Passes & Canyons Blog

I spoke last week about the planned hearing on the latest dead red bill being on Tuesday, but due to weather(?) or whatever, it did not happen and was rescheduled for same time, same place this week. That is to say, 2 p.m. Tuesday in room 352. So if you have a chance to show up in support, that would be a good thing.

Beyond that, I’m just going to make it easy for myself by again pasting in Stump’s report.

Today is the 72nd day of the 72nd Colorado General Assembly and 197 Senate Bills and 250 House Bills have been introduced. SB-012 (Use of Mobile Electronic Devices While Driving) has passed the 2nd and 3rd readings in the Senate. As soon as it’s assigned to a House committee
(and it might not be the H-T&LG) I’ll send out an action alert with contact information so we can contact the committee members and ask for their support on the bill. There have been a couple amendments passed, so the Engrossed version is different than the introduced version.

You can read the latest version at: http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019A/bills/2019a_012_eng.pdf

The title has been changed, so the entire engrossed version is double underlined indicating Senate Amendments. The big change is lowering of the fines and points, which basically had to be done to pass the bill. It’s still a good bill though and hopefully will make our roads safer.
SB-144 (Dead-Red Bill) is scheduled for S-T&E Committee hearing on Tuesday, 3/19, at 2:00 PM. There will be an amendment introduced to delete the “wait for 2 minutes” but add in “the signal doesn’t recognize a motorcycle” so it allows the rider discretion on when to proceed.

There are also a couple other bills I’m keeping a close eye on: SB-175 and HB-1221. SB-175 (Serious Bodily Injury Vulnerable Road User Penalties) is scheduled for a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Monday, 3/18. This bill would increase the penalty for causing serious
bodily injury to vulnerable road users and motorcycles are on the list. You can read it at: http://leg.colorado.gov/bill-search?field_sessions=57701&sort_bef_combine=field_bill_number%20ASC&search_api_views_fulltext=SB19-175&field_chamber=2&field_bill_type=75.

HB-1221 (Regulation of Electric Scooters) is also on my radar, which includes EPAMD. It’s scheduled for a H-T&LG Hearing on Tuesday, 3/19. More info later.

OK, so I’m interested in this regulation of electric scooters thing Stump noted. But it occurs to me, is the proposal related to those little stand-up things, like Lime, or in regard to the scooters that we’ve had forever, only powered by electricity? I suspect it is the former so that would not be of all that much interest to motorcyclists. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

With cars’ air conditioning, kids, radio, mobile phone, etc. they just don’t hear you. The only ones that hear you are the ones you tick off.

OK, the time is now to contact your state senator in support of this distracted driving bill, SB-12. The bill would be a step toward persuading the idiot cagers that it is not OK to be using your phone while driving and, um, oh, by the way . . . mowing down pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists while being distracted by that phone.

The bill was passed out of committee a while ago, then made its way through the Senate appropriations committee, and will now come up for a vote on the floor of the full Senate on Thursday this week. We all need to contact our senators and urge them to support it. I do admit I have an advantage here, and will not be contacting my senator. That’s because she was the sponsor of the bill. I think I can rest assured that Sen. Lois Court will vote for it. For everyone else, if you don’t know who your senator is, here is a link that will help you find out: https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator

There are also two other bills of interest that you may also want to contact your legislators about. I’ll quote from an email from Stump on these:

Also, on Tuesday, 3/12, SB19-144 (Motorcyclists & Malfunctioning Traffic Signals) will be heard by the S-T&E Committee Hearing at 2:00 PM in room 352. Reminder to contact the S-T&E Committee members ASAP and ask for them to vote yes on the bill. It’s also very important for people to show up and testify or just show “silent support” on Tuesday. (It’s a Traveling Trophy Points event too!) Please do your “grass-roots” part and attend this important hearing. Thanks.

A bill was introduced last Friday, 3/1, SB-175 (Serious Bodily Injury Vulnerable Rd. User Penalties) and it slipped by me as it’s assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. But the word “motorcycle” in the bill caught my attention. The bill lists motorcycles as “vulnerable road users,” along with 19 other users, and causing serious bodily injury to a vulnerable road user could result in license suspension for 1 year. I’ll be watching this bill more closely as it goes to S-Jud. Committee hearing on Monday, 3/18. The bill can be read at: http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB19-175.

