Quarterly Newsletter and News Articles

by russ willis

[This is an article from the Summer 2004 issue of The Hub, MoBikeFed's newsletter. Articles from The Hub are posted on the website on a delayed basis. To receive articles on time and directly to your mailbox, please join MoBikeFed.]

The following is an article published in one of the St Louis papers in April 2004. The article highlights the legislation submitted by the Missouri Bicycle Federation during the 2004 session. Articles like this help to soften the sentiments and increase the sensitivity of motorists toward alternate transportation means. MoBikeFed, in cooperation with the St. Louis Bicycle Federation and other bicycle and pedestrian groups around the state, is working on bicycle safety legislation in 2005. Some of the provisions that are not part of the 2005 legislation will be part of legislative proposals in future years.

You are biking on a city street, two or three feet out from the curb to avoid the cracked pavement and broken glass, a couple of feet out from the parking lane to avoid getting "doored." In other words, you are taking the lane which under Missouri law you are required to do. And in your mirror you see a sport utility vehicle coming up behind you, and you can sense that it is going to crowd you—the driver doesn't want to give you any clearance.

Maybe she leans on the horn or revs her engine, or maybe she is just not paying attention at all, talking on her cell phone. There is oncoming traffic in the opposite lane, and you are going only eighteen miles an hour, so the motorist would have to wait to pass you safely if you continue to assert the lane. But, of course, the driver doesn't see it that way. She passes within maybe six inches, forcing you to the right. Maybe she shouts at you through the open passenger window, “get off the road.” Maybe, in an extreme case, a passenger reaches out the window and smacks you on the shoulder. Or someone in the car throws a can or bottle at you. Because you are a capable cyclist, you do not panic or crash. You make a note of the plate number and pull over to the curb to call the police on your cell phone. After half an hour, an officer arrives and takes your statement. Would you be able to identify the driver? Maybe not. Then, if he denies this incident occurred, the police will not pursue it. Why not? Isn't this an assault with a deadly weapon? No, the prosecutor doesn't see it that way. Even if you had been struck and injured, the driver probably would not have been charged with anything other than improper lane usage or failure to yield—misdemeanor traffic charges. With no injury, the only charge (if someone threw a bottle at you) might be peace disturbance. Something like this is an almost daily occurrence in the life of a transportation cyclist.

Members of the board of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation (BikeFed) sat down with local prosecutors some months ago to discuss this, and although they were sympathetic, the prosecutors said that as a practical matter it is difficult to prove “criminal intent,” and that, unless there is an independent violation, such as speeding, running a stop, or driving under the influence, they cannot prosecute these cases. Two years ago, a nationally known pedestrian advocate was run over and killed by a tour bus in downtown St. Louis as she was crossing the street. The driver was ultimately convicted of failure to yield the right of way. Negligent homicide charges were not brought.

There is a bill pending in the Missouri legislature that would begin to change this equation. The provisions of SB 1031, which have been incorporated into SB 710, would (among other things) require a motorist to exercise “the highest degree of care” to avoid injuring a cyclist or a pedestrian. Passing closer than three feet would by definition fail this requirement. If the cyclist is seriously injured, the motorist could be charged with second degree assault. If the cyclist is killed, the motorist could be charged with first degree manslaughter. The “highest degree” standard would also make it easier for an injured cyclist to prosecute a civil claim for damages. This bill was reported out of the Transportation commit-tee in early March [2004], and was passed by the full Senate on March 31. A similar bill filed in the House, HB 1122, was referred to the Transportation committee in February, where it appears to be languishing.

Of course, legislation and enforcement are not the only way to educate the public about the rights of cyclists. It is not always obvious to even a well-intentioned motorist how exactly to share the road safely. The BikeFed is engaged in a variety of educational and public relations efforts to raise awareness of these issues. More information concerning these efforts can be found online at stlbikefed.org.

R. Willis is Policy Task Force Chair of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation.

Have you had an experience good or bad with advocating for bicycle accommodations in your area? We’d love to hear about it! Submit your experiences to the editor at Leevie@AOL.com.

permanent link to article: "NEWSLETTER ARTICLE: Members in Action"
posted by Brent Hugh at 9:18 AM |comment on this article

[This is an article from the Summer 2004 issue of The Hub, MoBikeFed's newsletter. Articles from The Hub are posted on the website on a delayed basis. To receive articles on time and directly to your mailbox, please join MoBikeFed.]

This article was published as "From the Chair", by MoBikeFed President Brent Hugh:

On our recent family vacation, we covered about 3000 miles by car and a few hundred miles by bicycle in seven states. As I do every time I return from such a trip, the moment we crossed the state line back into Missouri, I had to ask myself, “What is WRONG with this state?”

If you haven't been out of state for a while you might have forgotten, so let me remind you:

* Roads in other states, especially interstate freeways and major highways, are not cracked to pieces and filled with potholes and bumps. Most roads in other state are s-m-o-o-t-h.

* Almost all major roads and streets in other states have shoulders (or bicycle lanes) and, in urban areas, sidewalks.

* With precious few exceptions, bridges and overpasses have wide shoulders and, in urban areas, sidewalks.

* When previously rural areas become densely populated, they improve the road network to suit the new situation, adding sidewalks and shoulders to formerly narrow country lanes.

I don't think that most of this is done specifically with bicyclists in mind. But people in most parts of this country demand good roads and take it for granted that bicyclists and pedestrians will need to go everywhere the roads go. They are not afraid to spend the money needed to create this network of good roads. They realize that the benefits of a complete network of “complete streets” far outweigh the costs.

And it pays off. Everywhere we went we saw bicyclists and pedestrians by the dozens–easily ten times the number I see in my little corner of Kansas City.

Here in Missouri, we have our work cut out for us if we want to make a transportation system that offers real choice and meets the needs of all users, including bicyclists. And that is not just my own vague impression. We know that Missourians walk and bicycle less than the national average and the stats show that Missourians are fatter than the national average and becoming fatter still at a frightening rate.

I see you, the members of the Missouri Bicycle Federation as the nucleus of a group that over the next years and decades, will turn this situation around 180°. It’s starting to happen already. In recent trips to Springfield and Columbia I saw dozens of cyclists on the streets and trails, young and old, doing everything from training to grocery shopping. The St. Louis Bicycle Federation is making a big impact and the Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation is getting on its feet.

We need to take these examples of success in Missouri and replicate them in every city and town across the state. It can be done, and we know from studies and surveys that an overwhelming majority of Missourians want bicycle and pedestrian friendly streets and more recreational trails of all kinds.

Let’s step up to the plate and make it happen.

permanent link to article: "NEWSLETTER ARTICLE: With your help, MoBikeFed can help make Missouri a more bicycle and pedestrian friendly place"
posted by Brent Hugh at 12:30 PM |comment on this article