Passes & Canyons Blog

The hands-free bill moved another step closer to reality on Tuesday at this House committee hearing.

On Tuesday this week the Colorado House committee considering it approved by 11-0 the bill to make it illegal to be holding a cellphone or other mobile electronic device while driving. After a pass through the House Appropriations Committee it will go to the floor for second and third readings. There may or may not be amendments made at that time.

As I stated previously, there seems to have been a huge shift in general thinking about the use of electronics while driving, and that shift is against the practice. When a similar bill was under consideration in the previous legislative session it passed the Senate but failed in the House after much opposition was offered. This time around, of about three dozen witnesses speaking at the House Committee on Transportation, Housing & Local Government hearing, only one person offered any opposition.

That person was someone who raised the issue of possible discriminatory enforcement where minority members might be singled out by police officers more frequently than whites. While that concern was not pooh-poohed, several speakers offered information to show that such has not been the case in other states where similar laws have passed.

One of those speakers was Jennifer Smith, CEO and co-founder of StopDistractions.org, who, in her introduction, stated that unlike others speaking, “I am an expert.” She said that her organization had worked closely with members of various state Black caucuses to develop model legislation language that would prevent such discriminatory enforcement. Colorado’s bill, she said, uses that model language.

Numerous other speakers told numerous sad tales of their personal experiences–and often injuries–inflicted by distracted drivers. While I had testified in the Senate committee hearing, I did not feel it was necessary that I add my voice to the many in this case. Besides, the argument I was prepared to make was made by Scott O’Sullivan of RiderJustice.com. In the hearings in the last session one of the big arguments was that poor people would be disproportionately affected by having to pay the fines for violating a law against using your phone while driving. I would have argued–and Scott did–that there is no comparison between a poor person having to pay a $75 fine for doing something they easily could have chosen not to do and some other poor person, who they hit, being faced with the cost of having their car smashed or even their own selves badly injured. But nobody made that argument this time around, there was only the discriminatory enforcement argument.

I figured that the way this vote went would either bear out or refute my previous reading that a large change in public feeling in this matter had taken place over the last two years. My take seems to have been borne out. Among those testifying one theme emerged strongly and that was that people are tired of the delay in getting this law on the books. “How many times do we have to come here and tell you our stories” was the question asked again and again. And this time it passed unanimously.

Now we just have to wait to see what happens on the House floor. Unlike with the filtering bill, I have no doubt Gov. Polis will sign this one if it reaches his desk. It really does look like we’re going to make it over the finish line this time.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you paid for your new FXSTC in 24 months or less.

Colorado’s streets and roads may take on a more European flavor starting August 7, when lane-filtering will become legal. This photo is from Rome.

Gov. Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 24-079 on April 4 and motorcycle lane filtering will now be legal in Colorado starting on August 7. Mind you, that doesn’t mean you can just go crazy with it the way I’ve seen many people do in cities in Europe. There are rules about what you can do and under what circumstances. Let’s go through the law.

As written, the bill first went through several examples of how filtering has been found safe and reasonable in other places. For instance:

A 2009 “Motorcycle Accidents In Depth Study” by the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers that was conducted in five European countries found that 0.45 percent of motorcycle crashes involved lane splitting and that motorcyclists were seven times more likely to be hit while stopped compared to crashing while lane splitting

This list ended saying:

Lane filtering is prohibited in Colorado and can result in various citations, including violations of motorcycle lane restrictions and careless driving laws. Therefore, the general assembly determines that the act of lane filtering by a driver of a motorcycle, when done at speeds at or below 15 miles per hour and when conditions permit, is in the best interests of motorist safety.

Aye, there’s the rub–below 15 miles per hour and when conditions permit. Here’s what the law says. I’ll clean up the sections and legalese a bit to make it read more smoothly.

The driver of a two-wheeled motorcycle may overtake or pass another motor vehicle in the same lane as the motorcycle if the overtaken or passed motor vehicle is stopped and if the motor vehicles in the adjacent lanes traveling in the same direction are stopped and the motorcycle is on a road with lanes wide enough to pass safely and if the passing motorcycle is driving at fifteen miles per hour or less and conditions permit prudent operation of the motorcycle while overtaking or passing.

