Cyclist in Boulder, CO
BOULDER, Colo. — A bill that clarifies cyclists' rights and seeks to better protect them from aggressive drivers has been approved by the Colorado Legislature and is headed to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for a final decision.
But Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle says the bill "goes too far" and warns that there could be trouble if Ritter gives the bill the go-ahead.
Full story, with more details.
I (for one) would have fewer problems with this bill than the one(s) we have rattling around the Texas Legislature, simply because it removes the "far to the right as is practicable" language, although its substitution is still problematic.
6 comments:
I'd agree that the Colorado bill is MUCH more significant than the Texas one. For one, it incorporates allowing people to cross that durn double yellow instead of making most everyone passing a cyclist into a lawbreaker. Good for cyclists and good for motorists...
Doesn't a double-yellow indicate that it is not safe to pass due to insufficient visibility? How is allowing drivers to pass a cyclist when they can't see on coming traffic a good thing?
Stu, you are correct, and I have a problem with that (the allowance, not your correctness).
Even though the double stripe is based on vehicle speeds (whatever the speed limit is, roughly), allowing motorists to make the decision themselves is troublesome, mainly because it could begin to set a precedent for behavior.
I would like to see the arguments that were laid out for this.
On the other hand, just how many cars do you want stacked up behind you when riding on a narrow road with a double yellow line?
Those lines are like stop signs - overused to the point of silliness. That, much more than the current law, is the real problem.
A double yellow line really OUGHT to mean it's unsafe to pass, regardless of whether it's a Porsche or a comfort bike in front of you.
Steve said, "Those lines are like stop signs - overused to the point of silliness. That, much more than the current law, is the real problem."And I agree! We have double yellow lines on straight, flat roads here. It's overused, the meaning is lost. Motorists in Florida pass whenever they want and pay no attention to the lines or the blind curves and hills. We have double yellow lines on residential collectors that should have no lines at all. From what I've seen, the double yellow means "high speed highway."
As for passing cyclists. The police have used the double yellow as an excuse to try and manage cyclist lateral position for the purpose of traffic flow. It has been accepted that cyclists can be considered a obstruction for the purpose of crossing the double yellow. "Obstruction" is not a word I want applied to a cyclist!
When Ohio added cyclists to the no-passing zone exceptions, they specified a % of the speed limit.
But I'm with Steve, it causes problems when a double yellow line keeps a motorist from passing when it is safe to do so. It can make the difference between a line of traffic passing safely and a cyclist having to pull over to let cars pass. Or having a sociopath stuck in that line do something nasty when he gets to pass.
Don't forget, one of the primary differences between the TX and CO bills is that the CO bill was written with cyclists in Boulder, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, and DENVER (state capitol) in mind, whereas the TX bill was written by and for Austin cyclists, hence it's absurd language meant to prevent right hook collisions. The language in the bill is a synopsis of the self-inflicted cycling dangers in Austin, with language meant to fool farmers and ranchers into supporting it.
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