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04/16/09 Great Bike safety rally. Now what?

Brian Duffy — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:23:05 +0000

Here it is as it exists in the Iowa Code. This should easily apply and the County attorney would be derelict in duty if she chooses to ignore these provisions especially if there were witnesses who could, and in this case have attested the the behavior of the driver.

321.482A Violations resulting in injury or death – additional penalties.
Notwithstanding section 321.482 , a person who is convicted of operating a motor vehicle in violation of section 321.275 , subsection 4, section 321.297 , 321.298 , 321.299 , 321.302 , 321.303 , 321.304 , 321.305 , 321.306 , 321.307 , 321.308 , section 321.309 , subsection 2, or section 321.311 , 321.319 , 321.320 , 321.321 , 321.322 , 321.323 , 321.323A , 321.324 , 321.324A , 321.327 , 321.329 , or 321.333 causing serious injury to or the death of another person may be subject to the following penalties in addition to the penalty provided for a scheduled violation in section 805.8A or any other penalty provided by law:
1. For a violation causing serious injury, a fine of five hundred dollars or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than ninety days, or both. For purposes of this subsection, “serious injury” means the same as defined in section 702.18 .
2. For a violation causing death, a fine of one thousand dollars or suspension of the violator’s driver’s license or operating privileges for not more than one hundred eighty days, or both.
2006 Acts, ch 1021, §2
702.18 Serious injury.
1. “Serious injury” means any of the following:
a. Disabling mental illness.
b. Bodily injury which does any of the following:
(1) Creates a substantial risk of death.
(2) Causes serious permanent disfigurement.
(3) Causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
c. Any injury to a child that requires surgical repair and necessitates the administration of general anesthesia.
2. “Serious injury” includes but is not limited to skull fractures, rib fractures, and metaphyseal fractures of the long bones of children under the age of four years.
321.299 Overtaking a vehicle.
The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction, subject to those limitations, exceptions, and special rules hereinafter stated:
The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.
Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle and shall not increase the speed of the overtaken vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.
One thing I didn’t mention last night was the fact that pressure put on county officials have already paid dividends in other cycling matters. Take the case of the counties that were attempting to seek to drive groups of cyclists off their roads by passing laws that required any group rides from taking place on their roads without proof of insurance, and permission from the county. This proposal was pushed by David Vestal who was the attorney for the Iowa Association of Counties. Cyclists showed up at every county meeting where the council was discussing the law. Due to this pressure every one of those counties contemplating the change dropped the idea.

I have said this before, we need to be more like the motorcyclists. They are organized and force to be dealt with. We need to come up with a Mission Statement that lays out what we believe and as a collective group what rights we demand. Remember that old adage:”the squeaky wheel gets the grease”.

04/14/09

Brian Duffy — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:08:26 +0000

Cyclist’s rights as inumerated already in the Iowa Code.

321.234 Bicycles , animals, or animal-drawn vehicles. Same rights and duties

2. A person, including a peace officer, riding a bicycle on the highway is subject to the provisions of this chapter and has all the rights and duties under this chapter applicable to the driver of a vehicle, except those provisions of this chapter which by their nature can have no application or those provisions for which specific exceptions have been set forth regarding police bicycles .

3. A person propelling a bicycle on the highway shall not ride other than upon or astride a permanent and regular seat attached to the bicycle .

4. A person shall not use a bicycle on the highway to carry more persons at one time than the number of persons for which the bicycle is designed and equipped.

5. This section does not apply to the use of a bicycle in a parade authorized by proper permit from local authorities.

702.18 Serious injury.
1. “Serious injury” means any of the following:
a. Disabling mental illness.
b. Bodily injury which does any of the following:
(1) Creates a substantial risk of death.
(2) Causes serious permanent disfigurement.
(3) Causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
c. Any injury to a child that requires surgical repair and necessitates the administration of general anesthesia.
2. “Serious injury” includes but is not limited to skull fractures, rib fractures, and metaphyseal fractures of the long bones of children under the age of four years.

321.299 Overtaking a vehicle.
The following rules shall govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction, subject to those limitations, exceptions, and special rules hereinafter stated:
The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.
Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle and shall not increase the speed of the overtaken vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.

321.303 Limitations on overtaking on the left.
A vehicle shall not be driven to the left side of the center of the roadway in overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction unless the left side is clearly visible and is free of oncoming traffic for a sufficient distance ahead to permit the overtaking and passing to be completely made without interfering with the safe operation of a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction or a vehicle overtaken. The overtaking vehicle shall return to the right-hand side of the roadway before coming within three hundred feet of a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction when traveling on a roadway having a legal speed limit in excess of thirty miles per hour, and the overtaking vehicle shall return to the right-hand side of the roadway before coming within one hundred feet of a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction when traveling on a roadway having a legal speed limit of thirty miles per hour or less.

321.304 Prohibited passing.
No vehicle shall, in overtaking and passing another vehicle or at any other time, be driven to the left side of the roadway under the following conditions:
1. When approaching the crest of a grade or upon a curve in the highway where the driver’s view along the highway is obstructed for a distance of approximately seven hundred feet.
2. When approaching within one hundred feet of any narrow bridge, viaduct, or tunnel, when so signposted, or when approaching within one hundred feet of or traversing any intersection or railroad grade crossing.
3. Where official signs are in place directing that traffic keep to the right or a distinctive center line or off-center line is marked, which distinctive line also so directs traffic as declared in the sign manual adopted by the department of transportation.

321.320 Left turns – yielding.
The driver of a vehicle intending to turn to the left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles approaching from the opposite direction which are within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard, then said driver, having so yielded and having given a signal when and as required by this chapter, may make such left turn.
[S13, §1571-m18; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5035; C39, § 5026.02; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §321.320]
For applicable scheduled fine, see § 805.8A , subsection 7, paragraph b
Additional penalties for violations causing serious injury or death, see § 321.482A

We have to make sure that the existing laws are followed. If we don’t all of the new rights in the world will have no effect if they are not enforced.

03/07/09 Biking in the Big Apple

Brian Duffy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:02:50 +0000

I read a pretty interesting piece on the transformation of New York City into a bike- friendly metropolis. I know it sounds like any oxymoron, but it seems to be true, at least according to the author. He warns though that we, meaning cyclists, at times are our own worst enemies, and there is some truth to that suggestion.

The piece does give a historical roadmap on how cities can be made bike-friendly and how the number of cyclists increase when they do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/nyregion/thecity/08bike.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Iowa Bicycle Coalition video with Gary Fisher

Brian Duffy — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:05:44 +0000

Here’s a video from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition dinner and auction with the man himself, Gary Fisher.