Lastly, as you know the wording in each bill has to be precise so there is no confusion as to the intent of the bill. Last year a bill was passed which changed wording in a previous bill from “and” to “or” (probably a big deal, I don’t remember). This might be helpful information for testimony as SB-144 is basically just changing some wording to make the law definable for motorcyclists. The point being is that HB19-1148 changes the maximum jail sentence for certain crimes from one year to three hundred sixty-four days. I just might have to attend the next hearing on this bill to hear why this bill has been introduced.

Biker Quote for Today

Why Motorcycles are Better than Men: Motorcycles don’t say smart-alecky dumb stuff.

Sen. Lois Court had done her work well. When the Colorado Senate transportation committee first took up her bill to make hand use of portable communication devices illegal there had been some doubts and reservations from committee members. At that time she asked that the bill be laid over so she could work with members to tweak it to satisfy their concerns.

On Thursday, February 14, the bill came back up. This time there were no major issues and first her amendment was passed and then the overall bill was also passed, unanimously. It now goes to the Senate appropriations committee, where it will be studied to determine whether it would be likely to have fiscal impacts for the state. That is not considered likely. Presuming passage out of the appropriations committee it will go to the full Senate for consideration. There is always the possibility of further amendments being made on the floor.

Opening her discussion of the amendment, Court described the subject of distracted driving as “an issue that has moved forward in the public eye.”

As revised, the bill would allow drivers to touch their device in order to activate or deactivate features. This would include changing radio stations, which was one issue that a senator had raised earlier. The offense–holding a cell phone in your hand while driving–now be a Class A traffic infraction, which is a lesser charge than previously defined. The first offense would carry a possible fine of $50 and two points on your license. Second offense would carry a $150 fine and loss of four points, with third offense carrying a $300 fine and loss of four points.

Texting while driving, already illegal in Colorado, would remain a more serious offense. However, a wording change would no longer make it necessary for law enforcement officers to allege reckless driving in addition to texting. That is, texting in and of itself would be the offense.

We will continue following this bill as it moves to the full Senate.

Update: I just got this note from Stump:
I looked at the Fiscal Note for SB19-012. It shows a cost of $20,000 the first year to reprogram the computers, but an income of over $50,000 the next 2 years for fines. I think it will pass through the Senate Appropriations Committee, but I’ll send out contact info shortly so we can ask for their support.

Biker Quote for Today

Something that sounded like ripping metal shredded the deadly quiet. The inaudible bass smoothed into a low, steady hum. Outside, a low, mechanical growl rumbled closer and closer. Darius caught his breath. He knew that sound, and it wasn’t magic. It was a motorcycle.” — Laura Oliva

On Thursday this week SB-12 will be back up in committee for consideration after some changes have been made by its sponsor, Sen. Lois Court, to make it more palatable for several committee members. If you can make it down to the capitol to support this bill it would be a good thing. Rather than try to reword what Stump has already put together, I am just going to copy/paste his entire message here.

Tuesday, 2/5 – Info from Senator Court on where the Committee members are on this Bill:
• Winter, Priola, Scott should be convincible.
• I think we have Donovan, and Foote.
• Hisey and Pettersen are probably lost causes.

Still a good idea to contact all of them . . .maybe more convincing communications to Winter, Priola & Scott (and I’d still try to sway Hisey and Pettersen).

Wednesday, 2/6 – If we don’t get either Winter or Scott and Hisey and Pettersen are solid no’s then we only have Donovan, Foote, and Priola which won’t get us there. We need HUGE push on Winter and Scott.

Senator Court met with Senator Faith Winter (Chair of the Transportation Committee) and a few other stakeholders to negotiate these revisions. The plan is to present this revised language to the Senate Transportation Committee on Feb 14, upon adjournment, which is usually around 9:45 – 10:00 am. Conference Room 352.

A few comments about the revised language:
There are two different fines proposed:
• Texting will still incur a $300 fine/4 points. Will still be a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense. “Careless driving” phrase will be deleted.
• Just having the device in your hand may incur a $50/2 pt. fine first offense; second offense will incur a $150/4 pt. fine; third offense will incur a $300/4 pt. fine. Offense changed to Class A traffic Infraction (vs a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense).
• You must be legally parked or at rest in a shoulder lane to use the electronic mobile device lawfully. (Stopped at a stoplight or Stop sign is not legally parked or at rest).

Let me know if you have any questions/comments after reading thru the revisions. Another amendment that will be presented is that under 18, full ban of electronic mobile devices while driving.

