Traffic Safety is the Responsibility of All – Not Just Motorists: NMA E-Newsletter #674

In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB122, a bill that would have enabled bicyclists to utilize the Idaho Stop (using stop signs as yield signs if no cars or pedestrians are present).

Newsom cited safety as the primary reason for the veto:

“While I share the author’s intent to increase bicyclist safety, I am concerned this bill will have the opposite effect. The approach in AB122 may be especially concerning for children, who may not know how to judge vehicle speeds or exercise the necessary caution to yield to traffic when appropriate.”

The governor cited an increase in California of serious injuries and fatalities in accidents (3,059 since 2014) involving bicycles at intersections “in which the primary collision factor was the failure to stop at a stop sign.”

California bicyclists were upset by the veto. They wanted to join other cyclists in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Washington State who already can legally practice the Idaho stop.

Moraga driver Gabriel Moran gave his opinion concerning the governor’s veto in a San Francisco Gate article:

“While it is admirable that legislators in Sacramento are paying attention to their bicyclist constituencies, the bill seems to codify an existing norm that most Bay Area bicyclists follow. Until bicyclists at large develop a stronger grasp of traffic law (namely the obligation to stop at stop signs), I do not think action should be taken by members of the state Assembly. Moreover, I don’t think traffic cops are filling any ticket quotas by disproportionally penalizing bicyclists blowing through stop signs.”

Governor Newsom also vetoed AB1238, which would have decriminalized jaywalking. The bill’s supporters wanted to undo the supposed discriminatory enforcement of jaywalking. Newsom agreed that the state must address the unequal enforcement of jaywalking laws and other minor violations used as a pretext to stop people of color. At the same, though, he felt that since the state has such a high rate of pedestrian fatalities (the eighth highest per capita in the US), the measure would have encouraged more people to cross in the middle of streets unsafely, not at crosswalks, where they are safer.

Not all good news, however. Newsom wants to increase safety by redesigning streets to be more accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians. While traffic calming can slow down motorists, there is no guarantee that it will make more vulnerable road users safer.

The governor of California also signaled that he is not a friend of motorists when he signed AB43 into law. That act eliminates the mandatory use of the 85th percentile rule for setting speed limits. That, in turn, nullifies California’s speed trap law, which gave motorists protection by disallowing radar and LIDAR-based evidence of speeding on roads without current limits set properly by that rule.

The safest roads are where all users ─ drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians ─ follow a universal set of rules where everyone can reasonably anticipate the actions of others rather than react to them in the moment. The element of personal responsibility is also essential. Slipping past a stop sign can have consequences, as can jaywalking, where drivers aren’t anticipating someone stepping in front of their vehicles.

A popular sentiment among Vision Zero supporters is that drivers are the primary purveyors of “traffic violence.” They would do well to understand that, in most instances, their safety is in their own hands.

Not an NMA Member yet?

Join today and get these great benefits!

Leave a Comment