3 Foot Passing and Texting While Driving

[kylejack]

Proposed ordinances are under discussion in the City Council chamber today at 2:30 PM:

 

http://www.houstontx.gov/council/h/committee/20130410/vulnerableroaduser.pdf

http://www.houstontx.gov/council/h/committee/20130410/notexting.pdf

 

 

Action required.

An operator of a motor vehicle or motorcycle shall maintain a safe distance while trailing a vulnerable road user, and while passing a vulnerable road user shall:

 

(1) Vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user is located if the highway has two or more marked lanes running

in the same direction if such action can be taken safely;

 

or

 

(2) Pass the vulnerable road user at a safe distance.

 

©

Prohibited action.

An occupant of a motor vehicle may not knowingly throw or project any object or substance at or against a vulnerable road user, or the user’s animal, equipment, vehicle or conveyance.

 

(d)

Affirmative defense.
It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that, at the time of the offense, the vulnerable road user was acting in violation of any applicable traffic laws, or the pedestrian (including a runner) or vulnerable road user as defined in (a)(3) failed to remain within a bike lane, where available.

 

 

 

Sec. 45-342. Offense.

 

It shall be unlawful for a person to use a wireless communication device to view, send, or create an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle upon a roadway within the city.

 

Sec. 45-343. Defense.

 

It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense under this section that the person was using a wireless communication device:

 

(1) In the course and scope of the user’s duties as the operator of an emergency vehicle;

 

(2) To communicate with an emergency response operator, fire department, law enforcement agency, hospital, physician’s office, or health clinic regarding a medical or other emergency situation;

 

(3) In a vehicle that was parked or stopped out of the traffic lanes of a roadway;

 

(4) That was attached to or installed in the vehicle as a global positioning or navigation system;

 

(5) Solely in a voice-activated or other hands-free mode; or

 

(6) Under a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

 

 

[samagon]

 

© Prohibited action. An occupant of a motor vehicle may not 

knowingly throw or project any object or substance at or against a 

vulnerable road user, or the user’s animal, equipment, vehicle or 

conveyance. 

 (d) Affirmative defense. It is an affirmative defense to 

prosecution under this section that, at the time of the offense, the 

vulnerable road user was acting in violation of any applicable traffic laws, 

or the pedestrian (including a runner) or vulnerable road use

 

 

am I reading this right? They can't throw anything at a cyclist cause that's prohibited, but if the cyclist isn't in a bicycle path, or breaks another law (running a stop sign) the driver can use that as a defense of their actions? 

 

He ran a stop sign, so I threw a bottle at him. oh, well, that's fine!

[kylejack]

am I reading this right? They can't throw anything at a cyclist cause that's prohibited, but if the cyclist isn't in a bicycle path, or breaks another law (running a stop sign) the driver can use that as a defense of their actions? 

 

He ran a stop sign, so I threw a bottle at him. oh, well, that's fine!

 

I think they intended to limit the 3 foot passing part, but yeah, that part could probably use a little qualification. Of course, assault laws still protect cyclists, theoretically (heh).

[august948]

am I reading this right? They can't throw anything at a cyclist cause that's prohibited, but if the cyclist isn't in a bicycle path, or breaks another law (running a stop sign) the driver can use that as a defense of their actions? 

 

He ran a stop sign, so I threw a bottle at him. oh, well, that's fine!

That's how I read it, too, though the ordinance specifies that you only have to be in a bike path if it is available. Otherwise you've got the whole lane. My question is, if they pass this are they going to spend any resources educating the public about it?

[kylejack]

That's how I read it, too, though the ordinance specifies that you only have to be in a bike path if it is available. Otherwise you've got the whole lane. My question is, if they pass this are they going to spend any resources educating the public about it?

 

There is reason to be optimistic that they will. The Mayor has been running a Texting While Driving campaign with Bun B, and this is kind of in that same wheelhouse.

[musicman]

She should ban potholes.

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

aw, darn, no more throwing things at people who cause accidents   

[Texasota]

It's been pointed out elsewhere, but requiring cyclists to use any available bike lane is a terrible idea. Most of the bike lanes in this city are in very poor repair, and it's often safer to ignore them completely.

 

Example: concrete gutters next to asphalt street surfaces. Generally the asphalt surface is an inch or so higher than the concrete gutter, and the dividing line is in the middle of the bike lane. A cyclist cannot ride on that (obviously) so the only option is to hug the inside edge of the bike lane, which brings you very close to traffic. 

 

Example 2: Cullen. Ride in the bike lanes on Cullen. I dare you. 

[kylejack]

Yes, and in fact Texas law itself does not require a cyclist to ride in a bike lane.

 

Section 551.103 Operation on Roadway

(A) Except as provided by Subsection (8), a person operating a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, unless:

(1) the person is passing another vehicle moving in the same direction;

(2) the person is preparing to turn left at an intersection or into a private road or driveway; or

(3) a condition on or of the roadway, including a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard width lane, prevents the person from safely riding next to the right curb or edge of the roadway.

(8) A person operating a bicycle on a one-way roadway with two or more marked traffic lanes may ride as near as practicable to the left curb or edge of roadway.

© Persons operating a bicycle on a roadway may ride two abreast. Persons riding two abreast on a laned roadway shall ride in a single lane. Persons riding two abreast may not impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic on the roadway. Persons may not ride more than two abreast unless they are riding on a part of a roadway set aside for the exclusive operation of bicycles.

(0) In this section, "substandard width lane" means a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a motor vehicle to safely travel in the lane side by side.