OK, so traffic has to be stopped, you have to have room to pass safely, and you can’t be going more than 15 miles an hour. But there’s more. When traffic starts moving again you have got to get back in your lane and start moving with traffic again. Then:

A person overtaking or passing pursuant to this subsection shall not overtake or pass on the right shoulder or to the right of a vehicle in the farthest right-hand lane if the highway is not limited access or in a lane of traffic moving in the opposite direction.

OK this is the part that I’m not clear on. You can’t pass on the shoulder or to the right of the right-most lane of traffic. But: “if the highway is not limited access.” So does this mean that on a limited access highway, such as an interstate, you can legally pass on the shoulder? That sure seems to be what it says. So you are limited on city streets or most highways but not on the really big roads. Is that correct?

As for the city streets situation, it was my impression during the hearings that some of the legislators were thinking this behavior would not be allowed on city streets but I see nothing in the bill that rules that out. And let’s get real, it’s exactly that filtering that is so commonplace in other places. Heck, in California one time I did that myself at a traffic light on a city street along with a bunch of other riders. The lady in the front car was familiar enough with the practice that she stopped back from the intersection enough to provide room for us to pull in in front of her.

Another thing I’ll be watching for is that to my knowledge, this law does not apply to scooters. By that I mean those 50cc and smaller two-wheelers that are not counted as motorcycles. This was an issue brought up in the hearings. Small scooters like that are not allowed on big highways anyway but they are certainly allowed on city streets. And if you start seeing motorcycles filtering on city streets I’m betting the scooter folks will start doing it, too. Could get interesting.

Now, as is customary with something like this, the legalization of the practice is for now temporary. In four years the law will be nullified unless the legislature extends it. To that end, the Colorado Department of Transportation is mandated to keep records and produce a study of the effects and present that study to the legislature by January 1, 2027.

So happy riding out there. But remember, don’t do any filtering before August 7. Then for pete’s sake, do it safely. We don’t want the law repealed in four years.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you refer to your bike as your “toy.”

This happened to me. We need to do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen to you or someone you love.

The Colorado House hearing on SB24-065 (Use of Mobile Electronic Devices While Driving) was postponed from Wednesday of this week to Tuesday of next week. It will be held on Tuesday, April 9, in the Legislative Services Building located at 200 E. 14th Avenue, directly south of the Capitol. However, the time is now a bit uncertain because instead of 1:30 p.m. as initially announced, it will take place “upon adjournment,” meaning that right after the main House session adjourns for the day the committee will cross the street and hold the hearing. Upon adjournment could mean as early as 9:30 a.m. This could get tricky.

This is the big one. This bill needs to pass. The idiots out there who think their phone calls are more important than our lives–like the guy who T-boned me on January 18–need to be served notice that this will no longer be tolerated. It happened with drinking and driving. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving group raised a ruckus and this country finally came to the realization that drinking and driving was a deadly hazard to each and every one of us and public attitudes changed. It’s happening with cellphone use while driving and it’s happening here in Colorado next week.

I really don’t know if there will be opposition to this bill. There was none when it passed through the Senate but the last time it was up for consideration there were opponents arguing that it would unfairly affect poorer people who would be less likely to be able to afford the fines.

Will that argument be raised again this time? Because that is such a piece of BS that I will absolutely speak out to counter. First off, avoiding such fines is an extremely simple matter: just don’t use your damn phone while driving. You don’t even have to do anything to avoid a fine, you just do nothing. You just obey the law.

More than that, what about the poor people who are the victims of the distracted drivers? Don’t they count? When they get injured or their cars get totaled because some fool ran a red light and crashed into them they incur real expenses. Hospital bills. Time lost at work. Repairs or a new car. Heck, I had insurance but it paid me a pittance, so when I replaced my totaled car I bought a used one and had to put up an additional $10,000 on top of the insurance money to pay for it. All because some guy I never met and probably would never have known existed felt that his phone call was more important than safely operating the 3,500-pound vehicle he was supposed to be driving.

And I consider myself absolutely blessed because although my car was trashed I was completely uninjured. But how long does it take a car going 15-20 miles an hour (mine) to go two feet? What fraction of a second is that? Because that fraction of a second was the difference between this guy smashing into the back half of my car and not directly into where I was sitting in the driver’s seat. And he was speeding. He hit me hard. The collision tore open the rear end of my car so that although the trunk lid was still closed, tools from my trunk were strewn across the road.

