[Macomb-Cycling] bike law aims to improve safety on road

[Dana Miller]

I saw this today-thought it would be of interest if you haven't seen it yet.



http://www.pambamtb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:bike-law-aims-to-improve-safety-on-road&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50







					Bike law aims to improve safety on road			
						
				
		
				
				
		
				
				
					




	
		
			Written by Tim McGrath		
		  
	



	
		Friday, 09 May 2008 06:37	





>From the Peora Journal Star:
  Motorists now required to pass  cyclists at distance of three feet 

                        Friday, May 9, 2008 by scott hilyard of the journal star PEORIA
- Kathy John, like most bicyclists, is familiar with the scary whoosh
of air she feels when a car that's traveling too fast and too close
passes her when she's riding.  She hopes a new state law that
specifies what "too close" means when it comes to vehicles and bicycles
will minimize the chance of it happening again. "I think it's a
very necessary law," said John of Dunlap, who is the president of
Illinois Valley Wheelm'n, a central Illinois bicycling club. "Hopefully
people will get the word and know what to do when they encounter a
bicyclist." The new law that took effect this year requires that
motorists pass bicycles at a distance of at least three feet. It
clarifies an existing law that is not bicycle   specific that requires that vehicles pass other vehicles "at a safe distance." 
The three-feet law was sponsored in the Illinois General Assembly by
Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines, who was herself once clipped by a
car and knocked to the ground while riding. Police didn't know what to
charge the driver of the car with in that accident, said Ed Barsotti,
the executive director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists. 
"Obviously, it's a law that's going to be difficult to enforce,"
Barsotti said. "But we're hoping the major outcomes are that it will
educate the public about bicycle safety, and it will give police
departments something to charge violators with."  Fatal bicycle accidents decreased in Illinois from 24 in 2006 to 18 in 2007.
Josh Collins, the general manager of Bellevue Bicycle at Prospect Road
and War Memorial Drive, rides his bike in the city, in the country, on
trails and down mountains. He's had to take occasional physical
measures while riding to avoid getting hit by a passing car. "If
nothing else, the new law reinforces that cars need to give bicycles
room when they pass. Sometimes it seems that drivers forget that cars
have mirrors that stick out," Collins said. "This gives a concrete
number of what it means to safely pass a bicyclist."  Barsotti emphasized that bicyclists can help keep themselves safer by following the rules of the road.
"Drivers get annoyed by bicyclists that don't stop at stop signs or
ride three, four riders wide," Barsotti. "Earning respect is a two-way
street."  Collins is a stickler for the law. "I obey all
traffic laws. I keep close to the white line, stop at lights and signs.
All that. It's a big deal to me to do my part to stay safe in traffic,"
Collins said. "A lot of drivers don't understand that we have a right
to be on the roads. We're a vehicle, too, we just go a little slower.
If you come up on a bicyclist, slow down, wait for a gap from oncoming
traffic and make a safe pass." Barsotti's group received a
$33,373 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation's Division
of Traffic Safety to produce and air a radio spot on the new law. The
spot, called "Please Don't Squeeze," will air locally on WFYR-FM all
this month. "We want the motoring public to be aware of the new
law and to observe it," said IDOT Secretary Milton Sees in a prepared
statement. "Our goal is to make the roadways safer for bicyclists and
reduce crashes and injuries."   Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or at 
 shilyard at pjstar.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 .



	
		Last Updated ( Friday, 09 May 2008 06:41 )
	

 







> Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2008 08:30:32 -0500
> From: jeff at outfitters.com
> To: cycling at macomb.com
> Subject: [Macomb-Cycling] Scary picture
> 
> REPLIES TO THIS EMAIL WILL GO TO THE WHOLE LIST
> -----------------------------------------------
> I am not normally one to sensationalize tragic news, but . . .
> An aparantly drunk driver crashed his car into a bicycle race near
> Matamoros Mexico (yesterday I think) killing one cyclist and injuring
> 10 others.  The crash was caught on camera by a viewer and the
> horrifying image almost brings me to tears.  If you have any doubt of the
> potential dangers of cycling with or without a helmet, have a look at
> this article and the associated picture (click on it to enlarge):
> 
>     http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,362147,00.html
> 
> Ride safe, and be careful out there everybody.
> 
> -jeff
> 
> -- 
> Jeffrey R. Calhoun                     McDonough Telephone Cooperative
> jeff at mdtc.net                          Infobahn Outfitters
> jeff at outfitters.com                    P.O. Box 248
> (309) 836-3706                         Macomb, IL 61455
> _______________________________________________
> Cycling mailing list
> Cycling at macomb.com
> http://mailman.outfitters.com/mailman/listinfo/cycling
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