New Illinois law protecting cyclists

[Thorn]

And....this one just makes my blood boil...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/featur...9,0,127.column

Illinois has a long way to go, but then, the US has, alas, a long way to go...

[Bike Chick]

This is terrible!!! I hadn't heard this one. Yes, Illinois has a long way to go but maybe this new law is a step in the right direction. We have some friends that are state police officers that didn't even know about the 3 feet law. How can we expect laws to be enforced when law enforcement isn't even aware of them?

[Melalvai]

This is terrible!!! I hadn't heard this one. Yes, Illinois has a long way to go but maybe this new law is a step in the right direction. We have some friends that are state police officers that didn't even know about the 3 feet law. How can we expect laws to be enforced when law enforcement isn't even aware of them?

Columbia, MO did this great program a couple years ago called Operation Share the Road. The entire police force took the bicycle class. During October, police gave tickets to cyclists who were breaking laws: wrong way riding, running red lights and stop signs, riding at night without lights. Except if it was the last one, the cyclist had the option of either getting a ticket, or letting the ride-along volunteer install blinkies on his/her bike.

This was inspired by some bike classes getting interrupted by officers who thought they shouldn't be out on the roads, even though they weren't breaking any laws. Instead of getting confrontational, the instructors decided to do what they do best, which is educate the officers.

I think the free light program, but not the tickets, ended after October.

Anyway, we can't expect laws to be enforced if officers don't know what the laws are, so let's tell them what the laws are! In a non-confrontational and totally respectful way.