HB 1007 and SB 1171

There is a new bill, HB1007 (and it's cousin, SB1171), ready to hit the floor in both the House and Senate chambers at the Tennessee State Capitol this week. This much-needed piece of legislation in front of the 107th General Assembly will finally begin to address more stringent penalties for folks who wish to drive their fossil-fuel fortresses with a haughty sense of impunity for the laws of highway safety followed by the rest of the state's motoring society.

To the untrained eye, this action may appear almost as an inconspicuous afterthought to more pressing matters in front of this assembly; issues such as health, education, or fiscal propriety. It is merely an amendment to several sections of existing law found in Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) Title 55, Chapter 8. But the strength it potentially brings to the entire Act should be heeded by every motorist in the state.

As introduced, [it] broadens [the] requirement that drivers exercise due care to apply to bicyclists; enhances penalty for certain traffic violations that cause serious bodily injury or death.

One might be tempted to view the cycling community's endorsement of these bills as a bit self-serving. That is true, but only to a small degree. While it is encouraging to finally begin seeing some respect towards a cyclist's right to safe transit on the state's roadways, let us not forget one thing: Cyclists have always had the right to the road. But we have rarely had the respect of those rights by the law enforcement and justice communities.

This despite numerous incidents, cited in writing, that have rendered an untold number of cyclists battered and bruised; sometimes maimed and killed. As well, the clock would expire if you placed a year-long timer on someone to start counting the number of incidents that have gone unreported because cyclists have simply thrown up their hands in disgust with the justice system. When you throw in the numbers where a few Patrolman Billy Bob Bierbali's have refused to cite drivers, either due to ignorance of, or outright disdain for the law, those annual tallies might outnumber the straightline distance in miles from Memphis to Bristol . . . multiple times over.

This bill should go a long way toward changing the attitudes of policing agents and the honored folks who don the judicial robes in our state. But had these two bastions of public safety and welfare been doing their jobs to a greater degree of excellence, or perhaps without being bought off by cash-flashing perpetrators, we would not need to start seeing the word bicyclist in black and white legalese.

But take a wee closer look, my friends. This language does not only apply to a motorist's diligence in protecting the backsides of the Spandex Saddle Sodalists (though some more often refer to us as Sadists, and a few, quite unkindly I might add, consider us to be Spawns of Satan).

It says . . . no wait, why don't you take a click and read it for yourself.

And after you have seen just how far-reaching it goes to apply to everyone, so that more folks than a few cyclists may benefit, just remember to thank, rather than spank (as in with your front bumper), one of us for being on the frontlines of helping everyone have a safer experience on the roadways of Tennessee.

Happy Trails . . .

Resolving Conflict

If you come at me with your fists doubled, I think I can promise you that mine will double as fast as yours; but if you come to me and say, ‘Let us sit down and take counsel together, and, if we differ from each other, understand why it is that we differ, just what the points at issue are’, we will presently find that we are not so far apart after all, that the points on which we differ are few and the points on which we agree are many, and that if we only have the patience and the candor and the desire to get together, we will get together.

Carnegie, Dale How to Win Friends & Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1936.

President Woodrow Wilson first uttered this sage advice nearly a hunfred tears ago. It sums up a logical equation to resolving conflict in any walk of life. Since first reading the words while in my thirties, they have had a profound effect on my thoughts any time I ponder conflict resolution opportunities. For example, in the war brewing between Cyclist Nation and Non-Cyclists, I see it as yielding important lessons—for both sides.

(By the way, President Wilson was an avid bicycler.)

First, let’s consider the basic question: Why are Cyclists allowed to ride on any roadways not categorized as limited access, regardless of whether a non-cyclist deems the road safe?

We are allowed to do so in Tennessee because of a state law, TCA 55-8-172 (also known as The Bicycle Protection Act of 2007), which says we have that right; a freedom as unalienable to us as owning a firearm is for another person. Although that law does not guarantee that non-state roads cannot be restricted, often enough public outcries by cyclists sway and defeat any action by local lawmakers to establish such archaic and backwards into the policy fabric of their charge.

But why must there be two warring sides to the equation? As the late Rodney King once said after having been the poster child in the fight against really stupid police action, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Sure we can. All it takes is cyclists and non-cyclists coming to the table, sitting down opposite of each other and saying, “Let’s work out our differences.”

To be fair, there are many misunderstandings from faults of ignorant cyclists. Not criminally belligerent cyclists, mind you, just those few individuals who really haven’t taken time to understand the law, their responsibilities to the law, and how to marry the two every time they saddle up for a jaunt on America’s pathways of freedom. It isn’t rocket science and it won’t qualify them for a Nobel Prize. But the understanding of these laws should be a requisite of not only enjoying the opportunity to ride the roads but also the very right to ride the roads.

