Bicycle safety is getting a fresh look on Beacon Hill, as lawmakers try to find new ways to make the roads safer for drivers and cyclists.
The Legislature’s Transportation Committee heard a proposal to require safety guards on all large trucks operating in the state, since many of the recent cyclists deaths have been caused by trucks taking right turns into unseen bikes and trapping the rider under the trailer with deadly results.
Much of the lawmakers’ questioning centered on the behavior of cyclists and drivers, whether they follow the rules of the road and whether those rules are being enforced. Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont) said it may be time for the state to update its 2008 bicycle safety law.
“Maybe this is a time, given what’s happened over the last few years, to come out with another bicycle safety bill that incorporates some of these ideas,” Brownsberger said.
Brownsberger, an avid cyclist himself, welcomed the idea of a more thorough discussion on what education and enforcement drivers and bicyclists need in 2016 in order to coexist on the road in updating the 2008 law.
“It was the same thing then, a set of ideas that benefited cyclists, and also addressed the behavior of cyclists,” Brownsberger said. “It’s a two-way street, we cyclists have responsibilities on the road.”
Brownsberger and other lawmakers agree that bike safety is a two-way street between cyclists and drivers—both of which need to be better educated on the rules of the road.
Rep. Daniel Hunt (D-Dorchester) called the plan a common-sense measure and the cost for trucking companies to install the guards is outweighed by the suffering experienced by those hurt in truck-on-bicycle accidents.
“There have been several deaths over the last three years … but these are preventable,” Hunt said.
Hunt and Brownsberger were joined by several bicycling activist groups who urged the panel to support the guard rail bill and other bills on bike safety, such as acts to protect cyclists using bike trails and lanes.
