NewsSafe passing of bicyclists bill in Missouri House Committee Feb 23rd

Safe passing of bicyclists bill in Missouri House Committee Feb 23rd

Submitted by Brent Hugh on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 14:30

The proposal by Rep David Sater to update Missouri's current safe passing of bicyclists bill by adding the requirement that motorists pass bicyclists by a minimum of three feet, will be heard in theBicycle commuter House Transportation Committee at 12 noon on Tuesday, Feb 23rd, 2010.

The Bicycle Safety Bill sponsored by Rep. Mike Sutherland and supported by MoBikeFed in 2005 originally included a 3 foot minimum passing distance.  However, at the insistence of the insurance industry--who feared a specific, concrete legal requirement would lead to more claims against their customers--the specific three foot requirement was removed at that time.  

Missouri's current law simply states that motorists "shall leave a safe distance, when passing the bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle."

Most motorists already pass bicyclists with a distance greater than three feet.  However the addition of the three foot language to Missouri law would help clarify the issue of exactly what motorists are doing wrong when it comes to court cases--like the infamous Gaunt case, where the motorist neglected to pass safely and killed two bicyclists, but was not convicted of any traffic offense, or the recent case at the Kansas City airport where a driver who seriously injured a bicyclist received only a minor traffic citation.

If you'd like to contact members of the House Transportation Committee in support of HB 1250, here is the contact info:

Bob Dixon, Springfield, Chair: 573-751-9809, Fax: 573-526-8965, E-Mail: Bob.Dixon@house.mo.gov
Sally Faith, St Charles, Vice Chair: 573-751-1452, Fax: 573-526-0907, E-Mail: Sally.Faith@house.mo.gov 
Nita Jane Ayres, Branson, 573-751-2492 , E-Mail: NitaJane.Ayres@house.mo.gov 
Charlie Denison, Springfield, 573-751-2210, E-Mail: Charlie.Denison@house.mo.gov 
Gary Dusenberg, Blue Springs, 573-751-1487, Fax: 573-526-2619, E-Mail: Gary.Dusenberg@house.mo.gov 
Joe Fallert, Ste. Genevieve, 573-751-7735, Fax: 573-522-2466, E-Mail: Joe.FallertJr@house.mo.gov 
Jeanne Kirkton, Webster Groves, 573-751-1285, Fax: 573-522-9394, E-Mail: Jeanne.Kirkton@house.mo.gov 
JC Kuessner, Eminence, 573-751-2112, Fax: 573-526-6856, E-Mail: JC.Kuessner@house.mo.gov 
Tom McDonald, Independence, 573-751-9851, Fax: E-Mail: Tom.McDonald@house.mo.gov 
Tim Meadows, Imperial, 573-751-1311, Fax: 573-751-5409, E-Mail: Tim.Meadows@house.mo.gov 
Brian Munzlinger, Williamstown, 573-751-7985, Fax: 573-522-3722, E-Mail: Brian.Munzlinger@house.mo.gov 
Ed Schieffer, Troy, 573-751-9459, Fax: 573-522-1459, E-Mail: Ed.Schieffer@house.mo.gov 
Clint Tracy, Cape Girardeau, 573-751-1443, E-Mail: Clint.Tracy@house.mo.gov 
Maynard Wallace, Thornfield (Stone, Ozark, Taney, Howell counties), 573-751-2042, Fax: 573-526-0575, E-Mail: Maynard.Wallace@house.mo.gov 


 * Please cc or bcc the bill's sponsor and me on your message:    David.Sater@house.mo.gov, director@mobikefed.org


  Suggested message:  Please support SB 1250, which will help make Missouri's roads safer for everyone by clarifying the law about safe passing of bicyclists.  Please consider the simple changes to the text that will be proposed by the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation.

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Comments

Submitted by Midtown Guy (not verified) on Wed, 02/24/2010 - 10:03.
Don't know what the House is like, but in the Senate there are more bills in committee than can be heard on floor. Result: committee chairs get to decide what goes to the floor. I expect that the House is the same way. I can't find out if this passed, but if and when it does focus needs to be on Committee Chairman Bob Dixon. MoBikeFed needs to activate its members in Dixon's district.
Submitted by Brent Hugh on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 09:31.
A bill like this has basically no chance at all of advancing to the floor on its own. The only way would be as a consent bill, but since this bill has a penalty provision unfortunately that is not allowed. What typically happens is a number of bills supported by the transportation committee will be bundled into a transportation omnibus bill. Sometimes there are two (or more) versions--usually one 'good' bill that they try to keep clean and that people think has a chance of really passing, and then one or more 'bad' bills which carry the provisions that people would like to be on record as supporting but which have some controversial provision that gives them a very low chance of actually passing. And you're exactly right that the Chair of the transportation committee, and other members of the committee, have the most say about which bills get included in these omnibus transportation bills and which are put in the 'bad' bill or left out entirely. One reason Rep. Sater, the sponsor, is interested in keeping this bill simple, clean, and uncontroversial is that makes it much easier to get it included in one of the transportation omnibus bills that actually has a chance of getting passed this year.
Submitted by Joe Mizereck (not verified) on Sun, 02/21/2010 - 17:51.
This is sad and terribly disappointing. And I hope someone grows a sack in Missouri to get the "3 feet clearance" piece back into the bill. Of course the insurance agency is concerned, as they should be. But, their concern is about the bottom line rather than the people of Missouri. Come on Missouri, we are talking about setting in law a concrete frame of reference on what is and what is not a safe passing distance, "at least 3 feet please". If a motorist is about to pass a cyclist from the rear and determines that he can't give at least 3 feet clearance, then he doesn’t pass. And by waiting until he can pass safely, lives are saved. Look, the question is simple: will a law requiring motorists to give cyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing from the rear save lives? Absolutely. It's a no brainer. To take it out of the bill is shameful. Forget about the enforceability issue. The true value of this law isn't found in giving motorists tickets, but rather, in using the law as a tool to help educate motorists on what is considered a safe passing distance--at least 3 feet please. Fourteen states have seen the wisdom and value of having such a law on the books. Fourteen states have told cyclists they have a protected space between themselves and motorists. When motorists understand this space exists they can be better motorists and cyclists can be safer. Everyone wins...and fewer people die. Leave it out of the bill, and people will die. And when that happens, what difference will it make to the insurance industry. They don't care...all they care about is their bottom line. Those &%^$$ Missouri...do what you need to do to get this bill done right. Lives are at stake. Get on the phones and tell your representatives what you want. What you expect them to do. You want the “at least 3 feet clearance” piece restored. Nothing less. Good luck Missouri. Joe Mizereck joe@3feetplease.com

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