The Bicyclist Safety Act has been signed by the governor, and will take effect July 1.

Legislative Articles Recap (2013 GA Session)

February 24, 2013

Between us, BikeVirginia, RideRichmond, WABA, RABA, TBA, and other groups across the Commonwealth, we put a lot of energy into getting cycling-friendly legislation through during the 2013 General Assembly session. Unfortunately, none of it came to fruition.

We must coordinate, communicate, and advocate together. Many of the proposed laws or changes to the laws never mentioned the words bike, bicycle, cyclist, or bicyclist. Many are universal vehicular safety issues. But that did not stop them from being defeated.

Below are a collection of articles (in chronological order) both for and against some the proposed legislation. Read the ones against and understand the other viewpoint. Read the ones for and know how much harder we’ll have to try next year.

For a summation of the legislation up during the session, check out the RideRichmond post here.

Overall articles:

SB736 – Dooring:

SB1060 – Following too Closely:

As you can tell, many of the articles focused on dooring – a universal vehicular safety issue that is already enacted law in 40 states. In fact, Allstate Insurance released a video years ago on dooring and accident forgiveness (hint: it doesn’t involve a cyclist either)!

If you know of additional articles, please feel free to link in the comments below and we’ll add them to the post. Thanks!

Related Articles:

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Matt Link February 24, 2013, 7:57 pm

    A quick note on Rust’s non-vote on SB736 (which tied in committee 7-7 and was therefore killed):

    I wrote asking him to support it, and he sent me this reply,

    “Thank you for your correspondence on SB736. SB736 was heard, as you noted, in the Transportation Committee on February 12. The bill was defeated on a 7-7 tie. By General Assembly rules, tie votes defeat the bill.

    I was not in the Transportation meeting due to a conflict. I am on two committees, Commerce & Labor Committee (C&L) and the Transportation Committee which on Tuesdays meet at the exact same time so I have to ‘run back and forth’ between the committees. Usually, I am able to do so but on February 12, Commerce and Labor had all the Medicaid bills up for votes and I was Chief Patron of one and co-patron of the other so I did not have time to attend any part of the Transportation Committee so was not able to vote on any of the transportation bills on February 12. There were two other bicycle bills in the General Assembly which pertained to following too closely (HB1950) which I voted for in committee and on the floor but it failed on the floor. SB1060 pertained to the same subject but was amended to include all vehicles. I also voted ‘yes’ on this bill but it was defeated on the floor by a vote of 42-55 on February 18.”

    Just figured I’d pass that on. Rust has not always been a friend to cyclists, but in this case I’m willing to give him at least a partial pass for the committee vote – and a thank you for the floor votes.

  • Bruce Wright Link February 25, 2013, 9:46 am

    Del. Comstock voted against the bike bills last year and she supported them this year when she was present to vote. We are making progress.

    Michael, What’s your suggestion for the best way to “coordinate, communicate, and advocate together?” Many of us will be attending the National Bike Summit next week. Maybe we will have a chance to discuss what steps need to be taken to do a better job, not only of getting legislation passed, but also working toward making Virginia a more bicycle-friendly place.

  • Michael Link February 25, 2013, 12:24 pm

    Hi Bruce,

    Here are my suggestions:

    (1) Start work on bills and language during VBF annual fall retreat
    (2) Get Republican support by demonstrating these are clear, non-partisan, universal vehicular safety issues
    (3) Work closely with Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, DriveSmart VA, and others from the beginning to get their endorsement and blessing
    (4) Build energy for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships
    (5) Actually send out more than ONE action alert to our members (seriously upsetting and disappointing)

    Michael

  • Bruce Wright Link February 25, 2013, 2:01 pm

    Michael,

    Thanks for the list. However, I think the VBF fall retreat is too late in the year to start work on bills. By mid November I would bet that most legislators have already received draft text of proposed bills from other constituents. It seems like we know what legislation we want passed next year; most of what didn’t get passed this year. We have talking points that could be posted on a permanent webpage along with draft text for the proposed bills. Alerts could be written early in preparation for sending them out when they are needed. It would help us to do the things you’ve listed above.

    I think Virginia needs a paid advocate at the state level. It’s hard for volunteers to do the work that needs to be done to coordinate advocacy around the state.

Previous Post:

Next Post:

Search This Site