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Palmetto Cycling Coalition Alert
October 18, 2011 |
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As you likely have heard, a resolution is going before Greenville County Council this evening that is harmful to bicycle rights and is a short-sighted solution to public safety. Protect your rights and personal safety by contacting your member of County Council before tonight encouraging them to vote against this short-sighted resolution.Please forward this message along to others within the County. To stay up-to-date on other important bicycle issues within the Greenville community, follow the Bike Greenville blog.Thank you for taking the time to protect your rights and safety. Sincerely,
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The Resolution
View it here
The Greenville County Council resolution, introduced by Councilman Joe Dill, is intended to improve safety for bicyclists and motorists by requesting that the Greenville County Legislative Delegation "introduce and support legislation to amend the bicycle safety law."
The proposed amendments would: 1) "require bicyclists to ride single file upon the roadways shared with motorists", 2) "provide penalties for bicyclists riding in violation" of this code, and 3) "authorize law enforcement agencies to enforce the provisions of the South Carolina Bicycle Safety Law."
The primary statute in question is §56-5-3430, stating: Bicyclists riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
The most harmful amendment proposed in the County resolution is the first; in fact, the final proposed amendment of improved enforcement of the bicycle safety law is one that bicycle advocates whole-hardheartedly support. As our Safe Streets campaign supports, bicyclists and motorists have both rights and responsibilities which must be upheld and enforced for improved safety of all road users. This includes such statues as the one in question, §56-5-3430. |
Take Action!
Ask County Council to vote NO
We need you to contact your member of Greenville County Council ASAP to encourage them to vote against this short-sighted and harmful resolution. Email addresses and phone numbers for all County Council members are listed below. If you're unsure of who represents your district, view this county district map.
District 17 Joe Dill
 | | Greenville County Council members. |
228 Highway 101 Landrum, SC 29356 (864) 895-2243 Home
(864) 895-7387 Fax
District 18 (864) 968-1420 Home
(864) 968-1420 Fax
District 19 (864) 235-6850
(864) 294-4807 Fax
District 20 Sid Cates; 1 Cypress Knoll Way; Taylors, SC 29687; (864) 268-2725 Home; (864) 268-2725 Fax District 21 Jim Burns; 7 Wildflower Court; Greenville, SC 29615; (864) 288-5712 Home; (864) 255-9426 Fax District 22 Bob Taylor; 107 Karen Drive; Greenville, SC 29607; (864) 414-7219 Home; (864) 467-7358 Fax
District 23 Xanthene Norris; 209 Ackley Road; Greenville, SC 29607; (864) 271-6798 Home; (864) 271-3259 Fax
District 24
Liz Seman; 18 East Tallulah Drive; Greenville, SC 29605; (864) 421-0837 Home; (864) 467-7151 Fax
District 25
Lottie Gibson; 104 Gettysburg Street; Greenville, SC 29605; (864) 277-1796 Home; (864) 422-1072 Fax
District 26
Dan Rawls; 332 Driftwood Drive; Piedmont, SC 29673; (864) 277-2712 Office; (864) 277-2712 Fax
District 27
Butch Kirven; 13 League Road; Simpsonville, SC 29681; (864) 963-7616 Home; (864) 963-7616 Fax
District 28
Fred Payne; 1907 Bethel Rd.; Simpsonville, SC 29681; (864) 963-1564 Home; (864) 963-1564 Fax
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Talking Points
Use these to support a vote against the resolution
Forty-five states in the US have legislation that allow bicyclists to ride side-by-side or "two abreast" as long as they are not impeding traffic. South Carolina law has allowed bicyclists to ride two abreast for 45 years, and this is based upon the Uniform Vehicle Code (Section 11-1206).
When the SC General Assembly reformed the bicycle law in 2008, the two-abreast statute (§56-5-3430) was upheld. Given this recent legislative action, an amendment to the code would be unnecessary and ineffective.
Not only would an amendment be superfluous, but there are many important safety factors that support the need for the two-abreast statute: - It is actually less safe for automobiles to pass cyclists in single file, especially when it is a large group of cyclists.
- Crashed often occur when cyclists ride single file as motorists believe they can squeeze by the cyclists.
- It takes a motorist twice as long to pass cyclists single file and more then doubles the chances of a crash.
- For parents, cycling safety experts recommend that when parents ride with their children it is much safer to ride two abreast. The parent should be on the outside with the child on the inside. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that it is 80 times safer for parents to ride two abreast with their children.
Overall, bicyclists statewide vhemently oppose the single file amendment. Further, with this amendment, South Carolina stands to lose major bicycle rides that raise millions of dollars for charitable organizations and bring in thousands of dollars in local business revenue. A few such rides include the MS150 and the Tour de Cure. Bicycle riders on these rides frequently ride two abreast. |
The Solution
Offer your Council member a simple solution in lieu of the resolution
Improved law enforcement and ongoing education programs are important to ensuring that laws are upheld. Instead of this unnecessary and short-sighted resolution to be submitted to Greenville County Legislative Delegation, ask your County Council member to support enhanced enforcement relating to the provisions of the SC bicycle law. Both the motoring and bicycling community have important rights and responsibilities, and both parties need to understand these in terms of the law.
Our Safe Streets campaign is a great resource to be utilized by the law enforcement community and the general public. Contact Rachael if you have any questions or want to utilize the the materials within the campaign. Let's get there together! |
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