I have supported this bill every time it has come up in recent years but now it’s personal. We have got to get this bill passed. I know people will still use their phones–some of them at least–but with the passage of this law they will know what they are doing is wrong and that will deter at least some of them. And for those it does not deter, they will pay a heavier price. Not heavy enough, but we can worry about raising the penalties later, once we get the general law enacted.

I urge as many of you as possible to show up on Tuesday to support this bill.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker when you want to be buried with your bike because you’re not done riding yet.

Motorcyclists filter through traffic in Bangkok, Thailand. Filtering is common practice in much of Asia and Europe. (Roland Dobbins via Wikimedia Commons)

A bill to permit lane filtering, after passing out of the Senate on March 13, went to the House and passed on third reading on March 18. Then it went back to the Senate for reconciliation and was repassed by the Senate as it had been amended. Unless I’m missing something I believe this means it is now headed to the governor. Holy smokes, is Colorado going to permit filtering? What’s the word Gov. Polis?

Meanwhile, a bill to prohibit use of electronic devices while driving (except for hands-free operation) was passed on third reading by the Colorado Senate on March 15 and sent to the House, where it has been scheduled for hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3. This is the big one. If you can make it down to support this bill please do so. In the last session a preceding bill made it through the Senate but died in the House. Let’s get it through the House this time.

Here’s the note sent out by Stump, legislative liaison for ABATE of Colorado:

SB24-065 (Use of Mobile Electronic Devices While Driving) passed the 3rd reading in the Senate on Friday, 3/15 and has been assigned to the House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government (H-THL) Committee. Below are the names and contact information for the members of the H-THL Committee. It hasn’t been scheduled yet (it has now–Ken), but I’ll let you know when it is. Please take a few minutes to urge your support for the bill and contact your Representative. It can be as simple as “vote yes on SB24-065” or you can elaborate as to why they should support the bill. D-5, D-13, and D-17 have members who are constituents of some of these committee members, so don’t forget to mention that if you see your Representative on the list.

Froelich, Meg – 303-866-2921 – meg.froelich.house@coleg.gov
Lindsay, Mandy – 303-866-3911 – mandy.lindsay.house@coleg.gov
Boesenecker, Andrew – 303-866-2917 – andrew.boesenecker.house@coleg.gov
Catlin, Marc – 303-866-2955 – marc.catlin.house@coleg.gov
Frizell, Lisa – 303-866-2948 – lisa.frizell.house@coleg.gov
Jodeh, Iman – 303-866-2919 – Iman.Jodeh.house@coleg.gov
Mauro, Tisha – 303-866-2968 – tisha.mauro.house@coleg.gov
Parenti, Jennifer – 303-866-2924 – jennifer.parenti.house@coleg.gov
Valdez, Alex – 303-866-2925 – alex.valdez.house@coleg.gov
Vigil, Stephanie – 303-866-2937 – stephanie.vigil.house@coleg.gov
Wilson, Don – 303-866-2191 – don.wilson.house@coleg.gov

This is all pretty amazing. Are we going to get both of these bills passed this year, finally? I’m not counting any chickens before they hatch because eggs do get broken unexpectedly. But it actually looks possible. Keep those fingers crossed. And contact your rep telling them how you want them to vote. They really do pay attention when people take the trouble to contact them.

Biker Quote for Today

God didn’t create metal so that man could make paper clips!

Larry Montgomery, ABATE’s state rep, awaits his turn to speak at the hearing.

A bill (SB24-079) to allow lane filtering by motorcycles when traffic stopped was passed out of House committee Tuesday and will now go to the floor. Let me back up, though, before I go forward.

I reported on this bill passing the Senate committee in February but I had been oblivious to later events. The situation is that apparently I depend too much on Stump, the ABATE of Colorado legislative liaison, to keep me up to date on these things. I assumed Stump would keep us advised on the progress of the bill but I guess maybe his main focus is on getting people to come in support of bills when they come up for hearings.

What that means in this case is that while I reported that the Senate committee OKed it on February 7, I did not know that on February 13 the entire Senate passed it, sending it over to the House. Oops. Big omission.

