What The New Bicycle Law Means For You: A Practical Guide

This is taken directly from the MassBike Website:

Yes, it’s true: the Bicyclist Safety Bill is law after 8 years and 4 legislative sessions — perseverance and grassroots support paid off in the end! MassBike played a central role throughout the history of the bill, from drafting the language, to lobbying for its passage, to the successful 2006 effort that ended in a veto, and now to a law! MassBike thanks our many supporters in the House and Senate for their persistence, and thanks Governor Patrick for recognizing that this law will help make Massachusetts a healthier, greener, more sustainable state.

This is a great victory for cyclists, and it was a true team effort, ranging from MassBike to legislators to you, our members and supporters. Without all your calls, emails, and letters to legislators and governors over the years, this could not have happened. You let the politicians know that bicyclist safety is an important issue, and they heard the message! So thanks to all of you.

Among the many changes the new law makes, it adds police training on bicycle law and dangerous behavior by bicyclists and motorists; explains how a motorist should safely pass a bicycle; explains how a motorist should safely make a turn in front of a bicycle; makes “dooring” (opening a car door into the path of a bicycle or other vehicle) subject to ticket and fine; permits bicyclists to ride two abreast when it does not impede cars from passing; and adds legal protections for bicyclists who choose to ride to the right of other traffic. Click here for the full text of the new law.

Changes for Bicyclists

1. Safer Signaling : Bicyclists were already required to use hand signals when stopping or turning, but now it is clear that you are not required to signal when you need both hands on the handlebars, such as when operating the brakes, shifters, or steering.

2. Riding Two Abreast Permitted : Bicyclists are no longer restricted to riding single file at all times. You can now ride two abreast (two bicycles, side-by-side), except that you still have to help faster vehicles to pass. So stay in single file when cars need to get by! On multi-lane roads, you can ride two abreast, but all the cyclists in your group must stay in one lane (which will usually be the right-hand lane unless you are making a left turn).

Changes for Motorists

3. Don’t "Door" Bicyclists : Motorists (and their passengers) can now be ticketed and fined up to $100 for opening car or truck doors into the path of any other traffic, including bicycles and pedestrians. "Dooring" is a frequent cause of bicycle crashes and bicyclist injuries, and while motorists could already be sued in civil court or charged in criminal court under certain circumstances, they could not previously be ticketed and fined on the spot by a police officer.

4. Don’t Cut Off Bicyclists After Passing : Motorists used to be required only to stay a safe distance to the left of a bicyclist (or any other vehicle) when passing; now, motorists are also prohibited from returning to the right until safety clear of the bicyclist.

5. Don’t Squeeze Bicyclists in Narrow Lanes : If the lane is too narrow for a motorist to pass a bicycle (or any other vehicle) at a safe distance while staying in the lane, the motorist must use another lane to pass, or, if that is also unsafe, the motorist must wait until it is safe to pass.

6. Don’t "Right-Hook" Bicyclists : A "right-hook" is when a motorist makes an abrupt right turn too close to a bicyclist, causing the cyclist to crash or make an emergency maneuver to avoid crashing. Motorists are now prohibited from making abrupt right turns at intersections and driveways after passing a cyclist.

7. Yield to All Bicycles Before Turning Left : Motorists are already required to yield to oncoming vehicles (including bicycles) before turning left. The law now expressly includes yielding to bicyclists riding to the right of other traffic (e.g., on the shoulder), where they are legally permitted but may be more difficult for motorists to see.

8. Motorists Liable for Hitting Bicyclists Riding to the Right : Bicycles, unlike other vehicles, are permitted to ride to the right of other traffic (e.g., on the shoulder), and motorists are not permitted to use this fact as a legal defense for causing a crash with a bicyclist.

Changes for Bicycle Rental Businesses

9. Helmet Availability : Bicycle rental businesses are now required to make helmets available to renters. The renters can still choose not to wear a helmet (except for children 16 and under who must wear helmets in Massachusetts), as long as a helmet is available if they want one.

Police Training and Enforcement

10. Police Training : Police recruits are now required to receive training on the bicycle-related laws, bicyclist injuries, dangerous behavior by bicyclists, motorists actions that cause bicycle crashes, and motorists intentionally endangering bicyclists. The training is optional for in-service training of experienced officers. MassBike has developed a police training curriculum, which will be revised to reflect the new law, and we will work with the police to determine how to proceed with the training.

