An Amended Bicyclist Safety Act will become law!

Breaking – we got HB2262 through!

The expected substitute for the Bicyclist Safety Act passed the Senate 21-18. Once it is approved by the House, Virginia will be getting Change Lanes to Pass and allowing riders to stay side-by-side. Virginia State Police will also convene a work group to study the Safety Stop that Virginia Bicycling Federation, among other groups, will contribute to.

This is a big moment. Over the years, most bills have taken several sessions for a bill to come to fruition. And while it may feel like a loss on the Safety Stop, we were able to get essentially 2 new bills through on the first try. Shooting for three bill elements was a bit of a heavy lift and at moments felt like we were risking progress, but it gave us room to negotiate and to use the best comparable data from around the country.

Thanks to our patrons Delegate Chris Hurst and Senator Joe Morrissey for taking the chance on this bill and doing the work to bring their peers on board. Thanks to Senator Creigh Deeds for helping get the bill over the line with the thoughtful substitute. Thanks to Senator John Edwards for supporting the bill on the floor. Thanks to several dozen tireless advocates from around the Commonwealth for dedicating literally hundreds of hours to meetings with legislators, coordinating organizing meetings (including those conflicting with Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day), generating graphics and informational content, and for staying passionate and hopeful throughout the process. Thanks to the professional lobbyists who dedicated their time helping us work through some of the stickier moments. Thank you to our partner organizations who helped draw positive response to the importance of bicycling in Virginia as a fold of their core work.

Thank YOU. If there’s someone *you* want to thank, tag them in the comments. And make sure to thank your legislators as applicable.

You can watch the floor debate, too, in case you’d like to see how some of Virginia’s senators feel about bicyclists and the uphill battle we sometimes face when fighting for improvements for our safety. [edit] The debate happens between ~1:53 and 2:17 – that’s right, over 20 minutes of debate on this bill.

~BT

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