Georgia Senate Taking Bikers for a Ride

UPDATE: Senator Butch Miller will not pursue passage of SB 468, preferring instead to work with Georgia Bikes! on the implementation of a Complete Streets policy over the remainder of this and into the next legislative session.

I'll post here again when I learn more about this welcome and unexpected turnaround!
As SB 468--the bill which originally proposed to curtail two-abreast bicycling in Georgia--sailed through the Senate Transportation Committee last week and makes its way to the Rules Committee, confusion reigns over the future of road cycling in Georgia. For cyclists, our remaining options are very limited.

Georgia Bikes! has published its current advocacy position on its web site. Thankfully, they have negotiated with Senator Butch Miller for the removal of the bill's language regarding two abreast bicycling. Instead, the amended bill contains this curious provision:

Persons riding bicycles and electric assisted bicycles shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic and on a laned roadway shall ride within a single lane.


Depending on who you ask, this could mean a lot, or nothing. Some point to the fact that similar language is already on the books in Colorado and seven other states, and that the results have been inconsequential for cyclists. After all, they say, this simply places into the law what we cyclists normally practice using our own judgement and common sense.

As written, however, it is vague and does not explain what normal and reasonable means. Thus it raises two risks:

1. It will create confusion for all concerned parties and is impossible to enforce consistently. One can easily imagine the same confusion among law enforcement officers. Gosh, Officer, we didn't realize that the traffic behind us wasn't normal and reasonable.
2. In future cases of automobile-bicycle accidents, this could provide a means for motorists to avoid responsibility when they otherwise would be found to be at fault.

Senator Miller has no supporting accident data, case studies for similar legislation, or any other evidence to support his claim that SB 468 will "improve safety." Its true purpose is to satisfy motorists who do not believe in sharing the roads with cyclists. Georgia's Senators get plenty of phone calls from angry constituents about troublesome bikers on the road, so it is an easy avenue for the politicians to score points. 

Georgia Bikes!, while continuing to work "in good faith" with Senator Miller, states that they are not actively opposing the current amended version of SB 468. They are holding out hopes that they can extract further concessions from Sen. Miller.

Senator Miller and SB 468's co-sponsors want to demonstrate to motorists that they have acted to get bikers out of their way. Georgia Bikes! is finessing their way into a compromise which could leave us in a legal Twilight Zone.

This Bill now has plenty of momentum in the Legislature and stands a good chance of becoming law. Georgia Bikes! other option is to fight to kill this bill. Under the current political conditions at the State Capitol, they would probably lose.

Activists not associated with Georgia Bikes! has started an online petition opposing SB 468. I still don't know what the right course of action should be.

All I know is, Georgia's roads are littered with loose screws.

Georgia Bikers, Fall In Line!

Two steps forward, one step back. Progress in certain places often ratchets ahead, avoiding a path of continuous gain.

As for the state of bicycling in Georgia, it's more like one step forward, two steps back. Yesterday I responded to an urgent call from the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition for bicyclists to attend a meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee at the Georgia State Capitol.

They met to consider SB 468, a bill that would require bicyclists to ride single file in the presence of other traffic. Specifically, cyclists must ride single file if there are approaching vehicles within 300 feet of them.

The bill's primary sponsor is Butch Miller. He explained that the bill is a response to the many concerns about safety that he and other Senators have heard from their constituents.

With respect to the 3-foot passing law that the Georgia Legislature passed last Summer, Miller said, motorists now find themselves stuck behind packs of cyclists, sometimes prompting them to make unsafe maneuvers...even to cross the double yellow center line to pass the cyclists. By Miller's reasoning, a prior law designed to safeguard cyclists necessitates new restrictions on the same cyclists, because motorists, after all, have jobs to get to.

Seriously. He cited this matter as a threat to the economy.

None of SB 468's cosponsors are cyclists themselves, and all expressed amusement/befuddlement with spandex cycling attire. I wanted to ask whether any of them were hunters.

Interestingly, Butch Miller is also the Chairman of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association. Steve Gooch of Dahlonega acknowledged the importance of cycling to the North Georgia economy (e.g., the Six Gap Century) but insisted that something be done about the safety issues presented by cyclists riding on their two-lane roads.

One of the Senators asked how it is that a bicyclist can discern whether an oncoming vehicle is within 300 feet. Miller suggested that the bicyclist use a mirror.

Miller insisted that he does not wish to rush this legislation and did want to hear from all parties concerned. He accepted a "friendly amendment" that limits the new single file riding rule only to two-lane roads.

The Committee heard from seven cyclists and cycling advocates. No one spoke in support of the bill.

Then Chairman Jeff Mullis asked for a motion, Butch Miller motioned to pass the bill, Democrat Doug Stoner seconded the motion, and it passed by unanimous voice vote.

Now it is heading to the State Senate's Rules Committee.

As written, SB 468 will jeopardize:

• Group rides
• BRAG, the Wilson 100 and other organized events
• Racing team rides and double pace lines
• Parents riding alongside their children
• The ABC's BeltLine Bike Tour
  
• Tucker, Six Flags, Pizza, Airport rides? Fuggetahboutit!

We have yet to hear from state and local bicycle advocates about their strategy. Presumably, they are mounting a vigorous campaign to defeat SB 468?

As the late author William Gibson once wrote,

The future is already here -- it's just not evenly distributed. 

Here in Georgia, the forces of ignorance, fear and sloth are conspiring to keep Georgia on the tail of that distribution.