You are correct. I'm not an attorney, but this Bill, if passed, will relegate cyclists to the status of second class citizens. The responsibility of "Safe Passage" for motor vehicles (that is ridiculous) will be placed entirely on the cyclists. The Bill does not mention any modification of behavior for motorists, only cyclists. South Carolina Law mandates motor vehicles to give "Safe Passage" to cyclists and they also have an cyclist anti-harassment law.
If you as a cyclist get hit by a motor vehicle (no matter who is at fault) the motorist only has to utter these magic words to get off, "He/she/they did not move over as stipulated by NC Motor Vehicle law." You also will not be able to collect damages for your injuries or bike. In fact, you as a cyclist could be sued if the motorist or motor vehicle suffers injuries. Do you really think motorists will wait patiently for a double pace line to merge into a single file to pass? Cyclists will be forced by law to compromise. But what will motorists be required to give up? NOTHING! Just my 2 cents. > One question for any of our lawyers in the group - when the law states > that 'Persons riding two abreast shall move into a single fil > formation as quikcly as is practibcable when being overtaken from the > rear by a faster moving vehicle.", does that put the 2 abreast > cyclists at fault when a car has a brush up passing a double line? > > I want to be practical and respectful and ride reasonably so cars can > pass when it is safe to do so, but it seems that some liability may be > moving from the passing motorist to the cyclist. Am I reading too > much into this? > > -- You received this message because you subscribed to the Gyro email group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send an email to [email protected]
