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Bicycle issues in Illinois

Last week, a bill that would create the misdemeanor offense of negligent vehicular homicide was introduced in the Illinois House. According to the General Assembly's synopsis of the bill (House Bill 1382) it would:

• Provide that a person commits the offense if the person's negligent operation of a motor vehicle is a proximate cause of the death of another person.
• Provide that a person acts negligently within the meaning of the provision if he or she fails to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or injury to others, and that failure constitutes a substantial deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances then prevailing.
• Provide that the finder of fact may consider statutes and ordinances regulating the defendant's conduct in determining whether he or she was culpably negligent.

Rep. William Black, R-Danville, introduced the bill and several other lawmakers from east-central Illinois have joined him as co-sponsors. The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary II-Criminal Law Committee.

This is the bill being pushed by the family of Matt Wilhelm and Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz as the result of Matt's death. Matt was killed in September after he was struck by a driver downloading a cellphone ring tone.

UPDATE: Senate Bill 80, the bill that would require vehicles to give 3 feet of clearance while passing a cyclist, was passed Thursday, March 1, by the Senate Transportation Committee. The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill in early March.

Meanwhile, Trailnet is reporting that the Illinois Department of Transportation may cut $116 million of federal transportation dollars in March, again jeopardizing funding for bicycle trails.

“For the third straight year, IDOT has taken aim at a program that supports bicycling in the state,” Ed Barsotti, executive director of the League of Illinois Bicyclists, told Trailnet. “It’s simply not fair, and it’s not what the U.S. Congress intended when it approved funding for the nation’s transportation systems.”

LIB and Trailnet are urging Illinois cyclists to contact Gov. Rod Blagojevich or IDOT and ask that they move forward with enhancements grants in 2007 with half the money going to bike trails:

Gov. Blagojevich: 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121 or www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
Secretary Milt Sees, Illinois Department of Transportation: 217-782-7820 or www.dot.state.il.us/contact.html

Labels: advocacy, cycling, Illinois

Roger 0 comments 1:30 PM