Michigan Bicycle legislation(long post)

[OakLeaf]

I really have a problem with this trend of highway users (motorcyclists, apparently farmers, and now bicyclists) asking to be singled out in the law.

This bill does what I've been urging for years - makes traffic homicide a strict liability offense like every other traffic law on the books - but why limit it to bicyclists?

[beccaB]

I don't think the legislation is limited to bicycles, but I'm pretty sure that bicycle enthusiasts were responsible for it getting to the forefront. The part of Michigan where I live can be pretty unfriendly to bicycle riders. There is a lot of poverty here, and you see more kids and "down and out" people riding than other types of riders. Lots of men with dui's and people who can't afford cars. It's very rural in my particular community, and there are getting to be more of us on the road.
I also drive a school bus, and I see a lot of people making HUGE driving errors. It's like I have a bird's eye view of what's going on with drivers because I'm on the road so much. I don't think the bill would ever be publicized enough to have the general public adopt more careful habits, but it would give judges more options.

[OakLeaf]

Well okay, not bicyclists only, but "nonmotorized" highway users.

Why shouldn't it be a strict liability offense when a car driver kills a motorcyclist - or a passenger in a school bus?

My area in Ohio sounds pretty similar to your part of Michigan. Florida - well, forget about it, you may as well paint a target on your jersey. Anything that gives "nonmotorized" highway users special privileges would only p!ss off whatever drivers heard about it.

It goes along with the vehicular cyclist concept, too - we shouldn't expect special privileges - we should have equal rights and equal duties.

ETA: actually, the point of this law isn't to give judges more options, it's to give juries (or judges as finders of fact) FEWER options. It's the mens rea that's usually the sticking point in a vehicular homicide conviction - the hook that lets them acquit. This bill removes that.

[Melalvai]

One thing I have found fascinating about being editor of the Hub (the newsletter of the Missouri Bicycle Federation) is how much I get to learn about legislation. I didn't really have a good grasp of the intricacies of moving bills and resolutions and such through the system. Well, I still don't have a good grasp, but maybe a tenuous one?

In the upcoming issue, there is a Legislative Roundup article, which is our longest article and I simply could not pare it down any further. Also I'm on the email list for the Board of Directors, and I hear a lot about local regulations and policies and how they are trying to change that, as well as on the state level.