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Bicyclists: Help Pass AB1408
Bernie wrote: You'll get no argument from me. I CAN skid, but I don't skid. It's a loss of control, unless you're a kid hot dogging with a coaster brake. Bernie Exactly. Anti-lock brakes are arguably ILLEGAL on bicycles. Some notes from someone who was at the Senate Transportation Committee hearing, posted to the Silicon Valley BC mailing list -- depressing, as it appears this wonderful bill, passed unanomously by the Assembly, will be diluted to virtually nothing by legislators and lobbyists who understand neither current code nor the content of the proposed legislation. Dan ===================================== * AB1408 was not voted on (but this was good, because we definitely did not have the votes yesterday afternoon to make it out of committee). * ANOTHER Rules Waiver has been filed (highly unusual). While Chair Murray was initially quite hostile towards the bill and seemed intent on killing it (for fear it would give cyclists the right to "control the roadway"), by the end of the hearing he had come to the position that the bill deserves a shot, if language is amended to address his concerns. Torlakson promised the compromise would not be a "middle of the road" solution, pun intended. Senator Scott from Pasadena really turned the hearing around when he gave a personal testimony about his experience being doored, and also by stating that he liked Chris Morfas' comments. * At the start of yesterday's hearing, the CHP rep said they would oppose the bill UNLESS it only dealt with CVC code related to bike equipment. By the end of the hearing, CHP had softened their position and stated that they are willing to negotiate more on the door zone issue. * A Caltrans representative (yes Caltrans!!) testified yesterday about the dangers of the door zone. It was great! Caltrans of course does not have an official position on the bill, but they cited information from their website about the dangers of the door zone, the dangers of weaving in and out between parked cars, etc. The City of Los Angeles and Tim Bustos, Davis Bicycle Coordinator also gave testimony in support of the bill. * More later from Chris Morfas about what the new Rules Waiver means. From my understanding, it will likely NOT mean another hearing (yesterday's was the last of this session), but will mean that the bill is amended again and then presented to each Senator out of committee for their vote. * Many statements made by the Senators were quite surreal, and revealed an incredible lack of ignorance about cyclists' current rights under current vehicle code (and a lack of ignorance about our bill). The CHP and a San Bernandino County Sherriff who testified also made a few surprisingly weak arguments that made it hard for us supporters to keep a straight face. Amazing that this is how laws are made. More on this later (I took quite detailed notes). * There were nearly 20 of us there to support the bill (filling more than 1/2 the chairs in the hearing room). We appeared to be the only group of citizens there for the transportation hearing. We heard several other transportation- related bills before our bill (none of much interest), and also got to attend a special floor session on the budget to watch the Republicans and Democrats take swipes at one another while waiting for our hearing which was postponed to 3pm in the afternoon. well that's enough for this "short brief!" |
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