(Photo: Krummel)
State Representative Jerry Krummel (R-Wilsonville) is blaming House Democrats for killing HB 3020, a bill that would have directed the Department of Transportation to erect and maintain roadside memorial signs for pedestrians or bicyclists killed in motor vehicle collisions (upon application by a family member).
Less than an hour after a rally for bike safety on the steps of the Capitol last Saturday, House Dems voted down (26-31) a motion to get the bill out of committee, where it has languished since May.
In an email from his office, Krummel said,
“It’s a strange day at the Capitol when Democrats kill a bike safety bill,”
According to Krummel, nine of the Democrats who opposed the motion were co-sponsors of the bill, and three of them spoke in favor of it at the rally which included speeches by the wives of recently killed cyclists Eric Kautzky and Tim O’Donnell.
Representative Krummel has spearheaded what he refers to as “Eric’s Law” and says he is,
“disappointed, and sad for the families of victims who won’t be able to have memorial signs erected in honor of loved ones…I am also frustrated that the Legislature passed two other bike safety bills but is ignoring this simple, no-cost-to-taxpayers way to increase public safety awareness.”
When I first covered this bill back in April the reactions from the community were mixed.
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…With all do respect to some very well intentioned folks…
I, for one, never viewed this as a bike safety bill. I felt it was just another way to \”dangerize\” cycling.
I challenge Rep. Krummel to write a bill for next session that will actually get more folks (of all ages and exerpience) on bicycles and does so because they are in an environment that is truly safer.
That kind of bill would almost certainly get the support of my state rep.
If I should be killed along a road while cycling, the last thing I want is a sign with my name on it at the site of my death. This is not the place I want anyone to remember by. This bill and these signs are a total waste of time and money, and has nothing to do with safety. Take the money that would have been used on signs and require Oregon drivers to take the written driving test every eight years. This would make sure that every one is up to speed on new laws.
How does he figure this as a \”no cost\” bill? Erecting even the smallest highway sign costs more than $300 in materials and labor, and that sign becomes part of the maintenance budget, with ongoing costs.
I wouldn\’t characterize this as a \”safety\” bill either. It certainly could raise awareness, but that doesn\’t directly translate into safety, and as Dan Kaufman and others have said, that awareness might not be beneficial.
I think it would be more of a distraction to drivers and a bit morbid on top of that. The white ghosts bikes around town are enough for me.
HB 3020 was more of a \”feel good\” bill than it was a bike safety bill, and legislators were right to nix it. The last thing motorists (or cyclists) need is more crap alongside the roadways diverting their attention away from the job at hand.
Ditto — memorials are nice reminders, but what do they have to do with bike safety? Are the dangerous idiot drivers out there really going to slow down at another sign when they\’re quite possibly already ignoring the existing ones? Calling this a \”bike safety bill\” is just an excuse for Republicans to dig at Democrats.
I second the notion that this just seems like an excuse for Republicans to dig at Democrats. pure politics…..
Krummel isn\’t exactly the brightest bulb in the Capitol chandelier. Killing this bill was the best thing that could have happened to it.
“It’s a strange day at the Capitol when Democrats kill a bike safety bill,”
Yet it\’s a completely normal day when a Republican mischaracterizes an emotional subject in order to slam others.
maybe Krummel could put his energy and money toward increasing safety instead of erecting memorials for those that are killed while riding.
What a macabe idea…
We certainly don\’t need more pointless, expensive legislation like this.
Seriously, what are these officials, bored? It\’s like cops giving out tickets for spitting, nothing else to do with our money, might as well waste it on something else.
Wow, something tells me that folks here would be singing a different tune if a Democrat had proposed this bill and Republicans shot it down…
if a Democrat had proposed this bill
Not that it couldn\’t happen, it\’s just so much more common that a Republican would expend energy such a manipulative and cynical way.
Manipulative in that this guy is pulling heartstrings to slam opponents of a program that does not do what he says it does.
Cynical in that I think roadside memorials are an appeal to base human nature of acceptance and inevitability in place of a cause for action.
I am all for family and friends placing memorials, just not so much for an Oregon Office of Killed Bicyclist Memorials. Press 1 for killed bicyclist, due to increased call volume, wait time is approximately 30 minutes. Myself, I\’d prefer a memorial vehicular homicide law to a plastic cross.