11. Enforcement : Under the old law, each city or town that wanted to write tickets to bicyclists for violating traffic laws had to create its own procedure, unlike the procedure for ticketing motorists, which is the same throughout the state. Very few communities implemented this cumbersome separate process. The new law eliminates the separate procedure for bicyclists, and intends that the existing procedure for motor vehicles be used for bicyclists as well. MassBike will work with the state to determine how to proceed with enforcement.

Other Changes

12. Bicycle Registration Repealed : The bicycle registration law permitted any city or town to require residents to register their bicycles, to require bicycle rental businesses to register their bicycle fleets, and to require bicycle shops to file reports identifying the purchaser of every bicycle. The registration law was not being used or enforced anywhere in the state.

13. Safety Standard for Helmets : The acceptable standard for bicycle helmets is changed to refer to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Click here to read the full text of the bill (now law).

Specific changes to the Massachusetts General Laws required by the new law:

• Creates Chapter 6, Section 116D, requiring police training on bicycle law.
• Repeals Chapter 85, Section 11A, regarding bicycle registration.
• Amends Chapter 85, Section 11B, regarding hand signaling and riding two abreast.
• Replaces Chapter 85, Section 11C, enabling enforcement of bicycle law.
• Amends Chapter 85, Section 11D, requiring bicycle renters to provide helmets.
• Amends Chapter 89, Section 2, regarding safe passing.
• Amends Chapter 90, Section 14, regarding turning in front of bicycles and dooring.

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Bike Safety Bill Passes!

Governor Deval Patrick yesterday signed the Bicyclist Safety Bill into law, recognizing the importance of bicycling to the people of Massachusetts, particularly the growing role of bicycling in our transportation system. Coming on the heels of a year that saw gas prices soar to over $4 a gallon, huge increases in ridership on public transportation, and a surge in interest in bicycle commuting, the law will help more people, particularly new and less experienced bicyclists, take advantage of bicycling as an affordable transportation option.

The new law adds police training on bicycle law and dangerous behavior by bicyclists and motorists; explains how a motorist should safely pass a bicycle; explains how a motorist should safely make a turn in front of a bicycle; makes “dooring” (opening a car door into the path of a bicycle or other vehicle) subject to ticket and fine; permits bicyclists to ride two abreast when it does not impede cars from passing; and adds legal protections for bicyclists who choose to ride to the right of other traffic.

“The new law will encourage more people to ride bicycles by enhancing bicyclist safety and comfort level on Massachusetts roads,” said David Watson, Executive Director of MassBike, the bicycling advocacy group that shepherded the bill forward for eight years. “On behalf of all Massachusetts bicyclists, MassBike thanks our many supporters in the House and Senate for their persistence, and thanks Governor Patrick for recognizing that this law will help make Massachusetts a healthier, greener, more sustainable state.”

“Traveling by bicycle is a smart choice, for the environment, for your body, and for your wallet,” said Representative William Brownsberger, who assumed a leading role in moving the bill forward immediately upon taking office two years ago. “As a frequent bicycle commuter from Belmont to the State House, I have personally experienced the challenges faced by bicyclists on the road, and I am pleased that this law will make it easier and safer for more people to use their bikes to get around.”

“It is rare to see a law that directly addresses so many of the most challenging issues we face today: climate change; the health impacts of decreasing physical activity; and the rising cost of transportation,” said Representative Kay Khan of Newton, the House sponsor of the bill, who was instrumental in garnering the support of dozens of like-minded colleagues in the House and Senate – including Representative Robert DeLeo, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and Representative Frank Smizik, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture – to urge the Governor to sign the bill. “By making bicycling safer, and encouraging more people to ride bikes, we make progress on all these problems,” added Khan.

The Bicyclist Safety Bill was originally introduced in 2001 by now-retired Representative Anne Paulsen of Belmont, who worked closely with MassBike to draft a bill designed to modernize Massachusetts’ bicycle laws and improve bicyclist safety. Paulsen championed the bill until her retirement in December 2006, when the bill passed the House and Senate only to be vetoed by the outgoing Romney administration. Following Representative Paulsen’s retirement, Senator Pamela Resor of Acton (who herself just retired) took up leadership on the bill, filing the version that was ultimately signed into law by the Governor.

