Robert Hurst on Maryland's Proposed Mandatory Helmet Law


Well OK it's really Colorado's bill but our bill is very similar. Some Highlights:

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Did it work? Did bike helmets Save the Children? Well, kids don't ride bikes nearly as much as they did in decades past, that's for sure, so there are fewer children injured or killed in bike wrecks. Mission accomplished, according to some. It's interesting how closely the sharp decline in kids' bicycling matches the steep ramp up of childhood obesity (and X-Box thumb injuries). Did we trade some juvenile bike wrecks for lifelong heart disease, strokes and cancer? That's messy, messy stuff, don't think about it.

Interestingly, bike helmets have also provided easy answers for people not directly concerned with promoting safe bicycling.The helmet nannies, most of them, don't even ride bikes themselves. Not at all. What they do is drive. And when they see someone riding a bike out there on the street, they think to themselves, man, that guy is a crazy person. I would never do that. And if they see someone riding a bike while not wearing a helmet -- double take -- that there is an affront to civilized society! That is a hostile act! Incredibly, unacceptably dangerous, and downright irresponsible. But this here, what I'm doing -- swerving all over the freeway at 70 mph while trying to keep a hot mocha latte from slurping onto my pants suit -- is not dangerous (on any one of many levels) or irresponsible, and of course would not require any sort of protective headgear. A mandatory bike helmet law serves these non-bike-riding citizens by confirming their modal biases, and, in turn, their basic lifestyle choices, for which they are always catching grief. In this way proposals for helmet laws pick up steam from outside the bicycle universe.
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This version of the MHL is also interesting in that it would apply to 18-and-under rather than the typical 16-and-under. So here we would actually be discouraging bike commuting by young workers of driving age, in favor of putting them onto the highways in their Hondas with aftermarket exhaust, careening at 70 while 'sexting' and scarfing McMuffins, proven deadly dangerous to themselves and everyone on the road with them. Oh, and playing their rock-and-roll music. Dang kids.

Hey, it seems like an easy answer to me: One of the best ways -- easiest ways -- to improve this country, right now, on multiple levels, profoundly, would be to encourage transportational bicycling among 16-to-18 year-old would-be drivers. House Bill 10-1147 [our bill is House Bill 140] goes the opposite direction. One stated goal of the legislation is to reduce health care costs. History shows us that helmet laws do the opposite. Opposite, opposite, opposite. But figuring these things out would require facing some messy corners of the truth, and people just aren't up to it. It's much easier to be counterproductive while carrying the shiny box. Messy truths are bad politics.
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Hearing 2/10 Vehicle Laws - Reckless and Negligent Driving - Penalties for Death or Serious Bodily Injury


Who writes these laws anyway? No increased penalties for death or serious injury if; failed to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. nor is the classic "right hook" and the unsafe passing distance covered for cyclists. Drivers on a cell phones, that may not meet Maryland's strict definition of negligent driving. Aggressive driving, excessive speed and unsafe passing are also exempt from this penalty. What a joke! Generally traffic violation penalties are fine if no damage done or minor property damage but penalties must be subject to being increased if death or severe injury is the result regardless of the specific traffic violation.

Human beings are not and should not be "just" road kill.

Anyway the hearing on SB 189 is 2/10 1 PM

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Transportation Projects - Bicycle and Pedestrian Access - Funding and Reporting


HOUSE BILL 282

Synopsis:

Declaring that it is the policy of the State that, in developing the annual Consolidated Transportation Program, the Maryland Department of Transportation shall work to ensure that there is a balance between funding for specified transportation projects for pedestrians and bicycle riders and specified highway construction projects and place increased emphasis on specified transportation projects; requiring the Statewide 20-Year Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan to be revised in each year that the Maryland Transportation Plan is revised; etc.

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Smart, Green, and Growing - The Sustainable Communities Act of 2010


SENATE BILL 285

Synopsis:

Stating findings and intent of the General Assembly concerning sustainable communities; providing for the designation of specified areas as sustainable communities eligible for specified programs; reestablishing and altering the Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program to be the Sustainable Communities Tax Credit Program; authorizing the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust to issue up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate in initial credit certificates for the tax credit; etc.
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(4) develop public infrastructure that is incidental to the implementation of a community legacy project, such as streets, parking, public utilities, landscaping, lighting, and improvements to pedestrian and bicycle circulation;
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Is planned to maximize the use of transit, walking, and bicycling by residents and employees; and

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Lagging Maryland Traffic Laws, Increasing Bike Usage Make Car-Bicycle Traffic Accidents More Possible, Deadlier


[Baltimore Spokes: While we are gearing up for the legislative season one question remains unanswered well we try and get rid of contributory negligence? Or will drivers that injure and kill other legitimate road users still face a maximum $288 fine? Maryland's bike/ped fatality rate is in the top ten worst in the nation and changing that is currently not addressed in laws, enforcement, fines or even drivers ed.]

by Lebowitz & Mzhen

It won’t be long before the promise of spring weather entices more and more cyclists out onto the roads in and around cities like Annapolis, Bethesda and D.C., among others. As Maryland traffic accident injury attorneys, the staff at Lebowitz & Mzhen, LLC can see a shift toward greater environmental consciousness, so it’s not surprising that more people are using bicycles to get to work, school or even to the store for some light shopping.

