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Bicyclists: Help Pass AB1408
Subject: Bicyclists: Statewide Call to Action on AB1408!
It is NOW or NEVER for AB1408, and if the California Highway Patrol has their way this bill will be defeated and cyclists' right to the roadway will remain unclear. Please help us contact key Senators in support of AB1408 before July 8th hearing! Assembly Bill 1408 (Wolk), sponsored by the California Bicycle Coalition, would clarify bicyclists' rights and responsibilities and, in the future, serve as a solid foundation for educational campaigns aimed at both motorists and bicyclists. We need your help TODAY to ensure the Senate Transportation Committee hears from hundreds of cyclists statewide before the hearing on AB1408 onTuesday July 8th. *Letters to Transportation Committee members are the most important way you can help our effort. If your Senator is not a committee member (see list below), please send a letter to the Senate Transportation Committee Chair as well as to your Senator. *Statewide Call-In Day for AB1408: Monday July 7th *Attend the July 8th hearing in Sacramento; to participate contact Sarah Syed at: Sample letters, contact info for Senators, FAQ on AB1408, and more is available at: http://www.calbike.org/bikebill.htm and is also included below. A huge THANK YOU to those who have already helped! Senate Transportation Committee Members: Senator Kevin Murray (Chair) Senator Tom McClintock (Vice-Chair) Senator Roy Ashburn Senator James Brulte Senator Liz Figueroa Senator Dean Florez Senator Betty Karnette Senator Bill Morrow Senator Don Perata Senator Jack Scott Senator Jack Scott Senator Nell Soto Senator Jackie Speier Senator Tom Torlakson Senator contact info is available online at (need Senator name for look-up): http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp If you don't know the name of your Senator, don't feel bad- most people don't, you can find that out at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html Here's a sample letter (also available on our website at: http://www.calbike.org/bikebill.htm) for you to cut and paste and send ASAP. Letters sent via snail mail and fax are much more effective than emails. Please insert personal details to make your letter more convincing. DATE The Honorable FIRST NAME LAST NAME California State Senate California State Senate State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 AB1408(Wolk) SUPPORT Dear Senator LAST NAME: Please vote yes when AB1408 is heard by the Senate Transportation Committee on July 8. As noted by the Legislative Counsel, the bill makes "technical, nonsubstantive changes in existing law." This bill updates technologically obsolete provisions of the vehicle code pertaining to brakes, reflectors and lights that bicyclists are required to use and clarifies language pertaining to where bicyclists should ride on the roadway that has confused bicyclists and motorists since it was enacted several decades ago. AB1408 would make clear that people riding bikes may ride outside of the deadly door zone adjacent to parked cars, where doors opened carelessly by people in cars injure and kill many bicyclists each year. AB1408 will also add a definition of the term "door zone" to the vehicle code to reduce misinterpretation. AB1408 will help motorists, bicyclists and law enforcement personnel better understand and apply state law, thus improving roadway safety for all users. Sincerely, YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS **You can see the current version of AB1408 he http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/a...0030624_amende d_sen.html Once again, the CHP is hostile to the interests of cyclists. The CHP has refused to even acknowledge that the current vehicle code language needs any refinement and is so far staunchly opposing the bill. The CHP's written and verbal comments on the legislation are quite alarming. For example, the CHP has recommended that bicyclists ride in the dangerous door zone adjacent to parked cars; bicyclists know they need to leave some space in between themselves and parked cars in order to avoid collisions caused when people inside cars open doors without looking. Read the CHP's analysis of the June 4th version of the bill on our website at: http://www.calbike.org/cpoa.doc. |
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