From sfstreetblog.org
"A bill introduced last month by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), who has been a steady advocate for reducing the dangers of distracted driving, would increase first-time and repeat fines for drivers who text while driving or who don’t use hands-free devices, and would extend the prohibition of cell phone use to cyclists. This last move has cycling advocates baffled and on the defensive."
My initial thoughts after reading this piece are it's good to see mainstream bicycle advocates like the California Bicycle Coalition and SF Bicycle Coalition being more than a tad skeptical over Joe Simitian's silly law, even if they use nice measured terms like "premature" and "theoretical risks" versus "actual risks." Why not "excessive" or "superfluous" or "fucking stupid"?
But yeah, it's good to know I'm not completely insane for calling bullshit on Joe Simitian in the first place. I suspect the CBC may get behind this proposal if it gets watered down enough, like, they'll be okay with lesser fines for bicyclists riding w/ cell phones or texting. Hell, they may be fine w/ putting points on one's driving record too.
In which case, I suspect the legal precedent for licensing bicycles will be set. And with it, all the other parasitic industries that follow - insurance companies, dmv registration (though, they'll have to call it the "Department of Motorized and Non-Motorized Vehicles"), and tons of lobbyists. ugh.
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