So it came to committee hearing in the House Tuesday, March 12, where it was passed on an 8-3 vote, sending it to the House as a whole. Its fate on the House floor is beyond my ken. I have no idea how the other members feel about this. But this time I’ll be watching and when it gets scheduled for floor debate I plan to be there to hear what is said.

In Tuesday’s hearing the list of witnesses wishing to speak pro or con was largely the same as in the Senate hearing. Several Colorado law enforcement agencies expressed their strong opposition, as did one fellow who is both a rider coach and an accident investigator. ABATE of Colorado maintained its neutrality, although State Rep Larry Montgomery, in his remarks, seemed to me to be leaning pro in that he said ABATE sees both sides but ABATE is a motorcyclist rights organization that strongly adheres to the philosophy that the rider should be able to choose. You can’t legally choose to filter if filtering is not legal.

Speaking in favor again were Nick Sands, representing the American Motorcyclist Association, and other individuals, including Tiger Chandler, representing the Coalition of Independent Riders and the Colorado Confederation of Clubs.

Several of the representatives expressed concern and two indicated they will seek to have amendments made on the House floor to address their concerns.

In the most forceful statements offered, the rider coach/accident investigator, Ed Shoenhite argued that Colorado motorcyclists are more privileged than they deserve or need to be and that they’re doing a “terrible job of keeping themselves alive.” He said that making helmets mandatory would do more than anything else to cut motorcycle fatalities in the state.

Countering such statements in their summation, one of the bill’s sponsors, Javier Mabrey, pointed out that no one in the opposition had pointed to any data from other states where filtering is allowed that show an increase in crashes or fatalities. In fact, most such data show a decrease in these incidents.

So now we’ll see what the House as a whole does, and then, if it passes, whether the governor will sign it. Neither is a certainty.

Biker Quote for Today

“It’s about the time I was riding my motorcycle, going down a mountain road at 150 miles an hour, playing my guitar.” — Arlo Guthrie

A hearing is set for Tuesday on motorcycle lane filtering.

If you want to support–or oppose–the bill currently in Colorado’s legislature that would legalize motorcycles filtering through traffic when traffic stopped, then get down to the Capitol on Tuesday at about 1:30 pm. I know I’ll be there.

Stump, the ABATE of Colorado legislative liaison, sent out the following action alert that I’ll just copy and paste in.

SB24-079 (Motorcycle Lane Filtering & Passing) has just been scheduled for a hearing with the House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government (H-THL) Committee for Tuesday, March 12th. It will be at 1:30 pm in room LSB-A (1st floor in the building across 14th St., south of the Capitol – you must enter through the basement). Below are the names and contact information for the members of the H-THL Committee. Please take a few minutes to voice your concerns about the bill. The latest version (reengrossed) of the bill can be read at http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-079.

Attendance at the hearing would show that ABATE is concerned with legislation affecting motorcyclists whether you personally are for or against the bill. If you plan on testifying, either in person or remotely, you must register on line before the hearing. Here is the link to register: https://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2024A/commsumm.nsf/signIn.xsp. If this doesn’t work or for future reference, you can find this link at www.leg.colorado.gov. On the home page, cursor to “Committees”, then “Public Testimony Options” in the drop-down box. Easy-Peasy! The sign-up list is already available.

Froelich, Meg – 303-866-2921 – meg.froelich.house@coleg.gov
Lindsay, Mandy – 303-866-3911 – mandy.lindsay.house@coleg.gov
Boesenecker, Andrew – 303-866-2917 – andrew.boesenecker.house@coleg.gov
Catlin, Marc – 303-866-2955 – marc.catlin.house@coleg.gov
Frizell, Lisa – 303-866-2948 – lisa.frizell.house@coleg.gov
Jodeh, Iman – 303-866-2919 – Iman.Jodeh.house@coleg.gov
Mauro, Tisha – 303-866-2968 – tisha.mauro.house@coleg.gov
Parenti, Jennifer – 303-866-2924 – jennifer.parenti.house@coleg.gov
Valdez, Alex – 303-866-2925 – alex.valdez.house@coleg.gov
Vigil, Stephanie – 303-866-2937 – stephanie.vigil.house@coleg.gov
Wilson, Don – 303-866-2191 – don.wilson.house@coleg.gov

Thanks in advance for your participation in the legislative process.
Stump

As of today no hearing date has been set for SB24-065 (Mobile Electronic Devices While Driving). I’ll be putting that date up here when it has been set.

