Bicycle Safety Law

It’s official; the bicycle safety bill, H.3006, is now law! Governor Sanford signed the legislation yesterday at Outspokin’ Bicycles in Columbia. For any of you who don’t already know, we now have a safe passing distance law, which will make it easier to charge a driver who hits a cyclist. There is also a law against harassing a cyclist by yelling, honking, or throwing something out the window. A driver who does so will now face misdemeanor charges. Of course, those are just two elements of this legislation, which updates the South Carolina vehicle code pertaining to bicycles. All of the changes were designed to make our roads safer for cyclists, so this is a major victory for cyclists (and all road users) in South Carolina. Today’s copy of The State newspaper has a great article about the signing of the bill that I encourage you all to read for more information.

Some of you may have seen the article in The Greenville News about the legislation on Monday. Unfortunately, several of the people who chose to leave comments on the online version of that article expressed a less than favorable opinion of cyclists and our right to the road. Comments like “I too have lusted in my heart to throw stuff at bike riders” or “Bikes have no business on the road as they present an unnecessary safety issue” add no value to the news story and are most likely just attempts to cause a little trouble. Still, we shouldn’t overlook them entirely. Naturally, my first reaction to those comments is to get angry, but they do point to the fact that there is still much work to be done on the advocacy front. I hate to even acknowledge the people who left negative, even threatening, comments to that story, but I think it is important to remember that we still have a lot to do. I just want to point it out because if we don’t speak up for cycling issues and do our best to educate the cycling and driving public about sharing the road, you can bet the very small minority of drivers who want bikes off the roads entirely will make their voices heard.

Lastly, I want to share a message that Paul LeFrancois of the Palmetto Cycling Coalition sent out to thank everyone involved with the passage of this bill. Certainly, we all owe Paul, Natalie, and everyone involved with the PCC our thanks for their hard work to make this happen. This really is a big deal for all cyclist in South Carolina.

Here is the letter from Paul for any of you who missed it:

I'm not sure what role fate plays in life, but perhaps it had a little to do with the timing of today's signing of the Bicycle Safety bill by Governor Sanford. At the signing were Becky Giblin whose daughter Rachel lost her life in a automobile-bicycle crash during the 2006 MS Ride, and the family of Tom Hoskins, who died in October, 2007, in a an automobile-bicycle crash during a ride raising funds for brain injury research. As it turns out Monday, June 9 would have been Rachel's birthday and Wednesday, June 11 would have been Tom's birthday. Governor Sanford presented the two pens he used to sign the bill to Becky Giblin and to the Hoskins family. It was an emotional day with sadness for the losses these families suffered, but also a day filled with resolve and commitment to create a safer and healthier South Carolina and to reduce the likelihood of such tragedies occurring in the future. The work of the past two years did make a difference as H3006 - The Bicycle Safety bill was signed into law by Governor Sanford..

I wanted to share some thoughts on what helped us reach this achievement.

1. I'll start with the PCC's Executive Director Natalie Cappuccio-Britt and the PCC board. When you look up multi-tasking in the dictionary it should read: see Natalie. I don't think I need to go into the details of the demands on a one employee statewide advocacy organization. All I will say is that there were numerous challenges and obstacles to overcome (some expected, others not) through the two years from the initial drafting of H3006 to its signing today. Natalie handled them all with determination, endurance, professionalism and passion and with a belief that we can and will make a difference. PCC board members have given of their time and resources to invest in a better future for bicycling in South Carolina. Numerous trips to Columbia, fundraising, organizing local events, attending meetings, contacting local and state officials all took time away from what they and all of us enjoy - riding our bikes. Most of the PCC board members are also involved in advocacy activities in their local communities so they were doing double duty to advance the cause of better cycling conditions both locally and statewide. I want to thank them for the efforts they've made that led to today's success.

2. I remember a line from a movie that went something like "politics is in everything so you better get good at it." To help the PCC get good at it we hired Palmetto Public Affairs to assist us in moving H3006 through the political process. Rebecca Ramos and Matthew Van Pattern of PPA served as our eyes and ears at the State House. Their knowledge of the political process, their contacts with legislators and their ability to work with legislators across party lines were invaluable. They made a great team to support and mentor Natalie and the PCC board.

3. Politicians listen to their constituents. When we needed the cycling community to step up to the plate it did so - and it hit a home run. There were some bleak times when we feared H3006 was on life support if not dead. The contacts from constituents - in person, via phone calls, letters and e-mails proved critical to breathing life back into the bill and changing opinions of legislators about the merits of the legislation. Your voices were heard and without them we wouldn't have succeeded. Individuals matter. And each individual who contacted an elected official sent a message - I'm a cyclist, I'm a voter and I want you to support safe cycling conditions in South Carolina.

4. Champions. We had some tremendous support from legislators who went to battle for us and for a bill they truly believed could make for a safer and healthier South Carolina. Representative James Smith (D - Columbia) was the primary sponsor who the PCC worked with to pre-file the bill in December 2006. Representative Garry Smith (R - Greenville) attended every legislative event the PCC sponsored over the past two years and provided critical leadership along with James Smith in reconciling the House and Senate versions of the bill. Senator Danny Verdin (R - Laurens) moved the bill through subcommittee in the Senate and smoothed the way for final adoption when the bill came back from the House. Senators Hutto (D - Orangeburg), Hawkins (R - Spartanburg) and Malloy (D - Darlington) added amendments that strengthened the penalties against drivers at fault when cyclists are injured in crashes and those who harass or endanger cyclists. The list could go on, but needless to say these individuals were critical to passage of H3006.

What happens next?

If any of the above four ingredients had been left out of the mix we could not have succeeded. So for everyone who participated in the process please know that you did make a difference. It's now up to us to continue moving forward. H3006 wasn't a beginning or an ending - but it was a major accomplishment and part of a long-term process of advancing the idea that bicycling is a viable source of recreation, transportation, tourism and economic development in South Carolina and that bicycling can play a critical role in promoting healthy lifestyles and healthy communities and it can improve the quality of life in our state.

To all of the individuals and organizations who have supported the PCC from its fledgling years in the mid-1990s to the present - THANK YOU! Today's accomplishment would not have been possible without your support. There are still tremendous amounts of work to do in the areas of education, engineering, enforcement, etc. and we look forward to your continued participation and support in creating a truly bicycle friendly South Carolina.

Paul LeFrancois
Palmetto Cycling Coalition