Virginia Bicycle and Pedestrian Awareness Week 2010 is in September

From BikeWalk Virginia:

In 2009 BikeWalk Virginia partnered with Drive Smart Virginia and DMV to promote the first awareness week specific to bike and pedestrian safety.

We've excited to announce that the initiative will continue in 2010. The second annual awareness week will take place September 12-18, 2010. Look for opportunities to partner and spread the message in your community.

Support Virginia's SB 566

Action alert from Virginia Cycling Federation:

“Three feet to pass” laws are gaining steam nationwide. At least 14 states have enacted them so far, with more on the way.

And:

If your legislator is on the Senate Transportation Committee, please email or call them tonight, or first thing in the morning, and tell them to support SB 566.

DOT does the right thing and bans texting for commercial drivers

From their Press Release yesterday:

U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced federal guidance to expressly prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses. The prohibition is effective immediately and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Department to combat distracted driving since the Secretary convened a national summit on the issue last September.

And:

FMCSA research shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road.

Legislative Update for Virginia, Bills friendly to pedestrians & cyclists

From BikeWalk Virginia:

Several bills have been pre-filed in the Virginia Legislature which are important to bicyclists, pedestrians and trail users. Legislators are in session now. Please contact them right away on these critical topics. Continuous legislative updates can be viewed http://www.vabike.org/

BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN LAWS

SENATE BILL NO. 228 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010

A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-924 of the Code of Virginia, relating to pedestrians crossing highways.

Patron-- Barker

Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Drivers to stop for pedestrians; installation of certain signs; penalty. (Bicycles are vehicles.)

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB1048

HOUSE BILL NO. 1048 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 46.2-816, 46.2-838, and 46.2-839 of the Code of Virginia, relating to following too closely and passing other vehicles.
Patron-- Kory
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: following too close, passing bicycles by three feet.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+SB566
SENATE BILL NO. 566 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 46.2-816, 46.2-838, and 46.2-839 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 7 of Chapter 8 of Title 46.2 a section numbered 46.2-869.1, relating to motor vehicle offenses; penalties. (following too close, passing by three feet and careless driving)
Patron-- Ticer
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Relating to following too close, passing bicycles by three feet and careless driving. The careless driving portion will probably be dropped.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB752
HOUSE BILL NO. 752 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 12, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-833 of the Code of Virginia, relating to traffic lights. (allows bicycles and motorcycles to proceed on red when traffic lights fail to respond to sensors.)
Patrons-- Greason and Janis
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Bicyclist allowed to run red light if safe and wait is greater than 120 seconds.

HOUSE BILL NO. 22 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled December 16, 2009
A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-1078.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of handheld personal communications devices while operating certain vehiclesPatron-- Howell, A.T.
Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety

Summary: Includes bicyclist using handheld communications devices while operating a bicycle.

Failed in House Militia, Police & Public Safety Sub-Committee on 1/21/2010

Summary: Forbids use of personal communications devices (cell phones) while driving.

SAFETY

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+SB200
SENATE BILL NO. 200 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 12, 2010
A BILL to require installation of rumble strips on highways in the Commonwealth having speed limits of at least 55 miles per hour.
Patron-- Blevins (By Request)
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Installation of rumble strips. Rumble strips shall be installed on the sides of those highways in the Commonwealth with speed limits of at least 55 miles per hour.

TRAILS

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB845
HOUSE BILL NO. 845 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 13 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-439.12:03, relating to individual and corporate income tax credit, related to certain easements.
Patron-- Morefield
Referred to Committee on Finance

Summary: Tax credit for granting certain easements on real property.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB1186
HOUSE BILL NO. 1186 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 13 of Chapter 3 of Title 58.1 a section numbered 58.1-439.12:03, relating to individual and corporate income tax credit, related to certain easements.
Patron-- Phillips
Referred to Committee on Finance
Summary: Tax credit for granting certain easements on real property.

PLANNING

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HJ119
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 119 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010
Establishing a joint subcommittee to study the creation of a U.S. Route 1 Corridor. Report.
Patrons-- Surovell, Brink, Englin and Torian; Senators: Puller and Ticer
Referred to Committee on Rules

Summary: US Bicycle Route 1 uses this corridor.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB95
HOUSE BILL NO. 95 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 5, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact § 33.1-70.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to taking new streets into the state secondary highway system.
Patron-- Loupassi
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Requirements to ensure the connectivity of road and pedestrian networks with the existing and future transportation network

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB197
HOUSE BILL NO. 197 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 7, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact § 33.1-70.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to taking new streets into the state secondary highway system.
Patron-- Ware, R.L.
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Requirements to ensure the connectivity of road and pedestrian networks with the existing and future transportation network

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB222
HOUSE BILL NO. 222 Offered January 13, 2010
Prefiled January 11, 2010A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 33.1-69.001, relating to design standards for state secondary highway system components.
Patrons-- Watts, Bulova, Herring, Keam, Kory, Plum, Scott, J.M., Sickles and Surovell; Senators: Barker, Howell, Petersen and Ticer
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Bicycles are not included in accommodations.

LANDOWNER LIABILITY FOR TRAILS

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+SB546
SENATE BILL NO. 546 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 13, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact § 29.1-509 of the Code of Virginia, relating to landowner liability arising from recreational activities; railroad rights-of-way.
Patron-- Edwards
Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

Summary: Landowner liability arising from recreational activities; railroad rights-of-way.* Ensures that railroad rights-of-way may be used for recreational purposes and for access to lands being used for recreational purposes without the easement holder owing a duty of care to the user. This exemption from civil liability already exists for landowners, but does not explicitly include railroad rights-of-way. The exemption does not apply if the landowner charges a fee for the use of the lands and does include gross negligence or willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition.

BILLS THAT MAY EFFECT BICYCLIST INDIRECTLY OR BE EXPANDED LATER

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+HB163
HOUSE BILL NO. 163 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 5, 2010
A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-857 of the Code of Virginia, relating to driving abreast in a single lane.
Patron-- Orrock
Referred to Committee on Transportation

Summary: Motor vehicles passing in the same lane (including motorcycles.)

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+SB321

SENATE BILL NO. 321 Offered January 13, 2010 Prefiled January 12, 2010

A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-857 of the Code of Virginia, relating to driving two abreast in a single lane.
Patrons-- Reynolds; Delegates: Armstrong and Merricks
Referred to Committee on Transportation
Summary: Motor vehicles passing in the same lane (including motorcycles.)

Distraction.gov unveiled

The Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving, Distraction.gov.

At the U.S. Department of Transportation, we heard America’s call to end the dangerous practice of distracted driving on our nation’s roadways. Distracted driving is a serious, life-threatening practice and we will not rest until we stop it.

We are leading the effort but you are the key to preventing distracted driving. The message is simple – Put it down!

Emphasis mine.

Oprah's show on MLK's Birthday was entitled This Show Could Save Your Life: America's New Deadly Obsession. Video available at her site.

More Stats & Facts from Distraction.gov:

Research on distracted driving reveals some surprising facts:

* Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)
* Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. (Source: Carnegie Mellon)
* 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction. (Source: Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA)
* Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)
* The worst offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers: men and women under 20 years of age. (NHTSA)
* Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

Learn to ride safer - Refine & Refresh Your Cycling Skills clinic

Thanks to Bruce for sharing this opportunity!

Refine & Refresh Your Cycling Skills Clinic

Facebook Group started to take down hate group that's against cyclists

There's a Facebook Group with over 34,000 members rallying against a hate group in Facebook that is against cyclists. Sharing is always better than hating.

Thanks to James for the tip on the group.