The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) is a nonprofit bicycling advocacy group. Founded in 1977, the group has thousands of members statewide. MassBike promotes a bicycle-friendly environment, and encourages bicycling for fun, fitness, and transportation. MassBike’s programs focus on five key areas: promoting bicycle-friendly legislation; improving access and safety on roads and public transportation; educating adults, children, police, and the public about bicycling; encouraging bicycle commuting; and creating opportunities for people to ride together. For more information about MassBike, visit www.massbike.org.

For the full text of the law click here.

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Are You Serious!: Two One Act Plays

In what is quickly becoming a series around here (see here and here) I present to you two more “plays in one act”

Play one: The Morning Ride

Scene: Our main character is track standing at a red light waiting for it to change.

Actors:
bike guy (played by me)
guy in truck (played by moron in truck)

Dialog:

guy in truck: Honk Honk Honk! Truck pulls up to the right of the biker, clearly demonstrating that he had enough room to make a right hand turn. “Get out of the road ass hole!”

bike guy: *thinks to himself what the hell is wrong with this guy* “Fuck you asshole!”

guy in truck: jumps out of truck displaying his pasty girth to the world and the fact that he has no coat on “What you want to say that to my face!”

bike guy: *couldn’t give a crap about some pasty fat guy, continues to track stand, distain dripping from his voice* “Yea why don’t you come over here and knock me of my bike, that would prove you are a real man, I am following the law man get over it.”

guy in truck: *seems suddenly terrified to be out of his truck* “yea well I am following the law too!”

guy in truck: *gets back in truck and makes his right hand turn*

bike guy: *continues to track stand in the exact same spot he has been for the whole time, when the light turns green he drives off*

And…scene.

Seriously I have no idea what this guys problem was, he had the room to make a right hand turn, he made the right hand turn eventually, he was all tough in his truck, but got seriously spooked once he got out and saw that he didn’t scare me…some people are a mystery to me.

Play two: The Evening Ride:

Scene:
Coming down a huge hill our intrepid hero is determined to get home asap cause of the brutal ball frosting cold. When in front of him a Chinese fire drill that would make the clowns at the circus proud disgorges what seems like millions of tiny white children from a shitty Honda on both sides of the road. There are two rows of parked cars to either side. The light is green, and cars are backing up behind the car.

Actors:
bike guy (played by me)
stupid lady (played by a stupid lady)

Dialog:

bike guy: (in his nicest voice) Excuse me mam, that is a very dangerous thing to do, your children could be struck by someone.

stupid lady: Why don’t you mind your own business, and go ride your fucking bike and mind your own fucking business!

bike guy: thinks to himself “what the fuck, I even said mam, this bitch’s little cracker spawn are going to be my business when I put the front of my bike through one of her little inbred foreheads”

bike guy: mutters just loud enough for stupid lady to here “stop breeding”

stupid lady: herds her vast loin product into the house where they will undoubtedly be raised to think that mom is a hero and that it is the world that is wrong.

And…scene.

I was being so sweetly nice to this lady, I slowed way down, I called her mam, I was just trying to help her not get her kids run over, and she was such a bitch that I suddenly felt much less good will towards her. I actually regret that I was mean to her, but good lord she was a raging bitch for what was essentially her own damn fault. I just hope that one of her little food depositories doesn’t door someone playing that “stop in the street and let everyone out” game.

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BoldSprints At The Middlesex

Ohh yea! Even though it’s cold, and even though it’s nasty, get your big cog on and bring your shizzle down to the Middlesex for some fun indoor racing OPEN is hosting another BoldSprints par-tay at Middlesex Lounge this Sunday, the 18th of Jan.

DJ Brek.One will be on the decks, plenty of prizes for you gear-hungry kids, and FREE Harpoon beer for all attendees, plus more FREE beer for BoldSprinters.

7PM Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge.

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BoldSprints This Sunday

Ohh yea! Even though it’s cold, and even though it’s nasty, get your racing cog on and bring your shizzle down to the Middlesex for some fun indoor racing OPEN is hosting another BoldSprints par-tay at Middlesex Lounge this Sunday, the 18th of Jan.

DJ Brek.One will be on the decks, plenty of prizes for you gear-hungry kids, and FREE Harpoon beer for all attendees, plus more FREE beer for BoldSprinters.

7PM Middlesex Lounge, Cambridge.

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