Great news! The Vulnerable User Bill just passed the state senate on a bipartisan vote, 43-5. Senator Adam Kline of southeast Seattle sponsored the bill and explained why it is important to hold negligent drivers accountable when they injure or kill vulnerable users of our roads. Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane and Senator Cheryl Pflug of Maple Valley spoke in favor of the bill, and no one rose to oppose it.

You can see the roll call vote here. Please use this link to send a quick thank-you email to your senator. The Vulnerable User Bill would not have made it this far without the efforts of the senators who sponsored the bill and the thousands of supporters who contacted their legislators over the past three years.

While we’re technically halfway there, the house companion Vulnerable User Bill was just placed on second reading and has another couple of weeks to get passed. There are still a number of steps before we can declare victory, but with such overwhelming support in the senate, it’s likely that the house will vote in favor as well. Thank you!

First, there is great news for the Vulnerable User Bill in Olympia. The bill has bipartisan support. Victims and their family members made clear in two moving hearings how and why they want to hold negligent drivers accountable for their actions. Now the full House or Senate must vote on the bill before a looming deadline at the end of the month. You can send a message to your legislators and help make it happen.

Click the image for full video of the most recent Vulnerable User Bill hearing (beginning at 48 minutes).

Right now, the Vulnerable User Bill is right where it “died” last year. In February 2010, a very similar bill awaited a vote in the full Senate but legislators did not feel enough positive pressure to vote on the bill. Like so many potential laws, the SB 5838, last year’s Vulnerable User Bill, sat on a list of bills for consideration but missed a deadline for passage in the “house of origin.”

In 2011, we have bills ready in both the House and Senate and at least double the chance of making the Vulnerable User Bill into a law — but the clock can still run out without your help!

Please click here to send a message to your state  representatives and senator. Encourage them to support the Vulnerable User Bill when they meet in caucus and bring it for a floor vote. Let’s get this done!

To learn more, here are some resources:

• You can read and print quick facts on the Vulnerable User Bill.
• Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions on the Vulnerable User Bill.

Good news for the Vulnerable User Bill in Olympia! After a successful hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, the bill will have a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee next Thursday, Feb.3, at 10am. Please email us if you can make it down to Olympia and sign in favor or testify. Here’s a link to video of the first hearing, beginning 31 minutes in.

The Vulnerable User Bill has undergone several changes from its original version two years ago. SB 5326 and HB 1339 are this year’s bill numbers in the Senate and House. This bill will fill the gap between a simple traffic ticket and a crime. It creates greater penalties for negligent drivers who maim or kill pedestrians, bicyclists and others, and it will reinforce the need to be more careful when driving around vulnerable people. The bill:

• Defines the Vulnerable Roadway User concept

• Amends Negligent Driving 2, an infraction, which imposes a $250 fine

• Makes the negligent driver pay a fine of between $1000 and $5000 and suspends his or her driving privileges for 90 days, — OR — The driver can reduce the fine back down to $250 by appearing in court, completing a traffic safety course and performing up to 100 hours of community service

• The bill requires that the community service and traffic safety course be completed within one year, or the court will impose the larger fine and license suspension

Community service and court appearances are not mandatory for infractions in Washington, only for crimes, so the driver may choose to pay the larger fine rather than perform community service. The fine should be set high enough that the driver is compelled to appear in court and reduce the fine. These and other procedural issues have led to growing support for the bill, from law enforcement officers to public defenders. You can read an updated fact sheet here.

In the Senate hearing, we heard moving testimony from victims who were seriously injured and family members of bicyclists and pedestrians who were killed by negligent drivers. Members of the committee from both parties expressed strong support for increasing the penalty for drivers, and we expect that they will advance the bill forward. But there are still many hurdles to clear! Here are three ways you can help:

1.  Ask your Representative to support House Bill 1339. Click here to send an email to your Representative if he or she is on the House Judiciary Committee and ask him or her to support HB 1339. We have the continued guidance and support of a diverse group of stakeholders – including law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, and others but your message is vital in making this bill state law. Note that this form will work only if your representative is not yet a bill sponsor.

2.  Come to a hearing in Olympia. HB 1339 is scheduled for a public hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, February 3, at 10am in  the John L. O’Brien Building (JLOB), Hearing Room A.  Please join Cascade Bicycle Club and safe roadway advocates from around the state to support the Vulnerable User Bill.  Many of the hearing attendees will be family members or victims of tragic crashes, and they will need our support. Cascade is helping to organize carpools, so if you want to attend and need a ride, email organizer@cascadebicycleclub.org and let us know.

3.  Be a lobbyist for a day at Transportation Advocacy Day. On Thursday, February 10, Cascade Bicycle Club, Transportation Choices Coalition, and many other organizations will gather and lobby in person for legislation that protects and provides funding for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users. Sign up on the Transportation Choices Coalition website and come join us.

PROTECTING VULNERABLE ROADWAY USERS
Cascade Bicycle Club seeks passage of Vulnerable User Bill

WASHINGTON STATE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING ON FRIDAY, JAN. 21

SEATTLE, JANUARY 20, 2011 – On Friday, January 21, 2011 the Washington state Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 5326 (House Bill 1339), also known as the Vulnerable User Bill. This legislation would increase the penalty for drivers who commit traffic offenses that cause the serious injury or death of a pedestrian, bicyclist or other vulnerable roadway user.

