Several of the bills we are interested in were heard in House Transportation Subcommittee 1, which met yesterday morning at 7 a.m.

We thought Del. Yost of Blacksburg’s bill HB1360 which would require all cyclists under 18 years of age to wear helmets while riding would not be that well received so did not speak against it. We were surprised to see it get reported out by a 6-1 vote, so now have to take a more active position in opposition. Although we personally wear helmets when riding, and RABA has always “Strongly Recommended” that riders do so on its rides, we don’t feel that it should be required by law. It also poses some obvious enforcement problems for law enforcement, particularly with the “under 18 years of age” clause in it. We expect that it will be heard in the House Transportation Committee meeting at 8:30 on Thursday, and will speak in opposition to it at that time.

Sen. Rip Sullivan of Northern VA did a nice job of presenting HB1173, the House version of the Vulnerable Road User bill ( Penalizing the person who operates a motor vehicle in a careless or distracted manner and is the cause of serious physical injury to a vulnerable road user), but it met the same fate as Sen. Scott Surovell’s identical Senate bill had earlier, and did not survive. As had been the case in Senate Transportation, some members of the committee seemed to think that the punishment of a Class 1 Misdemeanor, and a one year suspension of license, for this offense, which is more severe than that for failing to “Move Over” for law enforcement at an accident, or workers at a road construction site, is too severe. We’ll take a close look at that prior to bringing it back again next session. [continue reading…]

SB117 Sen. Petersen’s Dooring bill passed the Senate floor yesterday by 24 – 16 as Republicans Chase (Chesterfield), Cosgrove (Chesapeake), DeSteph (Virginia Beach), Reeves (Fredericksburg), and Suetterlein (Roanoke) voted along with the Democrats.

This vote, though encouraging, compares with a 28 -12 vote in 2014, where it later failed by a 4 -3 margin in House Trans Sub 2, and a 27 -12 vote last year, where we also failed 4-3 in House Trans Sub 2, so we have some work to do before this bill crosses over to the House. It certainly would be in order at this point to thank your Senator (if they are a Democrat, or one of the Republicans noted above) if they supported the bill. [continue reading…]

Please link to and share this page. We’ll update it regularly.

With the 2016 session underway, we’re supporting bills for dooring, vulnerable road users, and maintenance funding for bike lanes; and opposing a statewide mandatory helmet law.

Dooring

SB117 states that “no operator shall open the door of a motor vehicle on the side adjacent to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so.” “No operator” means drivers, modified in committee from “no person” to include passengers. “Moving traffic” does include people on bicycles. Status: passed by the Senate Feb. 2 in a 24-16 vote. Assigned to House Transportation Subcommittee 1.

Vulnerable Road Users

HB1173 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor with license suspension for any driver who, by driving in a careless or distracted manner, causes serious injury to a vulnerable road user, defined as a “person riding a bicycle, electric wheelchair, electric bicycle, wheelchair, skateboard, skates, foot-scooter, animal, or animal-drawn vehicle.” Status: Passed By Indefinitely (killed for 2016) in House Transportation Subcommittee 1 on Monday, 2/8.

Maintenance Funding for Bike Lanes

SB669 provides that state funding based on lane-miles not be cut when those lanes are converted to bike lanes, such as in a road diet. Status: Passed by the Senate 40-0. Assigned to House Transportation Subcommittee 3.

HB1335 is an identical bill in the House. Status: Tabled by voice vote (killed for 2016) in House Transportation Subcommittee 3 on Thursday, 2/11.

Statewide Mandatory Helmet Law — Oppose

HB1360 would require everyone in Virginia under 18 years of age to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle or electric assist bicycle. Additionally, it would allow municipalities to pass laws requiring helmets while using power assisted mobility devices or toys, such as electric wheelchairs or hoverboards. We oppose this bill. Status: Tabled by voice vote (killed for 2016) in House Transporttion Subcommittee 3 on Thursday, 2/11.

This is Bud’s report from Wednesday, January 27.

Senator Scott Surovell led off the Senate Transportation Committee proceedings today with SB663, the Vulnerable Road User bill. After a good bit of discussion, where one of the key points made was that the Class I Misdemeanor, plus having their license suspended, that was provided if someone was guilty of this careless driving and a road user was injured or killed, was more severe than that contained in the Code section that requires a motorist to Move Over when there is an incident being handled by a law enforcement officer.

Getting the sense that the Committee felt that this was a good idea, but with the punishment called for out of proportion to that in other sections of the Code, it was moved to Pass the Bill By for the Year and refer it to the Commission on Transportation Accountability for them to report back with a recommendation at the 2017 Session. This motion was passed 10 to 2 with one Senator absent, and only Deeds & Favola voting against. (Note: an identical bill, HB1173, is working its way through the House.) [continue reading…]