Biker Quote for Today

You might be a Yuppie biker if you have never kick started a bike before.

Twenty-two people testified in favor of this bill, while there were zero speaking in opposition.

Something has changed. I don’t know what, but a switch has been thrown.

I’ve been going down to the Capitol in support of bills to outlaw using cell phones while driving for years and they have never passed. This week at the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee hearing on SB24-065 (Mobile Electronic Devices & Motor Vehicle Driving) there was a palpable difference. There were 22 people who signed up to speak and all of them were in favor of the bill, with none opposed. And when it came to a vote the measure passed unanimously.

Not only that, the mood seemed to be one of “Well of course we need to pass this law. Why in the world would we not?”

Perhaps it is because–finally–everyone involved has seen all too many times the dangerous, sometimes deadly, aftermath of idiots driving with their attention on their cell phones rather than on the road. There is simply no denying any more that this is a scourge every bit as horrendous as drunk driving used to be. In fact, studies have shown that the driving ability of someone using their phone is almost indistinguishable from the driving ability of someone who is completely drunk. Who among us defends drunk driving? Who among us would defend using your phone while driving? Are you an idiot?

The battle is nowhere near won yet but it’s looking better than ever before. In the last session the bill was finally passed by the Senate but died in the House. This session it still needs to be passed by the Senate and then we’ll see what the House does.

In the past I have attributed the refusal of legislators to move forward on this because they themselves were guilty of exactly the behavior that would be outlawed. But as I said, a switch seems to have been thrown. The mood is very different. And that’s all the more reason why, when the bill comes up in the House, we all need to put extreme pressure on our representatives to get this bill passed. Finally!

You can bet I’ll be keeping you updated as this proceeds. Meanwhile, I’ll be sending a letter to the editor of The Denver Post recapping a lot of what I’m saying here, at a time appropriate to the issue. If you did, too, and we inundate them with them maybe we can get the newspaper to come out strongly behind this, too. Stay tuned.

Biker Quote for Today

Life may not be about your bike, but it sure helps you get through it.

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a proposal to legalize lane filtering.

On Wednesday this week lane filtering took one step closer to reality in Colorado, though whether it makes it all the way is not at all a certainty. The bill was passed out of committee on a 6-1 vote.

The primary sponsor of SB24-079, Motorcycle Lane Filtering & Passing, Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, speaking to the Senate Transportation & Energy Committee, compared the reluctance of many people to buy into the idea of allowing filtering to the initial uncertainty when roundabouts were first becoming common. That reluctance faded as the public became familiar with roundabouts. He also noted that some motorcyclists will disregard the laws whether this particular one passes or not, and stressed that with his proposal, “we seek no protection for those individuals.”

Among those speaking in opposition were Pueblo Police Department Chief Steven Noeller, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. He questioned the law enforcement ability to enforce and safely implement the law and argued that while lane filtering is commonly practiced in Europe, “we are not in Europe” and American driving habits are different (i.e., more aggressive) than over there.

Another speaker in opposition, Ed Shoenhite, a rider and RiderCoach, argued that this law would not make young riders safer, “it’s gonna get them killed.”

Jeff Jensen, with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said the issues addressed by this bill offer a “solution to a problem that does not exist. . . . The risks simply outweigh the rewards.”

ABATE of Colorado weighed in saying the group is neutral on the proposal, seeing pros and cons. The Colorado State Patrol did likewise.

The American Motorcyclist Association, represented by regional representative Nick Sands, took a position in favor of the bill arguing that it should be the motorcyclist’s choice. Others spoke in favor, both in person and online.

Hinrichsen summed up after testimony concluded noting that while road rage is a real issue, with the potential for some drivers to feel that motorcyclists were cheating, public policy should follow the data. He cited the example of roads where a lane is ending and the need for drivers to merge. Many feel that drivers who drive all the way up to the merge point before moving over are cheating, but studies have shown that that is the best and most efficient way for the two lanes of traffic to become one.

He argued that that same sort of data shows his proposal to be a positive change.

When called for a vote, Senators Lisa Cutter, Nick Hinrichsen, Cleave Simpson, Chris Hansen, Tony Exum, and Kevin Priola were in favor. Sen. Byron Pelton voted no.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is too short for traffic.