From the GJEL Blog<\/p>\n
As voters went to the polls yesterday, candidates, propositions, and the direction of the country were no doubt on their minds. Oddly enough, some Maryland voters were also likely thinking about bicycle safety<\/a>, since one of the state\u2019s candidates for US Senate was struck and killed<\/a> by an SUV while on her bike earlier this year. The death of Green Party candidate Natasha Pettigrew once again emphasizes the need for stricter regulations enforcing bicycle safety<\/a> and laws coaxing drivers to be more careful near cyclists.<\/p>\n Pettigrew\u2019s mother is now leading the charge in Maryland to enforce stricter car-bike accident laws. Mother Jones<\/a><\/em> Magazine points out<\/a> that in Maryland, a driver must be \u201cimpaired, grossly negligent, or show intent to cause harm in order to be charged with a crime.\u201d Currently, only nine states carry criminal penalties for bike-car accidents<\/a>: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Utah.<\/p>\n Noticeably absent is California, which had 131 bike fatalities in 2008 alone. A Bicycle Times<\/a><\/em> report<\/a> earlier this year said this is partially because when bicycle use boomed in the 1970s, the state\u2019s highway system was insufficient to support a bike-to-work population. \u201cUntil then, motor vehicle offenses were criminal,\u201d David Hiller of Washington State\u2019s Cascade Bicycle Club told Bicycle Times. But the sheer number of bicycle accident lawsuits overwhelmed the system, so \u201cin exchange for waiving the right to due process, and to unclog the courts, the trade off was those cases would be handled in civil court.\u201d<\/p>\n