HB 971 Bad for Bicyclists and Pedestrians
Unbeknownst to Florida Bicycle Association, a mandatory bike lane use provision was included in the Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles bill. The bill also allows local governments to permit mopeds, golf-carts and other motorized vehicles on sidewalks and trails.
Call Governor Crist as soon as you can to ask him to veto this bill. Executive Office of the Governor Switchboard: (850) 488-7146
If you’re on Facebook, post the link to this blog post to spread the word!
Why it’s bad for bicyclists:
Motorists who learn of the bill will have one more very strong excuse to harass cyclists who “aren’t in the bike lane.” There are many striped-off areas of roadways that are not really bike lanes, but some believe they are. They will also likely be ignorant of all the exceptions to the law (because they’ll hear it second hand) and even if they read it in full, they won’t understand many of the good reasons cyclists need to leave bike lanes.
The bicyclist outside a bike lane is put in a defensive position and must prove his or her innocence. Many bike lanes are substandard in width, force cyclists into door zones, or are improperly placed to the right of right-turn-only lanes, but many officers don’t understand these problems.
Motorists get another new excuse when they hit a cyclist: “He left the bike lane.”
Why it’s bad for pedestrians:
It’s bad enough that pedestrians have to suffer parked cars blocking sidewalks, being blasted by sprinklers, sidewalk bicyclists who don’t announce themselves when passing, and thousands of other nuisances, now they’ll have to share stretches of sidewalk in some jurisdictions with motorized vehicles. Local governments will be able to permit mopeds, golf-carts, motorized scooters and other vehicles which don’t belong on sidewalks and on “bike paths.” The law limits such vehicles to 15 mph, but how will that be enforced?
It’s time for Florida’s bicyclists and pedestrians to send a strong message: “We will not be marginalized.”
Please call now!
UPDATE:
The bill also allows drivers who have had up to four DUIs to get their licenses back. From a Jacksonville TV station:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you get four DUI’s in Florida, you could lose your driving privileges. However, if passed, a bill would allow drivers with four DUI’s to get their licenses back.
The driver would have to go through a program, which includes educational classes and installing a breathalyzer in his or her vehicle. The device is called Life Safer Interlock, and costs about $70 to install and about $80 a month to maintain.
Please sign the Petition to VETO HB 971
http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=266073823&ref=mf
Looks like I’ll have to create my Facebook account, sign the petition, and delete my Facebook account, since I don’t and will not plan to do any social networking (no matter how hard I choose to restrict my Facebook account by adjusting my privacy settings).
I’m thinking it would probably be detrimental for non-Florida residents to “sign” it, yes? They won’t care what non-residents think and will see it as interference. But I’ll spread the word.
Looks like some InterNationals signed. It is a Tourist issue too!
Opps! Don’t use that link. I didn’t notice as I was too quick to look. It is my Edit page on the site.
Try this:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/HB-971-Bad-for-Bicyclists-and-Pedestrians
Thanks Dennis,
I removed the link to your edit page
I once said that I don’t plan to do any social networking, but I created my Facebook account with a lot of restrictions in place in terms of privacy settings.
Other than that, thanks for providing a link. I already signed the petition.
Thanks! Shooting from the hip I misfired.
After a simple Google Search I found that the writer of this Florida Today Letter to The Editor is an Engineer and is correct in one of his assumptions. It is illegal to ride a Bicycle on a LAF in the State of Florida unless other wise posted. His other assumption are not correct for Vehicular Cyclists. His assertion about WANNA BE’s may hold true for some concerning the bridge he is referring to.
This type of Negative Letter to the Editor will not endear the cycling community to the Public. Nor will it help the cause of removing the Bike Lane mandate from HB 971.
We need to inform and educate all of the Cycling Clubs and Racing Teams that Bicycles are Vehicles and are required to abide by the Law. We can’t have it both ways.
RePrinted from Florida Today Letters to The Editor
Cyclists ignore limited
access highway rules
When will the Florida Highway
Patrol and Brevard County Sheriff’s
Office enforce the law prohibiting
bicycles on limited access
highways?
I commute on the Pineda
Causeway and cringe every time
I see a cyclist or group of cyclists
\ on that road. These are adults
It who know that every limited access
highway is posted with
signs at the on-ramps prohibting
pedestrians, bicycles and
vehicles under five-brake horse-
/power.
(
The signs are there for a reason:
It’s inherently dangerous to
have those in close proximity to
vehicles traveling at highway
speed.
