Cars and Bikes Can Mix, When the Rules of the Road Are Clear


By JANE E. BRODY
Published: June 5, 2007
New York Times

A journalist who regularly bicycled to work in Washington was killed when he rode headlong into the door of a truck as the driver opened it.

A physician riding with his wife on an off-road path in New York was killed when a tow truck turned, crossed the path and struck him.

I was lucky. In 2005, I was knocked down by a car that passed me, then cut me off as the driver turned into a parking spot. I landed on one of my newly replaced knees, and was so concerned about it that I failed to notice a dislocated finger. But what scared me most was the fact that the driver didn

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HB 827 - Right-of-Way - Penalties for Failure to Yield - Hearing - March 6, 2007 1 PM


HB 827 - <a href="http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/hb0827.htm">http://mlis.state.md.us/2007rs/billfile/hb0827.htm</a>;
Vehicle Laws - Right-of-Way - Penalties for Failure to Yield
Hearing Scheduled (March 6, 2007 at 1 PM)
Directions to Annapolis and the Hearing Room

The hearing for the Right-of-Way Penalties bill is scheduled for
1 PM on March 6, 2007. It will be held in the Environmental
Matters Committee Hearing Room of the House of Delegates
Building in Annapolis.

We encourage everyone who is able to attend to be there to show support for
this bill. Many of the committee members are our friends and support our
goals. We need to be polite and respectful while attending the hearing and
lend our support to our friends on the committee and persuade all committee
members to vote for HB 827.

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Criminal Law - Manslaughter by Vehicle


HB 291 looks like another bill we should support, any comments?

Synopsis:
Making it a misdemeanor for a person to cause the death of another as a result of the person's driving, operating, or controlling a vehicle or vessel in a criminally negligent manner; establishing the circumstances under which a person is considered to act in a criminally negligent manner for purposes of the Act; establishing that it is not an offense under the Act for a person to cause the death of another as a result of the person's driving, operating, or controlling a vehicle or vessel in a negligent manner; etc.

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It does not look like we are going to get the amendment specifying 3 foot minimum safe passing distance into the bill. So currently the bill does not really add anything to current law. But issues raised during testimony of this bill may help to set in motion educational campaigns to help reduce motorists harassing cyclists and make motorists aware of cyclists rights.

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HB 827 - Vehicle Laws - Right-of-Way - Penalties for Failure to Yield


This bill was introduced in the Maryland General Assembly for the 2007 session on behalf of ABATE of Maryland which is a grass-roots motorcyclist organization. Motorcycle riders experience visibility and vulnerability issues that are similar to those experienced by bicycle riders.

In an effort to increase the consequences for motor vehicle drivers who cause these accidents and hopefully minimize their occurrence in the future, we are continuing a three-year effort to get legislation through the Maryland General Assembly that will increase penalties for right-of-way violations to include higher fines and license suspension when an injury or fatality is the result of a right-of-way violation.

This bill applies to all vehicles including bicycles.

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Bike symposium in the news


By Ron Cassie, The Examiner

Baltimore County - Baltimore County Del. Jon Cardin, probably more than any other Maryland elected official, has hands-on knowledge of the hurdles bicycle commuters face.

Cardin rode a bike daily from Mount Washington to downtown Baltimore as a University of Maryland law student. Today, he still rides regularly from his Timonium home to his law office in Baltimore. He

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The


The hearing went well with One Less Car, Baltimore Bicycling Club and Baltimore Spokes testifying in favor of the bill with amendments. Those opposed

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