Missouri lawmaker wants 15' pole with flag requirement on lettered highways
 

He apparently tried to ban cyclists on these roads, but now has moved to requiring a florescent flag a minimum of 15 feet above the ground.

https://momentummag.com/a-proposed-m...orescent-flag/
Cyclelicious » Missouri: 15 foot fluorescent flag for cyclists

Seems a certain anti-bike politico is in favor of 15-foot enema tubes.......

He should stop sitting on his brains, and get on a bike.

Excellent Idea.

So, every time you take your bike into a building with an 8 foot ceiling, one has to take the flag off.

15 feet? That is above the view of most cars. Perhaps visible for truck drivers?

I wonder how many bike paths in Missouri have less than 15 foot clearance? Is the plan to make sure every underpass and tunnel and culvert the trails go through have the minimum of 15 foot clearance?

Trees trimmed to less than 15 foot?

What about the mountain bikers? I could imagine heading down a MTB trail with a 15 foot flag flying above one's bike.

It's amazing the type of intelligence that is elected into office, and here at home, no vehicle can exceed 14 feet in height.

Height & Low Clearances

So he's okay with land schooners sailing down the highway? Sounds great, finally time to get a recumbent with full sails and rigging. Hope the folks behind me don't mind us tacking across the highway into the wind.

Where would I even buy such a thing? Do I have to fabricate it myself?

No doubt somebody will make them should this become law. But, don't expect UPS or USPS to be shipping 15 foot long single piece poles.

I'd expect something that would come apart like a fishing pole. Another thing for people to steal off of people's bikes.

Perhaps something that would go up and down like an electronic car antenna, but non-metallic as one wouldn't wish it to conduct electricity.

Hmmm... What happens when one's 15 foot pole gets wet and hits a power line?

Does the law even specify the size of the flag? So, a 1 square inch flag would be legal, as long as it is so far above the road that it could barely be seen????

I would hope the Misery Legislators aren't insane enough to pass a ridiculous law like this. But, the worst thing might be if they actually rewrite it to require the use of the standard 6 foot kiddie flags.

i'm guessing any missouri walmart for around $9.99, courtesy chinese labor and a crippling u.s. trade deficit.

So, if this hypothetically went through, would the government be liable for the destruction of infrastructure by enthusiastic activists with weaponized flagpoles?

Better yet, could you sue the government for destroying your property when your flag catches on things?

I mean, the cyclists are just following regulations!

Paralyzed from the neck up

Saw it on Velo News yesterday . Emailed Jay, suggested he clean up Mo, post flood, and maybe look at St Louie and Fergason situation for some gainful work while attached to his government teet .

It's obvious that it's intended to effectively ban bicycles from those roads. The impracticality is a feature.

I'm not from Missouri, but show me an overpass over a lettered county road. I haven't found one.
(The lettered county roads were taken over by the state in the 50s.)

Utility lines crossing the road are at 18'.

Collapsible fishing rods are readily available, and there are already bike mounts for them (though the bike mounts are generally designed for collapsed rods or shorter rods).

Luckily, the 52 word bill makes no mention of how BIG the flag has to be, just that it has to be fluorescent orange color and visible from the rear. So, yeah.


Helpful hint. Don't elect idiots.

(And I trust that no matter how many idiots have been elected to the Missouri General Assembly there simply are not enough of them to pass this bill.)

-mr. bill

There have to be a few that go under a freeway or major arterial, or even cross a bridge with a superstructure. Covered Bridges?

Is the expectation that this is a safety apparatus that one puts on the bike when traversing some roads, then takes off the bike elsewhere? Just getting the bike into the house or garage would be a pain unless the pole is removed.

Surely there would be routes that one might go on which would take a person on a variety of streets and bridges, both on a single trip, as well as general use of the bike over time.

Not that I've found, and it's because of the historical purpose of the roads. They are supplemental routes, many farm to market (think TALL loads in the trailer), which sometimes bring you *to* a major road but they don't usually *cross* the major road. Where they do cross, a simple overpass.

I don't think the fine gentleman from Missouri has thought through the expectations. As far as getting into the house it's nearly as big a pain with a 6' flag pole, well, at least if you live in an old farmhouse with low ceilings. (I can touch my ceilings while standing on the floor.)

I would think so too. I suppose on a tandem the stoker could hoist and lower the flag as needed. And don't call me Shirley.


(All of this is moot - this bill as is will never ever pass ever.)

-mr. bill

Now, why don't they just require everyone riding bikes to fly the stars and stripes?

One the size of the Star Spangled Banner, about 30 feet by 42 feet should be sufficiently visible.

That would cause too much internal conflict within the heads of a certain portion of the electorate that wants to declare open season on cyclists, and the potential desecration of the flag that might occur when running them over.

Would a red bull fighter's cape be better?

This was posted on Facebook a day or two ago. I suggested what that fool could do with his 15 foot flag pole. There was general agreement that my suggestion was a very good idea.

BTW if I remember right, he has proposed other legislation totally against cyclist. Maybe the poor guy didnt get a bike he wanted when he was young.

So get him an X-53.

Go to the committee meeting for public comment and suggest a compromise amendment to the bill -- if a driver hits a cyclist so equipped, driver is deemed at fault, fined $10,000 - $50,000, loses license for 3-10 years, and must serve mandatory 3-10 year prison sentence.

Around here we don't have a lot of bridges, but you'd have a problem with tree limbs. They generally keep 14' of clearance, but in my little town the sign says 13'8".

No trees over lettered county roads.

-mr. bill

What is this guy's problem? Was he "delayed" by a cyclist? As someone else asked did he not get the bike that he asked Santa for?

+100