More than 150 pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians and farm equipment operators are gravely injured or killed in Washington state each year by negligent drivers who have broken traffic laws. Currently most of these offending drivers face only a mail-in traffic fine that in many cases is as low as $49. The Vulnerable User Bill, if passed, would impose steeper penalties.

Cascade Bicycle Club (Cascade) has advocated for passage of the Vulnerable User Bill since 2009. Last year the legislation came within minutes of a vote on the Senate floor before it died—not for lack of necessary votes, but because time ran out at a critical cutoff. Cascade’s advocacy director David Hiller believes that the bill has enough momentum to pass in 2011.

“In 2009 we met with families and survivors who wanted to know that people who were driving negligently and who took the lives of their loved ones weren’t going to get away with just a ticket,” Hiller said. “This bill is in response to their request for justice.”

The bill was introduced to the Senate Thursday morning by Sen. Adam Kline (D-37) and is co-sponsored by Sen. Joseph Zarelli (R-18) and others. Freshman Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-34) introduced the House bill, along with Rep. Mike Hope (R-44), who is also an officer of the Seattle Police Department.

Under the law, a driver committing a traffic infraction—such as speeding, texting while driving or running a red light—that results in the serious injury or death of a vulnerable roadway user would face an automatic fine of $1,000 to $5,000 and a 90-day suspension of driving privileges. To mitigate the above penalties, the offender could request a court hearing and, per judicial discretion, pay a $250 fine, complete a traffic safety course and perform up to 100 hours of community service related to driver improvement and public education about traffic safety.

Cascade stresses that the bill does not establish a criminal offense. It simply increases the penalty for driving offenses that lead to tragic outcomes for vulnerable users.

The legislation defines vulnerable users as pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians, highway workers, skaters/rollerskaters/rollerbladers, people on scooters and people in wheelchairs or on farm equipment.

Many of the attendees at Friday’s hearing will be family members or victims of tragic crashes.

Vulnerable User Bill
(Senate Bill 5326, House Bill 1339)

Washington State Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
Friday, January 21, 2011
1:30 p.m.
Cherberg Senate Building, Senate Hearing Room 1
Olympia, WA

Cascade Bicycle Club requests that those interested in attending the hearing RSVP by emailing organizer@cascadebicycleclub.org. The group is especially interested in attendees who have been victims or are family members of a victim of negligent driving who were vulnerable users at the time of the traffic incident. Attendees may join Cascade in conference room 236 of the Cherberg building at 1 p.m. to prepare for the hearing.

Citizens may send an email urging their senators to support the Vulnerable User Bill (SB 5326) by visiting www.tinyurl.com/vulnerableuser.

About Cascade Bicycle Club:

Founded in 1970, Cascade Bicycle Club is a 13,000+ member, nonprofit organization based in Seattle, Washington, serving more than half a million cyclists in the Puget Sound community. The club is operated by a volunteer Board of Directors, more than 20 professional staff, and thousands of volunteers and is the largest organization of its kind in the United States. More information about Cascade Bicycle Club’s advocacy, commute and education programs is available online at www.cascade.org or by calling (206) 522-3222.

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MEDIA CONTACT

David Hiller, Advocacy Director
Cascade Bicycle Club
206-227-0006
david.hiller@cascadebicycleclub.org

This month marks Cascade Bicycle Club’s third session advocating in Olympia for safer and more accessible bicycling in Washington state. Coming up are three critical opportunities to make a difference.

The Vulnerable User Bill is our top priority this year, and it is scheduled for a hearing on Friday, Jan. 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the state Senate Judiciary Committee. Please join us if you can and sign in favor of the bill. Please RSVP by email and let us know if you would like to join a carpool, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

The Vulnerable User Bill has changed a great deal since it was developed a few years ago. We were skeptical when Sen. Adam Kline said at the Traffic Justice Summit in 2008 that bills generally take three years to pass through the judiciary committee.

Lo and behold, we are in our third year. We continue to learn more about the intricacies of judicial administration as we grow support among police and the courts. Last year we came within minutes of the bill reaching the floor of the Senate before time ran out at a critical cutoff date. Stakeholder groups have suggested changes that clarify the role of the courts and lower administrative costs, but the substance is nearly identical to last year’s substitute bill language. Last year’s Frequently Asked Questions are a good primer on the goals and ramifications of this legislation.

Next Friday, many of the hearing attendees will be family members or victims of tragic crashes, and they will need our support.  Stay tuned for more bill information, which will be posted here on the blog.

Also, next Monday, Jan. 17, there is a hearing for the Complete Streets bill, which includes a state grant program to create safer state highways in places where they serve as main streets in small towns.  The bill also adds Complete Streets standards to consider all forms of transportation – including bicycling – when reconstructing state roads. You can sign up if you are free for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday at the Transportation Choices Coalition website.

Finally, Thursday, Feb. 10 is Transportation Advocacy Day, this year’s best opportunity to meet your legislators and personally advocate for pro-cycling legislation and funding for biking, walking and transit projects. Please join Cascade Bicycle Club, Transportation Choices Coalition and many other organizations at United Churches (110 11th Ave SE, Olympia) at 9 a.m. and become a lobbyist for a day.

We’ll gather at the church in the morning for guest speakers and small-group sessions so you get all the detailed information you need to lobby successfully for our 2011 priorities. We will spend the afternoon meeting with legislators. Carpools from Seattle to Olympia and shuttles from the Lacey Amtrak station will be available. To RSVP for the day’s events, visit this page on the Transportation Choices Coalition website.

Thank you for being an advocate, and we hope to see you in Olympia!