Yet some cyclists think
they’re entitled to disregard the
law and ride where they wish. I
wouldn’t begrudge someone
with no automobile using
Pineda to evacuate the islands
from an oncoming hurricane.
It’s the Lance Armstrong impersonators
in their cycling togs out
there day after day.
All it takes is one slip of the
gas pedal, one blown tire or one
heavy gust of wind. Some innocent
motorist may be left with
the lifelong guilt, the driving-record
stigma and probably the
expense defending an unfounded
wrongful death suit
caused by a thoughtless, selfish
cyclist.
If you don’t like the law, then
change it. Otherwise, obey the
law like the rest of us.
Frank Skarvelis
Indian Harbour Beach
Let MADD National know how MADD all Floridians are that MADD’s Florida Leadership supports HB 971 which will allow 4 time convicted offenders to reinstate their driving privileges. MADD national will over ride MADD florida if they get enough calls. We need MADD as n ally in this fight!Contact Frank Harris, State Policy Specialist for MADD Natinal”
Call (800)-GET-MADD (800-438-6233) and ask for Frank Harris
or email him at…: frank.harris@madd.org
CALL NOW! He is in his office waiting for your call!
Drunk Driver runs over and kills bicyclist in Key Biscyane, Miami:
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2010/01/musician_carlos_bertonatti_cha.php
The Florida Legislature must be NUTS to consider giving 4 time convicted DUI offenders their drivers license back. VETO HB 971!
MotherLawyer wrote: “Bikers don’t want bike lanes! Extra, extra, read all about it! They will not be marginalized, and don’t want to be hemmed in. They’re going to break the law if it passes, and not use the bike lanes. Well, honey, let’s let car drivers all take that attitude. From now on. I’ll drive wherever I want to, because the government can’t tell me I can only drive between certain lines– that’s taking my freedom away, it’s unsafe for me.”
.
Clearly this “mother” doesn’t know the difference between a preferential use lane and a traffic lane. Traffic lanes are general use for ALL drivers (including bicyclists). Bike Lanes, like HOV Lanes or Bus Lanes, are NOT traffic lanes, they are preferential use lanes, which means that they can only be used by the preferred class of users for which they were intended. Preferential use lanes are intended to be an optional benefit, that MAY be used by the preferred group, and this is why HOV lanes and Bus lanes are optional. The same should be true for bike lanes.
As to your ill informed analogy involving “driving wherever you want to”, it clearly shows that you are blissfully unaware of lane class definitions, and probably imagine that normal traffic lanes are “car lanes” which are mandatory use for “cars” and that “bike lanes” should also be mandatory use for “bikes”. Instead of being clever, you’ve just exposed your ignorance of the critical difference between a preferential use lane and a traffic lane for all to see.
To avoid future embarrassment, I suggest you read the MUTCD lane type definitions, and the FL state vehicle codes before making statements about which lanes should be mandatory use.
My sympathies are with y’all. Let me know if there’s something positive I can do to help. If nothing else, it should be a wakeup call to the rest of us that use bikes around the country…
Bottom line for me is that I have been persecuted just about all my life for riding a bicycle.
For more than 35 years, I’ve been arrested, stopped and “educated” and cited (civilly) for riding my bicycle in a lawful manner.
I’ve been yelled at. Honked at. Blared at. Screamed at and buzzed by trucks.
This is just one more slight among thousands. It means that there will be fewer streets I can ride on. I already avoid streets with bike lanes because I just don’t need to be “told” that I should use the bike lane.
Sorry to be fatalistic, but a mandatory bike lane law is the logical extension or government paying for bike lanes.
The National office of MADD has begun receiving calls and complaints from Floridians about MADD Florida’s misguided support for HB 971. Not surprisingly, the more people find out that HB 971 will allow 4 time convicted DUI offenders to get their drivers license back (current law requires a permanent revocation upon a 4th DUI conviction), the more people question MADD Florida’s motives for supporting this terrible bill.
From watching the Channel 10 Tampa story on this issue (http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/story.aspx?storyid=131244&catid=250) and reading the blogs, it appears this change in law was pushed by the wealthy family of 4 time convicted DUI offender who wants his drivers license back. And to make matters worse, MADD’s Florida Leadership worked hand in hand with this family’s Tallahassee lobbyist to help this 4 time convicted DUI offender get his drivers license back. I always thought MADD mission was to keep drunk drivers off the road – NOT to help put them back on road – didn’t you?
