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

HB181 Vote Postponed Another Day — Advocacy Update #12

As part of a marathon session, characterized by Sen. Norment near the end as the “doorstep to legislative purgatory” that featured two 20-20 votes that Lt. Gov. Fairfax settled with his vote making them both 21-20, HB181 finally was heard after being passed by for the day three times previously.

After Senator Surovell (D-Fairfax) introduced a Floor Substitute that would essentially turn the bill into a bill that would make ALL use of a communication device unless “hands free” a traffic infraction, the substitute was accepted including several votes who had previously been opposed.

Sen. Obenshain (the R chair of the Senate Courts Committee through which the bill had come) then attempted to introduce another Floor Substitute similar to the original bill which would permit handheld devices for some exceptions including getting the time and GPS directions. His attempted substitute was ruled out of order and it appeared that we were headed for a favorable vote on the bill with Surovell’s substitute as Sens. Marsden & Wagner (a previous opponent who stated that he felt that the time for this bill had come) speaking in support.

It was not to be as Sen. Obenshain asked for the bill to be set aside for a time so he could discuss some changes, which request was granted.

Then after the rest of the docket was nearly completed, HB1525-Yancey prohibiting use of Handheld devices in Highway Work Zones was being discussed, Sen. Petersen asked if this was needed since we were about to vote on HB181. Since the answer was yes, 1525 was voted on and passed, 29-10, which is a step in the right direction.

Immediately following that vote, a voice who sounded like Sen. Newman asked that HB181 be passed by for the day and that was granted, so that’s where we are, Passed by for the Day (for the 4th time) ’til 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Not sure where this leaves the bill, since if Sen. Obenshain (whose support has been one of the reasons it has gotten as far as it has) has now gone over to the opposition, he may be able to kill it. There are, however, some others who sound supportive who have not been previously, and Sen. Surovell made some comments regarding preventing selective enforcement that may help blunt that opposition. I think the bill still has a chance, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow, where it will join a number of other bills that also were passed by for the day, as we get closer to the deadline, which I believe is Thursday.

Distracted Driving Bill HB181 Awaits Senate Vote — Advocacy Update #11

Had thought we might have HB 181 the Distracted Driving Bill heard in the special session of the Senate this morning which was held from about 9:45 to a little after 11 when they adjourned until Monday.

Not so, however, as it was Passed By for the Day for the third straight session, and only Uncontested bills wee heard.

While being Passed By for the Day is never a good thing, we still may be OK on this one as the Senate really has a backlog, but there still is a week to go, so we are not yet right up to the deadline.

Since we have this additional opportunity, it wouldn’t hurt to put in another call or EMail to YOUR Senator whose contact info you should know by now, asking them to be sure and support HB181 when they finally get a chance to hear it.

Distracted Driving Bill HB181 Clears Senate Courts Committee; Up for Senate Vote Soon

Distracted driving bill HB181 Reported Out of  Senate Courts Committee Committee, 10-3

Distracted driving bill HB181 Reported Out of Senate Courts Committee Committee, 10-3


After all the recent drama around HB181 the Distracted Driving bill, it was finally heard this morning at the civilized hour of 9:00 a.m. in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. After a very nice job of presenting it by Del. Chris Collins, a very impressive group of witnesses testifying in favor of it lined up behind the podium led by Patty Kruszewski whose daughter Lanie was killed by a distracted driver several years ago. Her testimony was followed by that of an EMT responder from NOVA who had had relatives killed in a similar incident. Uniformed Police officers from two jurisdictions, the rep of the Sheriff’s Assn., several insurance company reps, Janet Brooking of DriveSmart Virginia, Jon Lugbill of SportsBackers, and I followed with our support, with no witnesses coming up to speak in opposition.

Being impressed with the team of supporters that had been lined up by Janet, but not certain how the vote might go, at length came the Move to Report & Second and the vote on the electronic screen. Lots of green and only a few reds was encouraging, and when all the votes were posted the count was 10-3 to Report, with only Ryan McDougle from Hanover, Richard Stuart from the Northern Neck, and Ben Chafin from the far south west in opposition. No clapping or cheers, but some silent expressions of relief at the result, as the bill now goes on to the Senate floor, where it will be a surprise if it doesn’t pass, having successfully cleared the Courts Committees in both the House & Senate (which are generally considered to be among the toughest hurdles to get over). Because some relatively minor amendments had been made to the bill after it cleared the House, it will have to go back there again after clearing the Senate, but that is not expected to be a serious problem.

Having had such a winding route to this point, lets hold our applause and everyone contact their own Senators asking their support for HB181/the Distracted Driving bill on the Senate floor in the next few days so we can get this bill to the Governor’s desk. It would also be in order to THANK your Senators for their support in the Courts Committee if they were among the 10 (Obenshain, Saslaw, Howell,Deeds,Lucas, Edwards, Reeves, Sturtevant, Petersen, Peake) who voted to report.

Also in order would be an expression of disappointment from RABA members to our local Senator Ryan McDougle (698-7504, district04@senate.virginia.gov) for his opposition to the bill.

Thanks to everyone who has weighed in with their support so far! If you haven’t, here’s your last chance to help. Let’s do it one more time and make sure this bill gets to the Governor.

Advocacy Update #10: Distracted Driving Bill, HB181, Still In Senate

HB181 (the Distracted Driving bill that would restrict the use of hand held communication devices by drivers) was NOT listed on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee docket this morning, which means that it should be listed for Wednesday, 2/21 after adjournment.

This gives those of you who haven’t made any contacts an additional two days to do so, and for those I repeat the contact information I originally posted last week — the only members of this committee from the Richmond area being Ryan McDougle from Hanover, 698-7504, district04@senate.virginia.gov; & Glen Sturtevant of Richmond. We certainly want to urge their support of this bill.

Additionally we have several long time supporters of our bike & pedestrian safety agenda on this committee who we should also request the continued support of. This group includes:

  • Sen. John Edwards of Roanoke, 698-7521, district21@senate.virginia.gov;
  • Sen. Creigh Deeds of Charlottesville, 698-7525, district25@senate.virginia.gov;
  • Sen. Bryce Reeves of Fredericksburg, 698-7517, district17@senate.virginia.gov;
  • & Sen. Chap Petersen of Fairfax, 698-7534, district34@senate.virginia.gov.

This looks like the last bill we have still alive in this year’s session, so don’t miss this chance to weigh in on it.

Tell Maryland Transportation Authority to Include The Bike-Ped Path on the New US301 “Nice” Bridge

Bike path on new US301 "Nice" bridge

Photo via smnewsnet.com

The Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, where US301 crosses the Potomac, is slated for replacement starting in 2020. The new bridge was to include a bike-ped path, but now the Maryland Transportation Authority wants to omit it.

Bike Maryland has issued an action alert with a link for you to submit your comment, by 2/20:

https://www.bikemaryland.org/support/?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/mailing/view&reset=1&id=509

Please submit your comment, and get others to do the same, especially if they live in Maryland. [continue reading…]