforce the three-foot rule? I doubt there’s a cop on the force who has written an ARS 28-735 citation absent a broken bike and body on the road.
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:11 am
[...] Please email your legislators asking them to support this act. For more information read this post from TucsonBikeLawyer.com. [...]
March 5th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Hey Erik,
While I agree that you shouldn’t have been ticketed for rolling slowly through a UA stop sign, in general the manners of cyclists here at the UA are atrocious. Usually there is traffic at Cherry and University, and when I stop to wait my turn, other cyclists just blast right past without even slowing down. Unsafe yes, but also incredibly rude, and it just gives ammunition to motorists who hate us and our bikes. I want to make it clear that I will cruise slowly through a stop sign if there’s no traffic, but if it’s a 4 way stop and three cars are there ahead of me, I stop. Duh. Waiting one’s turn is simply civilized behavior.