Fortunately for us, MADD’s dirty little secret this has been leaked and we now have a chance to make a difference. If MADD’s National office continues to receive calls and complaints from Floridians, it is very possible that MADD National will instruct MADD Florida to oppose HB 971 and to call on Governor Crist to VETO HB 971. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you and all your friends and family begin to call and/or email Frank Harris, State Policy Specilist for MADD and voice your concerns about MADD Florida’s support for HB 971 and its DIRECT involvement in helping a 4 time convicted DUI offender to get his drivers license back. The last bicyclists need to contend with is 4 time convicted DUI offenders being back on the road.
Call (800) 438-6233 and ask for Frank Harris and/or or email him at: frank.harris@madd.org and demand that MADD take a stand against HB 971 and publicly urge Governor Crist to VETO HB 971.
[comment removed by request of its author]
[...] Twitter, the blogosphere are up in arms about Florida State House Bill 971, the “Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle [...]
Click on the following link to read an article in the Florida Times Union:
http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2010-05-07/story/cyclists-urge-crist-veto-bill-changes-florida-biking-rules
So far Crist has received 685 calls to VETO HB 971. Keep spreading the word; we must get to at least 2500!
ATTENTION:
For those of you who wish to send an email to Crist expressing your concerns, but do not have the time to draft a letter, you can visit the following site, VETO HB 971, and sign your name to a prepared petition letter. Upon submission, this petition will be sent directly to to Governor Crist’s email box:
See: http://vetohb971.x10hosting.com/
^
PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS AND SEND IN YOUR CALL TO VETO THIS BILL VIA EMAIL AS WELL!
-Kurt
Hello all,
If you’ve been following the previous posts regarding HB 971, you’ll know that I just started a petition site, http://vetohb971.x10hosting.com/, so that individuals who do not have time to send an email may submit a prepared letter to Governor Crist’s email inbox, asking for a veto.
That said, I have devised the following flyer for distribution to local cyclists and local bike shops. I’m in Miami, I can only take care of a limited area. That’s where you come in:
http://vetohb971.x10hosting.com/vetohb971.doc
If you would like to help in the effort to veto HB 971, feel free to download and print copies of this flyer. File is in Microsoft Word .DOC format. Pass it out to your friends and your local bike shops. Make as many copies as you like. Get the word out.
-Kurt
This is the ultimate in political subterfuge. The people bankrolling these veto “HB 971” sites don’t care about drunk driving. They are hiding behind that issue because the bill ends a monopoly that funnels all the car boot business to one vender, opening up the market to competition.
Don’t be fooled or used. HB 971 makes the road safer by making sure repeat DUI offenders only get behind the wheel of a car with an interlock device, basically a breathalyzer tied to the car’s ignition. This solution is more effective than current law since 50% to 75% of DUI offenders currently drive on a suspended license. That’s why both the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and MADD support this legislation.
Are you saying that I don’t care bout drunk driving because of what I’m trying to get this HB 971 vetoed?
Cite sources before you lose credibility, please!
Nobody is “bankrolling” opposition to HB 971. It is strictly a word-of-mouth (via the Web) effort among bicyclists who understand the harm it will cause to cyclists.
BTW folks, the interlock option is already on the books. This bill just amends it, extending it to four years.
HB 971 is a deeply flawed piece of legislation because the bill should not mix bicycling legislation with DUI legislation. This alone is a good reason for the Gov. to veto it. Even if a person is for the DUI portion, the bad bicycling legislation should not be forced upon cyclists. The bicycling legislation was added without any input from cycling groups, and represents regulation without representation.
Even FDOT was a little taken back by the lack of committee before the Vote. The language is not expertly written concerning bicycles.
Mighk – I just wanted to clarify one of your comments. The ignition interlock is on the books for 1st, 2nd and 3rd DUI convictions. However, under current law (Section 322.28(2)(e), Florida Statutes, when a person is convicted of a 4th DUI offense, his or her drivers license is permanently revoked and they can never drive again.
What HB 971 does is create an exception for 4 time or more convicted DUI offenders whose drivers license has been permanently revoked to get his or her license reinstated if he or she places an ignition interlock device on their car. So if HB 971 is signed, the bottom line is 30,000+ 4 time or more convicted DUI offenders will be coming to a street near you. And there are absolutely no safeguards (including the igntition interlock) to adequately protect the public from habitual drunk drivers.
If you are interested in learning why the Florida Legislature included this drivers reinstatement language in the bill, I strongly recommend that you click on the following link:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/story.aspx?storyid=131244&catid=250
We can not allow our legislature to be hijacked by special interests. Please call and email Governor Charlie Crist and ask him to veto HB 971. He is not SOFT on CRIME and will not let us down.