When contacting the Committee members, Senator Court has recommended some thoughts below. Please feel free to put these in your own words . . . we just want to be sure the Committee knows that Senator Court, and us as stakeholders, have been willing to compromise and work with the Committee to get this Bill passed. Please ask your stakeholders to reach out to all Committee members again before Feb 14. It sounds like a few Committee members are still undecided, and we’ll need 4 Yes votes to keep this Bill alive.

Here’s some suggested wording:
To Senator Faith Winter: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with you and other stakeholders.

To Senators Kevin Priola and Ray Scott: Thank you for considering the compromise we worked out with Senator Winter and other stakeholders.

To the other Committee members: We believe that holding a phone while driving puts everyone on the road at risk, but especially motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities. While we agree that texting is even more dangerous we hope you’ll help us in the Transportation Committee by moving SB 12 forward when you hear it again on Feb. 14. We know Sen. Court listened carefully to the suggestions your Committee members requested, and we feel that the strike below bill now in front of you will be extremely helpful in combating the danger of distracted driving on Colorado’s roads.

Thank you again for your consideration……(name and address)

S-T&E Committee Members:
Senator Faith Winter, Chair of the Committee
faith.winter.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4863

Senator Brittany Pettersen, Vice Chair of the Committee
brittany.pettersen.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4859

Senator Kerry Donovan
kerry.donovan.senate@state.co.us
303-866-4871

Senator Mike Foote
Mike.foote.senate@state.co.us
303-866-5291

Senator Dennis Hisey
Dennis.hisey.senate@state.co.us
302-866-4877

Senator Kevin Priola
kpriola@gmail.com
303-866-4855

Senator Ray Scott
ray.scott.senate@state.co.us
303-866-3077

Thanks to Susan Dane for her input and all the work she is doing on this bill.

Biker Quote for Today

Nothing shouts out “Celebrity!” as loudly as being a biker in desperate need of a shave, a haircut and clean clothes. — Foster Kinn

In my last post regarding the Senate hearing on SB-12, outlawing non-hands-free use of cellphones while driving, I laid out in generalities the arguments made by the three people who spoke in opposition, plus the issues raised by some of the senators. I also discussed some of the responses from those who support the bill.

Now I want to offer my own thoughts on those arguments, in a more particular manner. I could have spoken at the hearing but I’m not good at extemporaneous rebuttal. I need time to consider and compose my responses. I’d make a terrible trial lawyer.

Sen. Kevin Priola questioned whether this bill would open people up to penalties if they pick up their phone, through which they are listening to music, to switch to a different song. Sen. Lois Court, who is promoting this bill, replied that the whole point is for people not to use their phones while driving. I agree; that’s the whole point. If you have your phone in your hand and are looking at it while changing the music that is no different whatsoever than looking at it to dial a number. You’re distracted. Your eyes are not on the road. That’s the whole problem.

Sen. Faith Winter asked why current laws are not enough. Texting is already illegal while driving in Colorado. Sen. Court replied that her bill is backed by law enforcement agencies because currently it is extremely hard to tell whether someone is texting or entering a phone number. Both are distractions so why outlaw one and not the other?

Sen. Kerry Donovan said the bill would disproportionately impact those too poor or too technologically inept to have smart phones, which have hands-off capability. I say that if the call is that important, pull over and stop and then make the call. If it’s not important enough to do that, then it’s just not that important at all and can wait until you get to your destination. Driving in important.

Speaking against the measure, Tristan Gorman, of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, argued that the impact would be greater on the poor and would open up the possibility of use in racial/ethnic profiling. I say that if you’re poor that should be a pretty good incentive to obey the law and not get fined, both on this issue and every other issue. There’s a saying, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” I’d add, “or if you can’t pay the fine.”

As for profiling, others made the point that if a cop is intent of profiling, there are plenty of other “issues” they can already turn to. Meanwhile, the incidence of this type of abuse by police is found to be very low in Colorado.

Gorman also challenged the idea of heavy fines when there is no proof of harm. No, there is no harm in making a phone call. However, when making that call leads to injury or death, it is too late to say, OK, now it’s a crime. Again, the whole point of this and many other laws is to prevent tragedy. If a particular behavior is known to lead to tragedy in some instances, don’t behave in that manner. This is not rocket science.

