Good Ped News

[Paul.DeMaio at ci.alexandria.va.us]

FYI.

http://www.jrnl.com/cfdocs/new/stories/fxfp0130200412.htm

Delegates weigh seat belt, crosswalk laws
By MICHAEL NEIBAUER
Journal staff writer
     RICHMOND - The House Transportation Committee on Thursday disposed of
a bill that would have empowered police officers to ticket drivers for the
sole offense of not wearing a seat belt.      Meanwhile, the same panel
endorsed a measure by a 13-6 vote that would compel drivers to stop, not
yield, for pedestrians in marked crosswalks and other intersections without
traffic signals.      ``It's really an attempt to clearly state what people
are supposed to do," said Arlington police Detective John Ritter, who
testified before the committee. ``It makes a lot of sense to have clear-cut
rules for pedestrians and drivers, because they have to share the
road."      The primary seat belt bill, introduced by Del. Joe T. May,
R-Leesburg, had ``no chance" in the committee, one member said. Virginia's
current law allows police to ticket drivers for not wearing a seat belt
only if the driver is pulled over for a primary offense, such as
speeding.      May said he asked the committee to table the bill because he
knew he was at least two votes shy of the majority needed to send the
legislation to the full House. He hopes to change a few minds by the time a
similar bill is expected to make its way over from the Senate.      ``If we
can get it to the House floor, then it will succeed," May said.      Critics
of the bill argue a primary seat-belt law is a blatant violation of a
person's civil liberties. It unnecessarily legislates common sense and
brings government ``directly into the front seat of your car," said Del.
John J. Welch III, R-Virginia Beach.      ``We do not need to pass laws to
protect people from themselves," Welch said.      But May, who recently
witnessed a live crash test at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety in
Charlottesville, disagreed. Only after you witness a devastating crash, he
said, can a person truly understand the importance of seat belts.  
``When you're standing there and you hear that resounding crash and see the
debris landing on the floor and the [crash] dummies flying, you realize
this is for real," May said. ``It's the sound of the collision that sticks
in your mind."      The crosswalk bill, which May also introduced, clarifies
existing state law relating to drivers and pedestrians, and how the two
interact on the roads. It would require that drivers stop at crosswalks and
other intersections ``for any pedestrian crossing the highway when the
pedestrian is on the half of the highway on which the vehicle is traveling
or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of
the highway as to be in danger."      Any driver who fails to stop for
pedestrians as required by the new law would face fines of $100 to
$500.      The current statute, which requires drivers to ``yield the
right-of-way to any pedestrian crossing such highway," is ambiguous and
virtually unenforceable, proponents claim. It's too difficult to determine
when a driver has, or has not, properly yielded - unless a pedestrian is
actually struck by the vehicle.      ``It doesn't say slow down or yield and
hope you miss him," May said of the bill. ``It says stop. It's a
predictable action on the part of the vehicle, and it's something the
pedestrian should expect."      The measure also clarifies a pedestrian's
responsibility. Walkers are not to enter a highway into the path of a
vehicle that is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.  


Paul DeMaio
Traffic Calming Coordinator
Department of Transportation & Environmental Services
City of Alexandria
301 King St., #1000, Alexandria, VA 22314
703.519.3400 x217, fax 703.519.3356
paul.demaio at ci.alexandria.va.us
AlexTrafficCalming.org