A forceful editorial in today’s Oregonian gives a much needed push to the Vulnerable Roadway Users bill (H.B. 3314), which is (hopefully) just days from a final Senate vote.
The article is bluntly titled, “Bad drivers, dead bicyclists,” and it opens with this line:
“Let’s save for another time the argument about reckless bicyclists, the crazies who blow through stop signs, ride the wrong way and act like they own the road. Timothy O’Donnell wasn’t one of those cyclists.”
The O — whose relationship with bikes have ebbed and flowed through the years — uses the recent fatality of Timothy O’Donnell to illustrate the need to pass the bill.
The editorial goes on to say,
“This case has nothing to do with cycling behavior. It has everything to do with how Oregon law treats cyclists like roadkill, even when they are run over by careless motorists.”
The paper urges its readers to support H.B. 3314 (which they call “a start”) and closes the article with,
“Oregon is struggling to safely accommodate a growing number of cyclists. Accidents happen, and often cyclists are to blame. But when a cyclist is killed by a careless driver, this state must respond with more than traffic ticket.”
Browse my archives for extensive coverage of the Vulnerable Roadway Users bill and all the legislative action this session.