Denise Maes of ACLU of Colorado argued that education was the better approach, such as sections in driver’s education programs, billboards urging people not to use their phones while driving, public service announcements, etc. I’m not the only one who thinks that relying solely on those methods is not effective. Yes, some people would say, “Oh gosh, this is illegal, I won’t do it,” but there are plenty of others who say “That’s bull, I can do this safely and they’re not going to tell me what to do.” For those who simply choose to obey the law, fine, they won’t be getting a fine. For the others, we need the stick because the carrot just isn’t ever going to work.

The one thing that the opponents kept coming back to was how difficult it would be for many people to bear the costs of the fines and, if they lost too many points on their licenses, the loss of their driving privilege. My reply is simple: Then don’t use your phone when you’re driving. And going beyond that, let’s show equal concern for these people’s victims. If someone is severely financially impacted by paying a $750 fine, that pales totally to the price paid by someone who dies or is permanently disabled due to that other person’s bad choice. If your bankruptcy prevents my death, I claim higher priority.

Wow, I’m just one hour into a three-hour hearing. I don’t see any need to beat this horse any further so I’ll wrap up here. This bill will be back for further consideration and I’ll continue following it. Stay tuned.

Biker Quote for Today

It was only a motorcycle but it felt like a mode of being. — Rachel Kushner

The gist of testimony Thursday on SB-12 was that nobody contests that the use of cellphones while driving is a problem, the only dispute is in how to deal with it.

SB-12 is a distracted driving bill introduced by Sen. Lois Court that would make it illegal to use a cellphone hands-on while driving. “Our cars are not mobile phone booths,” she said. Testifying in favor were a variety of motorcyclist groups and individuals, as well as a wide range of other organizations.

The primary objection of those speaking in opposition to the bill was in regard to the severity of the penalties and questioning the choice to punish violators rather than provide inducements for compliance. The carrot vs. the stick.

Opponents argued that the consequences would fall most heavily on those who can least afford the fines. It was also argued that a knee-jerk response to criminalize behavior is a) not effective, and b) amounts to “symbolism, not serious results.”

Additionally, one opponent questioned the severity of the penalties, saying they are greater than those for other offenses that are much worse.

A key issue was the idea that people would face these penalties even though they had not caused any harm. Two senators mentioned their own parents, who only have flip phones and do not have the ability to set them on voice activation. However, one senator shot down her own objection by stating that in reality, if her 80-year-old father tried to dial his phone while driving it would be a disaster.

Proponents of the bill, responding to these objections, pointed out that other laws were on the books that could be objected to in the same manner. For instance, the penalty for not having your car insured are greater than the penalties called for in SB-12, and nobody suffers immediate harm when you drive uninsured.

Of course, then if you are in a crash, the person you hit suffers financially from your lack of insurance. In the same manner, while nobody is harmed if you use your cellphone while driving as long as you don’t cause an accident, if you do cause an accident, the person you hit does suffer. And the whole point of the bill is to prevent the crash in the first place.

ABATE of Colorado‘s legislative liaison, Stump, made the point that, considering penalties vs. incentives, not having to pay a $750 fine and lose four points on your license should be considered by most people a pretty good incentive not to break the law.

Ultimately, using the phone while driving is a choice you make. If your doing so results in another person’s injury or death, that was not their choice, it was a circumstance thrust upon them by your choice. If you can’t afford to pay a $750 fine, make the choice not to use your phone while driving.

At the end of the hearing sen. Court asked that the bill be laid over so that it can be tweaked to satisfy some of the concerns addressed. Presumably once she feels she has revised it enough that it will be passed out of committee it will be back for another hearing.

Biker Quote for Today

You own a car. Not the whole damn road!

Distracted driving will be addressed at a hearing at the Colorado Legislature on Thursday this week, so if you want to let your elected representatives know how you feel about the folks on cellphones trying to kill us this is your chance. We’re talking about Senate Bill 12. It will be in room 352.

Stump, the ABATE of Colorado legislative liaison, brought us up to date last week at the District 17 meeting. He’s encouraging as many riders as possible to show up and make it clear we care about this. Representatives from the bicycling community as well as the walkers community (yes, there is such a thing) will be there in support as well. If you’re coming aim to get there around 9:30 a.m. I’ll be there.

A similar bill was introduced last session but because it was introduced by a Democrat the Senate Republicans killed it. This sort of thing goes on all the time, in both directions. Maybe you want to tell your representatives to vote on the basis of whether a bill is good for Colorado, not their party. Anyway, Democrats now control both houses of the legislature so there is some hope this will pass this year.