Phone #: (850) 488-7146
Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
So I read FS 322.2715 which covers interlocks.
Let’s say you get your first DUI. You get the interlock for at least six months. After the interlock is removed you can go out and drive drunk again. For your second offense you get the interlock for at least two years. Third offense? Another two years of interlock.
On the forth offense you get the interlock for at least 5 years.
So someone could conceivably get three DUIs in less than six years and still get a fourth chance. Can somebody explain to me why giving somebody a fourth chance will save lives?
Did you click on the link I sent you?
[...] cyclists but pedestrians and other road users (including motorists!). Take a look at their site to read more of the details. On the Commute Orlando site is information to contact Gov. Charlie Crist about this proposed bill [...]
Below is a story that Channel 10 in Tampa recently ran:
Clearwater, Florida — The family of a man with four DUI convictions admits to hiring a Tallahassee lobbyist to change a law so the man can get his license and drive again.
Not only did the Legislature pass the bill, but it was also inserted in an almost veto-proof bill that the governor is expected to sign.
Andrew Hall is still recovering from injuries he suffered in April of 2009, when he was hit by a drunk driver, costing him his leg. Hall says it has been a hell of a year, but every day is a great day to be alive. When we told Hall about the Legislature’s action to allow those convicted of four DUI’s to get their license back, he couldn’t believe it.
Hall says it is like giving a serial killer a loaded gun. He says it is one of the most ludicrous things you can do.
State Senator Mike Fasano says driving in Florida is a privilege and not a right. Fasano points out this bill is helping people who violated that privilege not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. Fasano is also upset, because the bill was inserted as an amendment in the Transportation Bill, which is critical to the state and the governor is almost sure to sign.
Surprisingly, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is also in favor of the bill. MADD says it is better to regulate habitual drunk drivers by requiring them to install a device which requires them to blow into a breathalyzer before they can start the car.
But the organization, which tries to keep drunk drivers off the road, also admits it may have received contributions from those who were also in favor of the bill. While MADD says it can’t confirm that fact, it also admits it can’t deny it either.
MADD also says the bill makes sense, because it estimates 50 percent of the 30,000 Floridians with more than four DUI convictions drive anyway.
However, Fasano says you don’t change the law because people are breaking it. He says that is like telling illegal immigrants they are going to get a driver’s license, because they are driving around without one and breaking the law.
Mike Deeson, 10 Connects
I agree with State Senator Mike Fasasono. Why the hell would the legislature change the law so people who are breaking the law will no longer be breaking the law???
Oh yeah, that’s right – because the family of a man with 4 DUI convictions hired a Tallahassee lobbyist to change the law so the man can get his license and drive again. Talk about special interests!!!
If this fact alone does not motivate you enough to call and email Governor Charlies Crist to veto HB 971 and to get all your friends and family to do the same then I don’t know what will. Let’s protect our families the way this drunks family is trying to protect him by calling Governor Charlie Crist and urging him to veto HB 971:
Phone #: (850) 488-7146
Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Click on the following link to view yet another story on HB 971 aired by Channel 27 in Tallahassee:
http://www.wtxl.com/global/story.asp?s=12465128
It seems the message is being sent loud and clear to Governor Crist – VETO HB 971!
Phone #: (850) 488-7146
Email: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Visit: http://www.veto971.com/ for the real story on HB 971 and to send Governor Crist an email asking to Veto HB 971!
“Fasano points out this bill is helping people who violated that privilege not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. ”
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
This is helping people who were CAUGHT four times. No, wait a sec, this is helping people who went to court and were actually convicted four times! They must have got caught more than than that, and they must have violated the law hundreds of times. To get all the way to four convictions, you must be driving drunk almost every single day.
Estimates are 200 times for every 1 arrest.
[...] CommuteOrlando.com: Call Governor Crist [...]
I strongly vote yes for the HB 971 bill. Alot of convicted dui offenders have seen the bitter harsh actions of driving drunk. Also I know alot of convicted dui 4th time offenders that totaly quit drinking all togeather and some has been sobor for at least 15 years.. myself I’ve been sobor for 8 years now, I never killed any one nor hit any body.- thank god! So instead of voting against dui offenders, give people like myself that last chance. I’m ashamed of my pass I never had parents who were stright. So I grew up with alcohol, it took me 40 years and 3 years of it spent in prison. I took Tier 1 to Tier 4 programs was when I finally under stood my issues…. God Bless you all.