Safety

The Oklahoman has a nice article encouraging drivers to be cautious around cyclists during these cooler fall months:

Drivers are urged to steer clear of Oklahoma’s bicyclists

Bicyclists who haven’t been able to ride recreationally or train during Oklahoma’s historically warmest summer are now hitting the streets. Officials encourage drivers to be cautious and share the road with bicycle riders.

via Drivers are urged to steer clear of Oklahoma’s bicyclists | NewsOK.com.

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With the end of the legislative session, we now can report on the final disposition of the four major cycling bills that were being considered this year:

• SB443: Requires bicycle safety questions on the driver’s license exam. Passed and signed by the governor.
• HB2049: Designates Route 66 as the Historic Route 66 Bike Trail.  Originally, the bill only partly covered Route 66, but in the end it was expanded to cover the entire length. Passed and signed by the governor.
• SB487: Would have allowed for  an optional $5 donation during driver’s license renewals to go for bicycle safety education. Died waiting for final vote after reconciliation.
• SB951: Probably the most important bill in this year’s session would have clarified the 3-foot rule and would have increased penalties for people throwing objects at cyclists. Died in Senate Subcommittee.

KFOR put together a nice story on the new Edmond cycling ordinances:

Following the cue of Oklahoma City and Norman, the Edmond City Council has passed an ordinance change that requires vehicles to pass cyclists with at least 3-feet of distance. Violation of the ordnance comes with a fine of not more than $500. The Ordinance also makes several other changes to cycling rules in Edmond:

• It officially defines a bicycle as a vehicle when traveling on the road ways.
• Clarifies the definitions of bike lane and shared-use paths.
• Requires that cyclists stay under the posted speed limit.
• Allows cyclists (NOT REQUIRES) to ride on the sidewalk everywhere in Edmond except for the downtown area which is defined as “south of Thatcher, east of the railroadright-of-way, north of Second Street, and west of Littler.”  Not that I would ever recommend taking up the extremely dangerous practice of cycling on the sidewalk.
• Removes the requirement that cyclists have a bell, whistle or other noise maker on their bike.

You can read the full ordinance and background information in the City Council Agenda packet: http://edmondok.com/docs/city_council/meeting_agendas_and_minutes/03_28_2011_packet.pdf

The Tulsa World has published a nice article about Tulsa’s latest bike friendly award, this time from Bicycling Magazine:

Tulsa was recently named one of America’s Best Bike Cities by Bicycling magazine - but when it comes to being truly bike-friendly, the city has a little farther to ride, say cyclists and transportation officials.

via Tulsa’s bike-friendliness lauded | Tulsa World.

The story also goes into many of the dangers also faced by cyclists on Oklahoma’s roads including the aggressive drivers we all know and love.

Photo By: Mr. T in DC

Over the last couple of months four new bills regarding bicycling have been introduced to the Oklahoma Legislature and are making their way through the committee and floor processes. The first three are part of the safety legislation that Sen. Andrew Rice has been discussing for the last several months and the last designates old Route 66 as a bicycle trail.

Here’s a nice article about sharing the road from a member of the OKC Police Department bicycle patrol.  This guy hits the attitude just right on how things should be out there on the road.  Of course, this is my favorite quote from the article:

Drivers should give cyclists even more than the required three feet when practical, Smith said.

via Cooler weather in Oklahoma could mean more cyclists | NewsOK.com.

After this week’s announcement by State Senator Andrew Rice of new bicycle legislation comes this in depth story about the reaction of state bicycle groups in the Norman Transcript:

Bicycling groups across the state said they support a new legislative package designed to protect riders and motorists. However, many cyclists are calling for the state to do more to educate residents and enforce existing laws and practices.

. . .

“I am excited to a certain point, but I’m also very leery because there is not much more you can do to regulate and put in new laws with restrictions,” said Matt Bradbury, vice president of the Ada Cycling Club. “The biggest thing really is education and awareness.”

[Read More]

State Senator Andrew Rice released the following statement regarding new bicycle safety legislature today:

Sen. Andrew Rice announced today that he will be filing legislation for the upcoming session to help better protect bicyclists in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma democrat said the legislation is necessary following the recent deaths of three Oklahomans in bicycle-related accidents.

“Our job as legislators is to ensure the public’s safety, and we need to do what we can to keep everyone on Oklahoma’s roads safe, and that includes bicyclists,” said Rice, Senate Democratic Leader elect. “I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature, the Department of Public Safety and others concerned with this issue to see how we can best prevent further accidents and unnecessary deaths.”

[Read More]

Matt Reynolds, from the Bicycle Store, was interviewed on KOSU yesterday and, in my opinion, stated most clearly and concisely what we would all like to happen especially in light of our recent tragedies:

Matt Reynolds, a cyclist and employee with the Bicycle Store in Oklahoma City, says he hopes this [the recent string of crashes] will help raise awareness for motorists to start paying attention to the road.

“A bicycle is a reliable means of transportation and should be granted the same types of privileges and rights for safe operation as anybody else that’s on the road.”

[Read More]