Likewise, there are also ignorant automobile operators on the flip side of the coin who must do the same. Again, for the most part, these automobile operators are not criminals, although a few have intelligence quotients that might be construed as such.

Why should both sides share this responsility as a condition of enjoying America's roadways? Because it is America, home of the brave, and land of the free. And the roads belong to all of us.

Be Vigilant, Not A Vigilante

I was reviewing some old scribblings today and came across this gem that begs to be remembered.

In the Summer of 2008, in Portland, Oregon, of all places, a most unusual confrontation between cyclist and driver occurred. You can read it here, as well as in the slightingly embellished recap below.

47-year-old Colin Yates, a self-described 30-year cycling advocate, was driving with his family on July 6, when a cyclist passed him on the left and ran a stoplight. Yates, trying to be Mr. Greatest American Hero to his wife and two teens, caught up with the balky biker at the next intersection. He honked his horn, leaned out his window, and reproached the cyclist for making other wheelmen look bad and that he [Yates] was a responsible bicycle rider who gets upset when he sees fellow riders disobeying traffic signals. For all we know, he may have also threatened to call the cyclist’s mommy as well.

The rolling confrontation continued to the next intersection where the bicyclist, Steven McAtee, 31, a Portland city employee, rode up to the driver's window, dismounted while allegedly cursing at Yates in an aggravated manner, and challenged him to a fight, all the while deciding to decorate the Yates’ Subaru Legacy with McAtee Signature custom cycle imprints. Eventually, the altercation escalated to a schoolyard-like, deke-and-duck affair with the driver futilely attempting to leave the scene. That failed when the cyclist blocked the way and continued the vehicular remodeling, which prompted Yates to face the assailant once more.

It gets even stranger.

As Yates stepped from his car again, he was repeatedly struck by Cycleboy, who was still brandishing the cumbersome weapon of choice. Suddenly, out of the gathering crowd stepped another do-gooder who floored the cyclist. But, as quickly as McAtee hit the ground, a dozen people allegedly swarmed Yates and accused him of roughing up Cycleboy.

Police were summoned via 9-1-1, which was relayed as, "Car hit bicycle, and people yelling." The first responders found a confusing scene with over two dozen hostile warriors ready to lynch the motorist. His teenagers were huddled on the rear floorboard, although most likely from fear of being recognized as being related to Super Dad. His wife was seen frantically texting an attorney, possibly for a divorce (okay, I’m embellishing a bit more here).

Still, one witness on a bicycle, who refused to make a statement at the scene because of the throng, later talked to police by phone and corroborated Yates' story.

In the end, Steven McAtee was cited for third-degree assault, criminal mischief, driving under the influence of intoxicants and disorderly conduct. Colin Yates left the scene with a chain imprint on his forearm and grease stains on his shoulder.

What is wrong with this story? Perhaps a simpler, easier to answer, question might be, "What is right with this story?"

While no ‘responsible rider’ likes either the recalcitrant motorist or the negligent cyclist, it is incumbent on us, as cyclists, to help effect the best outcome—in any situation.

Vigilante 101 is not a subject found in the Responsible Cyclist core curriculum. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances, Cyclist Nation will not wax strong with great respect for our rights by non-cyclists until we, as a whole, understand that our advocacy arms are known as leagues, alliances, associations, and so forth, for a reason—they are greater in number, and thus more effective, than any one person.

A couple of personal examples here: First, as with any bicyclist faced with danger, my adrenaline has soared at times due to inconsiderate drivers. I have flipped fingers, cursed exclamations in the air, and even stopped to challenge one driver who nearly ran me into a ditch while turning his car into a local Bubba’s Beers and Butts. Nothing has positively resulted for me at in those moments of incitation. Thankfully, nothing negative has happened as well.

Second, on a recent ride one evening, I was passed by a cyclist heading in the opposite direction on the same side of the road. Should I have turned around to chase down the cyclist and lecture him as Colin Yates did to Steven McAtee? I didn’t because a) he should have been cited by police at some point and, b) except for being directional-challenged; he was a law-abiding adult who observed proper helmet use. Since my focus remained ahead, I do not know that he wasn’t turning in at a local store. He was still wrong, and he should have been wiser, but I would have only made an enemy.

There is a right way to effect change, a non-violent way that does not create a scene of anarchy. Colin Yates family car, along with the wife and kids social reputation, would have appreciated a bit more thought by Super Dad.