MoBikeFed supports transportation safety bill

This year the Missouri Bicycle Federation has been working with Missouri legislators and bicycle and pedestrian groups around the state to create legislation that will improve the environment for walking and bicycling in Missouri.

The bill is making reasonably good progress in the Senate (SB381). In the House, the bill (HB684) has had a hearing where several technical problems came to light. Language to correct those problems has been suggested and now the bill could move forward, but so far it has not.

This is where your support could make an important difference. The key people to contact in the House are Robin Wright Jones, sponsor of the legislation (be sure to thank Ms. Jones for her sponsorship, if you write!), Larry Crawford, co-sponsor and chair of the Transportation Committee, and other members of the Transportation Committee. On the web:
Jones's online web page and contact info
Crawford's online web page and contact info
Other committee members' names and contact info

Jones and Crawford are supporters of the bill, but with the press of other legislation it is hard for them to keep it moving forward without a little support from constituents.

What we need in this case is a lot of "Thank yous" for sponsoring/co-sponsoring the legislation and some gentle support and encouragement for them to put the bill on a higher priority level.

Above all, when you write your legislator, please, Please, PLEASE be polite and persuasive. We have found through hard experience that angry, confrontational letters and phone calls are very counterproductive in Missouri.

State your case in a concise, logical way and you'll likely make a friend--both for this bill and for any future bicycle-related matters.

Key points of the bill are
* a prohibition on parking in or blocking a bike lane (bike lanes are not mentioned in current Missouri law),

* a standardized 20 MPH school zone speed limit statewide,

* language requiring motorists to exercise "the highest degree of care" around pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists (this
is the law in 43 other states but has never been statewide law in Missouri!), and

* increased penalties for drivers who negligently collide with and injure pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists

More details about the bill and the reasons for it:

MoBikeFed supports Road Safety Bill
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The Missouri Bicycle Federation, in cooperation with cyclists around the state, cyclist and pedestrian groups, and Missouri legislators, has developed a bill designed to address common-sense public safety issues related to road use.

Non-controversial public safety issues
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The issues addressed in the bill are generally non-controversial and deal with practical safety issues that have been addressed in most other states and in the Uniform Vehicle Code, but for one reason or another have never been addressed in Missouri. The bill's provisions will have no impact on the state's budget--important in this year of tight finances.

Pedestrian and bicycling issues are coming more and more to the forefront across Missouri and, indeed, the entire country. Communities are increasingly realizing that creating a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly environment and protecting multi-modal transportation choice are a vitally important in the making vital, livable communities--communities that maintain and increase property values and have vibrant local economies.

According to the 2000 Census, about 10% of Missouri households have no automobile. In some urban areas in Missouri, the percentage of households with no automobile is as high as 25%. Sixty thousand adult Missourians walk or bike to work.

Clearly a substantial group of Missourians relies on walking and bicycling to meet essential transportation needs, despite the fact that barriers to walking and bicycling in Missouri are substantial.

The number one barrier to walking and bicycling in Missouri, though, is not in the infrastructure (although much needs to be done there). It does not require millions of dollars to correct.

Our number one need is not new roads and paths, but a new attitude and new environment that considers walking and bicycling legitimate, valuable activities, and that places the safety of these vulnerable road users uppermost in the minds of all Missouri drivers and law enforcement officials.

This bill is designed to help create that attitude and that environment in Missouri.


Reasons for the proposed laws
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The main provisions of the Road Safety Bill:

* Establish a statewide, standard 20MPH school zone speed limit

Reason: Some Missouri communities have established school zone speed limits of 20 mph, others 25 MPH, and a number of roads adjacent to schools are not specially marked at all. There is no uniformity, and so drivers do not know what to expect in school zones.

A unified statewide school zone standard will help with compliance.

Slower speeds give drivers more time to maneuver and/or stop in order to avoid collisions with school children. For instance, cutting speed from 30 MPH to 20 MPH cuts stopping distance in half. Slowing from 25 MPH to 20 MPH cuts stopping distance by 29%.

And the slower speeds mandated by this bill have the potential to dramatically decrease the severity of vehicle-pedestrian accidents in school zones: 5 percent of pedestrians hit by a vehicle traveling 20 mph die; 20% at 25 mph; 40% at 30 mph; 80% at 40 mph.

Most other states set a statewide uniform speed limit of 20 MPH. Some set school zone speed limits as low as 15 MPH. Many go to great effort to ensure uniformity of speed, signage, warning lights, and other details, because they find that such uniformity greatly improves driver compliance.


* Prohibit motor vehicles from parking and unlawfully driving in bike lanes

Reason: Bike lanes are becoming increasingly common around the state. Blocked bike lanes are a serious safety problem for cyclists who use the lanes. No current state law prohibits motor vehicles from parking in them.

The law allows motor vehicles to safely enter and cross a bicycle lane when necessary (for instance, to enter a driveway) but otherwise prohibits motor vehicles from driving in the lane.

When making a turning maneuver across a bike lane, drivers are required to first merge into the bicycle lane, yielding to any (bicycle) traffic that may be in the lane, then complete the turn. This is in accordance with standard traffic engineering practice, which asks drivers to direct their attention to one maneuver at a time (first merge, then turn) rather than two maneuvers at once (simultaneously crossing the bicycle lane and turning).


* Require motorists to drive carefully near, and do everything in their power to avoid colliding with, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.

Reason: This provision is important for creating a safe environment for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and motor vehicle drivers. The provision is part of the Uniform Vehicle Code and state-wide law in 43 states. It has not been state-wide law in Missouri.

A version of this provision has been in the Missouri's Model Traffic Ordinance. The Model Traffic Ordinance has been adopted by some Missouri communities but does not have state-wide force of law. The current version in the Model Traffic Ordinance mentions only "pedestrians", omitting bicyclists and motorcyclists.

This bill updates the language in the Model Traffic Ordinance to include bicyclists and motorcyclists and also puts the updated provision in RSMo 304, which will give it state-wide force of law.


* Establish monetary penalties for those who negligently collide with a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist. The penalties will be more severe for repeat offenses. Penalties include driver license point assessments of 4 to 6 points.

Reason: The discussion that lead to this section was inspired by the death of Mike Brady. Brady was killed during the Bike Across Missouri bicycle race over Labor Day weekend 2000 by a motorist with 19 prior traffic convictions who ran off a straight and level road on a gorgeous, sunny day and hit Mike from behind as he was riding on the road's shoulder.

How can we keep such proven dangerous drivers off the road? How can we make them more responsible for the injuries and damage they cause? These are the issues this section is intended to address.

By introducing penalties for drivers who negligently injure others, this bill will help curb dangerous driving behavior.

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