Make Sure You Support this Bill

Here in Georgia a bill has been making the rounds in the state legislature. HB 689 does something cyclists loathe, makes the streets safer for everyone. The worst part? Without your support this bill may never go up for a vote. The cycling lobby is spending money to make sure it never sees the floor, but you can stop them by calling your local representatives and letting them know not only vote on it, but pass it into law. 

This bill would do a few important things. First it would make cyclists register their bikes and get tags, and I would assume therefore pay taxes. Cyclists claim they want to share the road and live by the same rules as people in motorized vehicles. This should be a no brainer and widely supported by cyclists. Of course it’s not. And not hard to figure out why. When you frequently run red lights, mow down pedestrians, and break traffic laws why would you want to make it is easier to ID you and your vehicle? Cyclists have lobbied hard and successfully for decade to make sure they can ride anonymously. Not something they will give up easily.

It will also do something things that make it harder for them to slow traffic to a crawl and take millions of dollars out of our economy each day. Cyclists would no longer be able to clog the whole lane by riding multiple bikes deep and two across, and would also limit what roads they can ride on. Of course cyclists hate this. If cyclists couldn’t tie up traffic they wouldn’t ride. 

These are great rules that any sane person would whole heartedly support and cyclists are doing everything in their power to keep this bill form going to vote. The good news is you can stop them. Just get on the phone and tell your local state representative to support HB 689.

Here is what to do.

1. Visit http://openstates.org/ga/legislators/?chamber=lower and type in your address.
2. Get the email address of your State Representative.
3. Send them an email. Speak your heart or use the form letter below.

[Name of your Representative],

I live in [your town here] and am writing to you to ask to please get behind HB 689, which among other things would force cyclists to register their bikes. Like many Americans I am tired of being stuck behind cyclists riding  20 and 30 MPH under the speed limit and traveling slowly in large groups. I am a hard working Georgian with a family and getting around town is hard enough without cyclists slowing traffic to a crawl. There are plenty of places for cyclists to ride without tying up the rest of us. While HB 689 doesn't get us where we need to be, it's a good start.

As someone who follows the subject, I know the cycling lobby is a powerful one, and I know they are doing everything in their power to make sure this never sees the floor. I hope you will support the side of hard working Americans who would like to get to work on time or get home to their families sooner, instead of spending hours each year stuck behind slow cyclists who have no place to go.

Thank you.

[Your Name]

If you don’t live in Georgia find out what your state is doing and get behind it as well. Ordinary Americans are getting fed up with cyclists. Let’s stand up for ourselves against this menace and be heard. 

To be fair here is a cycling group’s view point. Basically they say all the great things this bill will do, and then whine about it while bragging about how they’ve already bought off the state senate.

http://www.georgiabikes.org/index.php/blog/322-hb-689-anti-cycling-legislation

Don’t let them win, write the e-mail or make a call. Let those you vote for know your vote won’t be coming next election without supporting this bill.

Links:

http://www.georgiabikes.org/index.php/blog/322-hb-689-anti-cycling-legislation

http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20132014/HB/689