Pedestrian bills pending

Virginia TE'ers, please see below and send an email to your representatives:

http://www.bikewalkvirginia.org/

BikeWalk Virginia Action Alert
February 6, 2008


Contact Your Legislator Now! Support SB644 & HB1270: STOP for Pedestrians

Senate Bill SB644 has passed through committee and readings (passed by for the day because the patron, Sen Ticer, is ill) and is in the Full Senate. Contact your Virginia Senator as soon as possible to let him or her know that you support the bill.
House Bill HB1270 is the same bill on the house side. It has also passed through committee to the Full House but has an amendment. It will probably have its first reading tomorrow, and then be debated on Friday. Although it is slightly behind the Senate Bill in the process, now is the time to contact your Delegate!

From SB644:
Stop before entering or exiting public highway or sidewalk from or to private road, etc.; yielding right-of-way.
The driver of a vehicle entering or exiting a public highway or sidewalk from or to a private road, driveway, alley, or building shall stop immediately before entering or exiting such highway or sidewalk and yield the right-of-way to vehicles approaching on such public highway and to pedestrians, bicycles, or vehicles approaching on such public sidewalk.
The provisions of this section shall not apply at an intersection of public and private roads controlled by a traffic signal. At any such intersection, all movement of traffic into and through the intersection shall be controlled by the traffic signal.
Read the bill
From HB1270:
Vehicles before entering certain highways shall stop or yield right-of-way.
The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection on a highway controlled by a stop sign shall, immediately before entering such intersection, stop at a clearly marked stop line, or, in the absence of a stop line, stop before entering the a marked or unmarked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or, in the absence of a marked crosswalk, stop at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway. Before proceeding, he shall yield the right-of-way to the driver of any vehicle approaching on such other highway from either direction.
Where a "Yield Right-of-Way" sign is posted, the driver of a vehicle approaching or entering such intersection shall slow down to a speed reasonable for the existing conditions, yield the right-of-way to the driver of another vehicle approaching or entering such intersection from another direction, and, if required for safety, shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, or, in the absence of a stop line, stop before entering the a marked or unmarked crosswalk on the near side of the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway, and shall yield the right-of-way to the driver of any vehicle approaching on such other highway from either direction.
Read the bill















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Thanks, will do.

So SB644 defines the caution cars must exercise around bicycles, but defines them as separtae from vehicles - somewhere between pedestrians and vehicles.

HB1270 doesn't seem to identify what vehicles are, and from the above bill, one might assume that bicycles are not part of the "you must yield" message in HB1270.

I know I can't vote on this, but does Virginia have a law which defines what a vehicle is? And are bicycles either in that definition, or are they they accorded the same rights and expectations that cars etc have?