Unfortunately, even though more riders are out on the roads, our traffic laws and driver awareness are apparently behind the times. What does this mean in terms of increased traffic accidents and bicycle riding injuries? According to a recent editorial, the percentage of people using bikes for transportation has been on the rise for nearly 20 years, with no expectation that this trend will change any time soon.

To accommodate this increase in two-wheeled traffic, engineers and traffic planners have been working to update the state’s infrastructure and to encourage cycling and create a more safe environment for autos and bikes to coexist. There has also been a call for improved and updated legislation as well.

According to many cycling advocates, some laws unnecessarily restrict safe cycling or where cyclists can ride or park their bikes. There are other laws that haven't really caught up with current technology, which makes our public roads more dangerous for all users. There is also a cry for increased protection for those more vulnerable users or to punish negligent car and truck drivers.

Some suggest that Maryland replace contributory negligence with comparative negligence. Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia are three of only five "states" that use contributory negligence to establish damage awards in civil cases. Under this standard, if an injured road user was even one-percent at fault for a crash involving another road user that person would be unable to recover damages unless he or she could prove that the other road user had the "last clear chance" to avoid the accident.

Last clear chance involves proving four separate facts about the crash, all of which must be true, and can be difficult to prove. This is why it is always important to have an experience legal professional on your side in personal injury cases.

The majority of jurisdictions around the county use some form of comparative negligence, which allows the injured party to recover some of their loses even if they were partially to blame. Contributory negligence is a favorite of big business and the insurance industry, however it punishes victims who are disproportionately pedestrians and cyclists.

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Hearing 2/2 at 2:00 p.m. on 3' safe passing


Hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings

SB 51
Requiring that a driver of a vehicle, when overtaking a bicycle, an Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Device (EPAMD), or a motor scooter, pass safely at a specified distance; requiring a driver of a vehicle to yield the right-of-way to a person who is riding a bicycle, an EPAMD, or a motor scooter in a bike lane or shoulder under specified circumstances; etc.

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Legislative session opens up with a bang for cyclists


The Maryland General Assembly opened today and Senate Bill 51 first reading was today as well!

Synopsis:
Requiring that a driver of a vehicle, when overtaking a bicycle, an Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Device (EPAMD), or a motor scooter, pass safely at a specified distance; requiring a driver of a vehicle to yield the right-of-way to a person who is riding a bicycle, an EPAMD, or a motor scooter in a bike lane or shoulder under specified circumstances; etc.

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CWL 2009 #12 Comparative


From The WashCycle:

Yesterday I wrote about how the criminal law system treats a road user who injures or kills another road user. But the civil law system is also in need of reform. In the Leymeister crash, the driver was found to be guilty of negligent driving and fined $313, but at least the family can sue her, right? Well they can, but it will be very difficult to win. Maryland is one of five states that use Contributory Negligence to establish damage awards. Contributory Negligence is

based on a policy originally established in England that stated a person who negligently causes harm to another cannot be held liable if that injured individual contributed to his own suffering and injury, even if it was only a very slight factor. For example, if Dave and Debbie were in an accident where Jane was injured, and Jane was only 5% at fault, she would recover nothing.

In fact, the standard is that if Jane was even 1% at fault she would recover nothing. With the numerous statements by the police that Leymeister's lane position was a "major contributor" to the accident, it will be easy to convince a jury that Leymeister "contributed" to his death.

This method of calculating damages is still followed in states with a pure contributory negligence system. In light of the potentially harsh result, most states have moved from the strict nature of a pure contributory negligence system to some form of a comparative negligence system.

There are only 5 states that use pure contributory negligence and Maryland, DC and Virginia are three of them (Alabama and North Carolina are the other two). The UK, who gave us this law, has moved away from it as well.

In a DC case, an injured cyclist was unable to get any compensation after they were hit by a truck driver making an illegal right turn. The cyclist was found to have contributory negligence for not anticipating that a truck would illegally turn into him. (Here's another Maryland case).

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Ohio cyclist case dismissed for impeding traffic and failure to comply with the order of a police officer


[I found this point rather interesting.]

{¶ 36} The court is aware that, generally, fleeing from a request for a Terry stop is not grounds for an arrest. State v. Gillenwater (Apr. 2, 1998), 4th Dist. No. 97 CA 0935. However, R.C. 2921.331 specifically prohibits persons from failing to comply with officers’ orders regarding traffic flow. However, those orders must be lawful orders according to the statute. Here, the court does not find that the officer’s request for the defendant to stop was a lawful order, because there is no indication that the defendant at that point had violated any statute.

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