Bills to Watch: HB 91 – Traffic Control Signs for Bicycles, C. Spackman-Moss
I have never been much of a bicycle rider, I much prefer my car. The most obvious reason for this is that I don’t have a bicycle friendly commute, as I would imagine most people don’t. Now, in my particular case, my job often requires me to meet people in far flung reaches of the valley in a very short time frame, but for others, it is simply not safe or not quick enough to do so.
This is where Representative Carol Spackman-Moss’ (D-Salt Lake, District 37) HB 91 comes into play. The bill basically allows bicycle riders the right to blow through intersections when no other cars are there. No having to legally wait for the light to change in a downtown commute, no need to stop in a residential area with a stop sign, no riders can simply keep on riding, provided it is safe for them to do so.
We all know that riding a bike adds time to your commute, a top speed of 15 miles per hour or so will do that to you. But in an urban environment where your average speed may be 15 miles per hour anyway because of traffic lights, there is an added benefit to take the train with your bike in tow and ride around downtown rather than have to hassle with traffic and parking. Plus, this bill will get more cars off the road for the rest of us!
This bill really is a win-win. I doubt there will be an increase in accidents as it is incumbent on the rider to look for traffic, not the driver of an automobile. And I am sure bicycle riders are already acutely aware of the hazards of the road. We make our cities more bicycle friendly and we get more cars off the road.
