Chris516

I got an e-mail from my father mentioning a bill in the DC City Council that is being proposed by two city council members. Here is the link to the story from the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...de3d_blog.html

Marinonidude

There was good success in Nova Scotia Canada. It might happen in DC as well.


https://cyclingrelaybill93.wordpress....lain-language/

Chris516

I am not keeping my hopes up. There is a lot of hostility towards cyclists' in this region. Even from law enforcement. But law enforcement is passive-aggressive. Meaning, They know the laws are on the books, but choose not to do anything, when it involves a cyclist. I saw that first-hand.

B. Carfree

Funny how it is currently considered more serious, as in points against a motorists license are assessed, to speed than to run over a cyclist. I haven't ridden in D.C. since '86 and I'm not in any hurry to return if that's where their laws are at. (I think my peloton of three were the only bikes in D.C. when I was there for a couple of days. I hear it things have changed a bit since then.)

Chris516

That was 27yrs. ago. Law enforcement in DC and the surrounding counties choose to look the other way. The 3ft. passing law in Maryland, was passed in 2010. On at least one occasion, I was passed by less than three feet after the law had been passed. When the offending motorist had a a police officer behind them. Despite the officer seeing it, they didn't pull the driver over for violating the law. If I had been driving, the officer most definitely stopped the motorist and ticketed them for reckless driving.

smasha

looks like a baby-step towards an Idaho Stop law.

does the bill specify explicitly that pedestrians have the right of way, when a bicyclist is going through a controlled intersection with pedestrian signals? while i'm in favour of Idaho Stop laws, and baby steps in that direction, i'm also in favour of ticketing dicks on bikes who treat pedestrians as an obstacle course.

Marinonidude

To reduce the animosity, I would suggest that the cyclists and government in DC treat this as an education tool first and a legal recourse for cyclists second.

In Nova Scotia there was a lot of lamenting from motorists about how they would know that they are 3 feet from a cyclist. Many didn't get the point that they should pass a cyclist at a safe distance. But rather, focused on the exact 3 feet of required room.