It is considered to be a better bill this year as well. In addition to a fine, using your cellphone would now also cost you points on your license. The bill does allow for you to use your phone hands-free, permitting you to tap it to activate the voice-activation function if necessary. You can’t cruise along at highway speed hitting the numbers dialing.

Now, lest anyone think this will immediately stop everyone from texting while driving, be aware that to be stopped for this violation you would have to be actually observed by a police officer doing the no-no. Still, I see people dialing and texting; surely police officers see the same thing from time to time. At least some people will have it made clear to them that this is not acceptable.

Stump spoke with all the members on the Senate transportation committee to see how they expect to vote. Only one said they would definitely vote for it, most said they will make up their minds based on what the bill says and what the testimony is, and one said he would definitely vote against it.

I asked if he gave a reason why and Stump said he told him that addressing cellphones only just hits on part of the problem. OK, so you’re not willing to at least start chipping away at the problem? Do you have an all-encompassing proposal?

Personally, I suspect any time people make those kind of weak excuses the real reason is that they themselves are guilty of this behavior and figure “I’m a safe driver, why should I be subject to penalty for something that’s perfectly safe?” Yeah, you can text and drive safely, right up until the point when you don’t, and have that collision. By then it’s too late for the motorcyclist or bicyclist or pedestrian you just hit.

So if you care about this issue, come on down on Thursday. See you there?

Biker Quote for Today

Half of them are out to get you, the other half don’t see you. — Bernie Peterson

Stump was at the ABATE District 17 meeting and he updated us on the legislative scene vis a vis motorcycles. That’s his job, as you probably know–he’s ABATE’s state legislative representative.

Stump is hopeful in this upcoming session about a red light bill. Anyone who rides a motorcycle knows that there are user-triggered red lights that do not recognize motorcycles, which puts you in the position of either waiting until a car comes along–maybe for a long time–or ignoring the red and proceeding.

But there’s a funny twist here: Colorado already has a red light bill. Did people just forget? I don’t remember if this was something I knew at one point. If I did, I forgot.

Anyway, Stump is hoping for a small change to make the existing bill work better. Right now the verbiage is that you must wait “during several time cycles” before you can proceed. In most states that have red light bills they are more specific, usually stating a specific time span. In most cases it is two minutes. That’s what we’ll be pushing for, and Stump reports that he has found several legislators who favor making that change. And note that this would apply to all vehicles, so if you’re in your car and a light is broken you could run the red legally.

The issue, everyone agreed, is with the law enforcement folks. What happens when a cop shows up just as you pull through the red and he/she wasn’t there to see you sitting and waiting? If you have that sort of experience and you get ticketed, ABATE wants to know because if it is found to be a real issue then further measures may be needed.

Profiling
The present day issue with profiling is when law enforcement sets up checkpoints that only stop motorcyclists. That is perceived as unfair and therefore flat wrong. When the Motorcycle Riders Foundation had its Meeting of the Minds in Denver recently there was an event where Colorado U.S. Rep. Ken Buck was the keynote speaker. There have been efforts at the federal level to outlaw this practice but they have not gone far. Buck has not been a supporter, but following his interaction and exposure to the motorcycling community he has agreed to sign on to that effort in Washington. It’s a step forward.

Distracted Driving
The proposed distracted driving bill would increase penalties for someone injuring someone else due to their being distracted while driving. By that we primarily mean using their cell phone but it would apply to other distractions as well.

This bill has been supported in the legislature for several years by the Democrats but has repeatedly been blocked by the Republicans. Essentially, neither party has wanted to support the other’s legislative measures so if the Dems support this one the Reps oppose it, and they have. Plus, Stump says, some Republican legislators have told him they feel this would be an impingement on the driver’s liberty. (Never mind the liberty and well-being of the person they injure!) Now, however, the Democrats control both houses of the legislature and the governorship, so sponsor Sen. Lois Court hopes to finally see it move forward.

It’s a whole new ball game in Colorado now with the Dems firmly in control, and we’re likely to see a few things happening. We’ll be eager to see what those changes are, and whether we really think they’re for the best. Here’s hoping.

Biker Quote for Today

There is something about the sight of a passing motorcyclist that tempts many automobile drivers to commit murder. — Hunter S. Thompson