Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, introduced March 2nd

From Alliance for Biking and Walking:

Representative Earl Blumenauer introduced the Active Community Transportation Act, H.R.4722, on 3/2/10. This groundbreaking bill creates a competitive grant program with $2 Billion to help communities build bicycling and walking networks. For the first time, communities would be able to compete for multi-year funding to build active transportation systems, just as they do for transit and road infrastructure.

At OpenCongress.org:

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out an active transportation investment program to encourage a mode shift to active transportation within selected communities by providing safe and convenient options to bicycle and walk for routine travel, and for other purposes.

At Congressman Blumenauer's site - Blumenauer ACTS to Make Active Transportation Safer, Easier, and More Accessible.

Hat tip to Virginia Bicycling Federation for info on H.R.4722.

Take the Pledge to drive safe - April 28th & everyday is Distracted Driving Awareness Day

From Drive Smart Virginia, info about how your behavior increases your chances of an accident & more:

Behavior	Increased Risk
Texting (illegal in Virginia)	23 times
Reaching for a moving object	9 times
Driving drowsy	4 times
Looking at an external object	3.7 times
Reading	3.4 times
Using a cell phone	4 times*
Applying makeup	3 times
Eating	1.6 times
Reaching for a non-moving object	1.4 times
Talking on hand-held phone	1.3 times

And:

Top 10 Tips to Minimize Your Distracted Driving

1. CHANGE YOUR WAYS and recognize the activities that distract you; such as eating, conversing on the phone, or changing a CD.
2. MAKE A PLAN. Get directions, study your route, check weather and road conditions. Make sure children are properly buckled up and occupied.
3. MANAGE YOUR TIME so that you do not have to multi-task or drive aggressively on the road.
4. DON’T LET YOUR DRIVE TIME BECOME YOUR DOWN TIME....

Please head to Drive Smart Virgina now and Take the Don't Drive Distracted Pledge.
"Companies" can become a partner too.

Digital Billboards, Diversions Drivers Can’t Escape is most emailed article in NYTimes Tech today

Obviously a hot topic for safety advocates.

From the NYTimes article:

Last Thursday, Michigan lawmakers held hearings on legislation, the first of its kind, that would impose a two-year moratorium on the construction of new billboards. Minnesota’s legislature is scheduled to hold hearings this month on a similar moratorium...

The Federal Highway Administration has been conducting a study, which it says will be completed this summer, that uses eye-trackers inside cars to see whether drivers who have volunteered for the study look at the digital billboards, and for how long. The agency also has organized a tour this spring to take researchers to various cities around the world to study how other nations are regulating digital billboards.

There's 119 comments at the time of this post.

Do you think LED Billboards on Shore Drive will be too much of a distraction?

A comment including links to various info showing LED Billboards are distracting at SDCC.info:

Electronic billboards attract attention and therefore distract drivers. The number one cause of accidents is distraction and the number one cause of distraction is an outside person, object or event (like a digital sign).

What do you think?

More at SDCC.info about LED Billboards.
Full disclosure: I am also an Editor at SDCC.info.

SB517 still alive would ban use of cell phones unless used in hands free mode

From Virginia Bicycling Federation:

…and one bill still alive that we have been supporting, which is SB517, Sen Norment’s (from Williamsburg) bill which would ban the use of cell phones by the drivers of moving vehicles, unless they are operated in hands free mode.

Virginia General Assembly Legislative Information System.
Direct link to SB 517 history as it moves through the process.

Recap of Legislative Session from Bruce Drees

Read the entire recap at Virginia Bicycling Federation - Three Feet to Pass — Why Such Resistance?:

These changes were spurred by a desire to bring state code in line with contemporary safe separation practices. In addition, we had hoped to make some progress in addressing incidents in recent years where Virginia’s criminal justice system turned its back on us. If you think that running over a bicyclist or pedestrian is illegal in Virginia, think again.

And:

Here are some of the objections raised, with my response to each:

“Bicyclists are often law breakers, unworthy of any added protection under the law.”

And:

“Bicyclists should police themselves before coming in asking for added legal protections.”

HB1048 was to add a 3 foot passing rule & make it illegal to tail gate a bicycle:

The bill was supported by the City of Virginia Beach, Fairfax Country, Drive Smart, VA Motorcycle Dealers Assn and others. It was not opposed in person by any group in either of the committee or subcommittee hearings. In a separate action, the Senate voted 40Y-0N the week before to approve the 3 ft passing law change provided in SB566.

View the vote tally at The Hampton Roads Cyclist.

HB 1048, Three Foot Passing & Following Too Closely FAILED by a 54 – 43 vote

From Pilotonline.com article:

Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, countered that the measure would force motorists into the oncoming lane, making the roads less safe.

“Will there be a 4-foot bill next year?” he asked. “We’re just looking for trouble here.”

From Virginia Bicycling Federation:

As soon as the roll call voting is posted I will forward it along and will urge everyone to contact their delegates expressing disappointment if they voted Nay and thanking them if they voted For the bill.

House Trans Com passing of 3ft law article at Pilotonline.com update

The discussion at the article includes 45 comments as of the time of this post.

They include:

Proper legislation and law enforcement for both drivers and cyclists will encourage us all to share the road.

The point is to recognize a safe passing distance between a car and a bike.

The issue at hand is that this area needs more transportation options than private motor vehicles.

We've lost sight of commom sense and decency toward each other. We're all in such a hurry to get - where? Where is the emergency? Why can't we all just share the road?

Increased education for both cyclists and motorists is also required to help diffuse tensions. Starting with an extra foot of space is not going to kill anyone, in fact, it may save a life.

"Currently, there are 16 states that have passed a law requiring motorists give cyclists three feet when passing. Safety is the number one reason for passing this law. The law protects both cyclists and motorists."

To continue the discussion, please visit the article at Pilotonline.com , use the Comment area below, or use @shareshoredrive at Twitter.

House to vote on HB1048 / 3 Foot Passing, please contact your Legislator to support

From Virginia Bicycling Federation:

The strongest anti-cycling sentiment was expressed by Del. Cosgrove of Chesapeake, Del. Knight of Virginia Beach, who clearly voted against the bill, along with Del. Villanueva of Va Beach, even though the representative of that City and Bruce Drees of the Tidewater Bicycling Assn. both spoke in favor of it.

Now its on to the Full House floor (either on Saturday or Monday), where Chairman Joe May of Loudon (who also appeared to vote against the bill) wished our patron, Kaye Kory, a good-natured “Good luck on the floor” after he announced the result of the voting.

Now, we need EVERYONE to contact their delegate. If you don’t know who it is, you can find out at the VA General Assembly’s Who’s My Legislator page…

http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

House Transportation Committee approves 3 foot rule

Great news!

From Pilotoline.com coverage:

After hearing testimony that 11 bicyclists were killed in crashes with cars last year, the House Transportation Committee approved a bill this morning to increase the required clearance when passing a bicycle from 2 to 3 feet.

And:

One committee member, Del. Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, suggested that “bicyclists ought to police themselves.”