BIKE LAW 101 - The Politics of Cycling - Becoming an Advocate in TWO MINUTES!
BIKE LAW 101 – THE POLITICS OF CYCLING & 2 MINUTE ADVOCACY
By Steven M. Magas, BikeLawyer@aol.com
In addition to having had the honor of representing more than 100 injured or killed cyclists over the past 20 years or so, I have also been actively involved in the “politics of cycling.” These political battles have increased in intensity recently and in this article I’m going to show you how YOU can become involved as an advocate in “bike politics” on a National, State and Local level TODAY, within two minutes after reading this article!
THE NATIONAL BIKE
For the past several years the League of American Bicyclists has sponsored the National Bike Summit. Bicycle advocates from all over the country converge on
Wednesday sessions are intense at times – multiple sessions are offered where you can observe the movers and shakers in the bicycling world talking about their pet projects, successes and failures. This year I learned how other cities have implemented incredible bike plans, bike facilities and sat in with a group of lawyers who discussed the Kentucky Supreme Court case upholding a cyclist’s right to use the roads as well as a Colorado cycling group’s incredibly organized use of the internet to its advantage in an intense public relations battle with its State Highway Patrol. At the end of the day, all advocates were brought up to speed on the “hot button” national cycling issues in preparation for a day of lobbying.
Thursday is “Bike Day” on Capitol Hill. Meetings are scheduled with members of virtually every Senator’s “transportation people” as well as House representatives. Our 300+ contingent of cycling advocate each wears a brightly colored cycling pin. Our eight member delegation from
In March 2005, we hit Capitol Hill pushing the Transportation Bill. In August 2005, President Bush signed “SAFETEA-LU,” a massive transportation bill that includes over FIVE BILLION dollars for cycling and a Safe Routes To Schools program we have been working on for years! In March 2006, we pushed for passage of a Bicycle Commuter Act that would amend the tax code to provide commuting fringe benefits for cyclists! That bill was introduced in May, 2006.
YOU can participate. Go to www.bikeleague.org. Read the stuff we’re working on. Get email addresses for your local Senator and representatives. Send them a note urging them to support the bills! Better yet, GO to Washington with us next March. It’s a great time to be there! Bring a bike. Learn how to lobby. Meet your representative. Ride the Rock Creek Parkway and be part of your government!
On Tuesday,
When the Committee finally met, the chair, Senator Armbrustor, put our bill to the front of the agenda. We had been led to believe that this was a “shoo in” – and that the bill could be favorably voted on by the Committee that evening.
A few of us offered very brief testimony due to the lateness of the hour. Suddenly, things changed. The minority senators offered up a surprise amendment – a Mandatory Helmet Law! This took us by surprise, to say the least. Fortunately, this was on issue on which I have done considerable research and when a question arose over the definition of the word “roadway” in the bill, I was able to provide that information on the spot as well as set forth arguments as to why such an amendment would be unwise. After some snarly debate, the amendment was killed by a partisan vote and the bill was unanimously adopted by the committee. The bill was voted on by the entire Ohio Senate yesterday and passed unanimously. Governor Taft signed it and on
You can read about this important bill and the changes it implements to make life better for cyclists at www.ohiobike.org. Last year, the Ohio Bike Federation pushed for passage of another bill – SB 158. We are part of a coalition of bicycling and motorcycling groups urging the state to pass this bill. The bill would increase penalties for motorists involved in “minor” traffic accidents relative to the injuries those “minor” crashes cause. YOU can get involved TODAY by emailing the Senators on the Transportation Committee and thanking them for supporting bicycling in Ohio. You can ask for their support on SB 158 as well! You can get information from the OBF website or go to the legislature’s website which provides a very easy search program to find bills, YOUR representatives and Committee members.
LOCAL POLITICS – GRASSROOTS HELP NEEDED TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO RIDE YOUR FAVORITE ROADS
I recently opened the local “Forest Hills Journal” – a weekly community newspaper that serves my little niche of the county. I was very surprised to see the headline “Round Bottom Road Rough For Truckers, Bikes.” The article went on to describe another raucous political session – this time an Anderson Township Trustees meeting where bike rides were chastised by a business owner.
Round Bottom Road is a mile or so from my house and is an extremely popular route for cyclists due to a lack of traffic, a country setting and nice long, rolling stretches. You don’t see a lot of kids, mostly experienced cyclists riding for fitness or fun. However, Doug Evans, owner of Evans Landscaping, has his business on Round Bottom and every spring his huge dump trucks roll out, providing much of suburban Hamilton County with mulch, topsoil, gravel, boulders, sod and more. Mr. Evans decided to go to the Trustees meeting to complain about those pesky bikers.
Mr. Evans’ reported remarks were, at best, callous as he took the “This road ain’t big enough for both of us” approach of a Texas gunslinger. He complained that “something” has to be done about these bikes on the road before some car or truck wipes out “not 2 or 3 but 10” bike riders. His key point seemed to be that HE and his business “paid taxes” and bike operators do not.
I wrote a lengthy letter to the reporter, Liz Carey. I explained that yes, bicycle riders DO pay taxes – those of us who work for a living anyway. However, the roadways of the State of Ohio are open to
In addition to sending this letter to Ms. Carey, I copied the Presidents of the Cincinnati Cycle Club and Queen City Wheels, a local racing club. I got those emails from a quick web search. I also copied members of the Ohio Bike Federation, with whom I serve on the Board. Finally, I copied the members of the Township’s “Transportation Advisory Committee” which deals with promoting cycling in this area.
Since this initial burst of energy, the Round Bottom Road issue has repeatedly come up with more and more cyclists adding voices of support. It’s grass roots advocacy at its best!
YOU can become involved in this or other local issues. Watch the news for public statements that challenge our right to ride on the roadway. Send a note supporting cycling to your local paper or your local politicians. Volunteer to work on committees supporting cycling in your area. Keep the pressure on our elected officials. They work for YOU and need to know what YOU think is important! Politicians are also discovering that being Pro Cycling is good politics. People LIKE to ride. People WANT to ride. People WANT cycling facilities. People WANT to spend tax money on public projects that add to the joy of cycling.
In TWO minutes, YOU can become an aggressive, active and educated advocate for cycling at the national, state or local levels! WHAT
[1] Steve Magas is an avid cyclist and
