Bicycle Safety Bill heard in Missouri Senate committee Wednesday

Motorists and bicyclists already share streets and roads.

Coy Hart hopes they can also find common ground on a legislative proposal meant to improve bicyclist safety. . . .

Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, whose wife is a bicyclist and a runner, is the sponsor of Senate Bill 372.

While running, she has been forced off the road by a motor vehicle, Engler said.

"People just don't use any caution whatsoever when they're approaching runners or bicyclists," he told the Economic Development, Tourism and Local Government Committee.

Representatives of the Missouri Bicycle Federation and the Missouri Department of Transportation testified in favor of the measure.

Engler said the proposal — which, in different forms, has failed in the past — is free of controversial provisions. No one spoke against the measure Wednesday.

"We just wanted some basic, fundamental rights for bicyclists," Engler said.