Richmond,
VA--Five bicycle safety bills were defeated in Virginia's General Assembly
Monday; now, bike riders are concerned that Richmond won't be prepared for an
international bike show, slated to come to the are in 2015.
Bicyclists
called the bills that died Tuesday "no-brainers," and can't understand why they
did not advance.
"I'm
very disappointed, because they are very sensible, non-partisan bills," says
local bicyclist Amy George.
Amy
is very familiar with the dangers bikers face when they hit the road alongside
cars and trucks.
"I
was actually doored myself on Cary
Street, and was throuwn across two lanes of
traffic. Fortunately for me, I wasn't more badly injured."
"Dooring"
is when a car driver doesn't look behind them for bikes before opening their
door, making it easy for cyclists to crash right into them. A bill to make
dooring illegal was also killed.
One
of the failed bills, Senate Bill 1060, originally included bikes on the list of
vehicles that cannot be tailgated. Of 11 fatal bicycle accidents last year,
eight of the cyclists were hit from behind.
"Richmond
is a great place to ride a bike," says Amy, "we just really need to have that
protection, that legal status afforded to us that other vehicle have."
One
of the delegates who voted against the bill was Delegate Manoli Loupassi. 8News
asked him why he voted against the bike safety measures.
Del. Loupassi told us that
the bill had changed significantly by the time it got to him, by only one word:
instead of making it illegal for a motor vehicle to follow another vehicle
including bikes, the revised bill didn't contain the word "motor." This would
have meant simply that bikes couldn't follow other bikes.
Stay
with 8News for updates.
Copyright 2013 by Young
Broadcasting of Richmond
