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Bicycle Coalition Looking into a Vulnerable User Law for CA

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This year, it seems like there has been more reported pedestrian and bicycle incident than usual. Back in the Spring, three pedestrians were killed in incidents involving a Metro bus or train. Two bicyclists were shot this past weekend and one was killed by a drunk driver. The list could go on. In today's LA County Bicycle Coalition e-mail blast, it announced the beginnings of a campaign to bring California a law to help protect the people who use the modes of transportation:

While there are no easy solutions to these issues, LACBC is working on creating more ways to educate drivers on bicycle awareness and use of the road. We are meeting with the LAPD to discuss LAPD/cyclist relations and bicycle education to ensure that our rights are being considered fairly. We will also address this rise in motorist/cyclist incidents. We would like to see CA adopt a Vulnerable User Law, which protects cyclists, pedestrians, highway workers, skateboarders, and other vulnerable road users and it establishes stricter penalties for anyone who kills or seriously injures a vulnerable user and is convicted of careless driving.

Such a bill is being worked on in New York based on ones that exist alredy in Oregon and Illinois. "The landmark Oregon bill defined a vulnerable roadway user as anyone not in an enclosed vehicle, and it established stricter penalties for anyone who kills or seriously injures a vulnerable user and is convicted of careless driving," explains the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

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