ND SB 2391 Update -- We Won!

Thanks to a huge outpouring of opposition from cyclists across the country and beyond, and a
devastating expose in the Bismarck Tribune about the sordid history of the bill's principal author
(available now at http://www.bismarcktribune.com/30dayarchives/articles/n020503b.html ), SB 2391
received a "Do Not Pass" recommendation from the ND Senate Transportation Committee at Thursday's
hearing (5-0, with one absent and not voting). That should be the end of the matter now for all
practical purposes: no $50 registration fees, and no mandatory single file rule, etc.

I even received a private reply from one of the original sponsors of SB 2391 to the effect that "as
occasionally happens in this process, the law of unintended consequences kicked in and it quickly
became apparent that this is a bad bill which should summarily be dispensed with"--so even among its
backers, no one was willing to risk public ridicule or worse to try and defend this particularly
loathsome piece of anti-cycling legislation (the text of which can still be viewed as a pdf file at
http://www.state.nd.us/lr/assembly/58-2003/bill_text/DBNC0100.pdf ).

Major kudos to all those who took the time to write to the sponsors of SB 2391 and the various
members of the ND Senate Transportation Committee, a truly inspiring example of cyclists using the
internet to defend their interests via the political process!

Riley Geary Arlington, VA

 

Fri, 7 Feb 2003 23:50:58 -0500, <[email protected]>, "Riley Geary" <[email protected]>
summarised:

>Major kudos to all those who took the time to write to the sponsors of SB 2391 and the various
>members of the ND Senate Transportation Committee, a truly inspiring example of cyclists using the
>internet to defend their interests via the political process!
>
>Riley Geary Arlington, VA

What I find most powerful is cyclists ability to overcome their personal ideologies and unite into a
force capable of amazing feats of democracy!

Savour it.
--
zk

 

In article <[email protected]>, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:

> Fri, 7 Feb 2003 23:50:58 -0500, <[email protected]>, "Riley Geary"
> <[email protected]> summarised:
>
> >Major kudos to all those who took the time to write to the sponsors of SB 2391 and the various
> >members of the ND Senate Transportation Committee, a truly inspiring example of cyclists using
> >the internet to defend their interests via the political process!
> >
> >Riley Geary Arlington, VA
>
> What I find most powerful is cyclists ability to overcome their personal ideologies and unite into
> a force capable of amazing feats of democracy!
>
> Savour it.

Yeah, it was almost like the opposition reached a certain critical ma--mmph!

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

 

Fri, 07 Feb 2003 22:12:56 -0800, <[email protected]>, Ryan Cousineau
<[email protected]> wrote:

>> Fri, 7 Feb 2003 23:50:58 -0500, <[email protected]>, "Riley Geary"
>> <[email protected]> summarised:
>>
>> >Major kudos to all those who took the time to write to the sponsors of SB 2391 and the various
>> >members of the ND Senate Transportation Committee, a truly inspiring example of cyclists using
>> >the internet to defend their interests via the political process!
>> >
>> >Riley Geary Arlington, VA
>>
>> What I find most powerful is cyclists ability to overcome their personal ideologies and unite
>> into a force capable of amazing feats of democracy!
>>
>> Savour it.
>
>Yeah, it was almost like the opposition reached a certain critical ma--mmph!

Yep. It must blow their minds when they get a deluge of passionate and well reasoned letters from
all over the world opposing an obscure bit of legislation in the middle of nowhere.

We'll happily squabble about religion and politics, bike lanes and helmets, CM and spandex but when
it's crunch time we drop all those differences and rise up as a unified front for the overall
benefit of all cyclists not just those sharing our particular POV.

We can be a serious voting block, I believe, because the emotional bond of a shared experience is
so strong.
--
zk

 

On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 23:50:58 -0500, "Riley Geary" <[email protected]> wrote:

>SB 2391 received a "Do Not Pass" recommendation from the ND Senate Transportation Committee at
>Thursday's hearing (5-0, with one absent and not voting)

Good news. I talked to the CTC (British cyclists' organisation) about it - they couldn't believe it!
They were going to write as well, FWIW. I'm glad that the law has not made itself even more of an
ass on this occasion.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

 

Riley wrote:
> ...devastating expose in the Bismarck Tribune about the sordid history of the bill's principal
> author (available now at http://www.bismarcktribune.com/30dayarchives/articles/n020503b.html...

Senator urging bike registration had run-in with bicyclists

A Fargo senator who has introduced a controversial bill to levy a $50 registration fee on serious
bicyclists was accused of intentionally striking a bicyclist on a road north of Fargo in 1997.

Sen. John Syverson, R-Fargo, is the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 2391, which would require
long-distance bicyclists who ride outside city limits to register with the state...The state would
issue a registration decal that would be good for two years, and the money collected would be
deposited in the state highway fund for the construction and maintenance of bicycle paths.

But bicycle enthusiasts from all over the world want to stop the bill in its tracks, including a
Fargo man who says Syverson harassed and then intentionally struck his bike while he and two friends
were bicycling on Cass County road 31, a few miles north of Fargo.

According to a Cass County Sheriff's report on the incident, Paul Sadosky and two friends were
riding their bikes southbound when Syverson approached them from behind in a pickup. The bicyclists
said Syverson began honking on his horn continuously, even though they were riding single file along
the side of the road and there was no oncoming traffic.

Sadosky told the sheriff's deputy that Syverson then pulled in front of him and abruptly turned in
front of his bike and hit the brakes. Sadosky said he tried to stop but ran into Syverson's rear
bumper and into the tailgate, totaling his bike.

According to the sheriff's report, one of the other bikers then tried to stop Syverson by blocking
his pickup with his bike, but Syverson backed up and left. The bicyclists got his license number,
however, and called the sheriff's department.

While a deputy was en route to take the report, Syverson called the department too. He later told a
deputy that when he encountered the bicyclists they were "hogging the road" and when he honked at
them, one of them threw water at his pickup and moved farther into the driving lane.

According to the report, Syverson said he stopped, backed up and drove around the bikes, but then
one of the bicyclists tried to throw his bike at Syverson's pickup. The deputy noted that Syverson
"demonstrated a dislike of bicyclists in general riding on highways" and told the deputy about a
previous incident when he notified authorities about a bicyclist on the interstate, only to be told
that it was perfectly legal for them to ride on the shoulder of the interstate.

"He was not happy with this," the sheriff's deputy's report says. "Syverson stated more than once to
me that he wished we could do more about bikes traveling on the roadway, that they are unlicensed
vehicles, do not pay taxes for the roadway, therefore have no right being on the roadway and
interfering with the travel of motorists."

In an interview with the Tribune, Sadosky said although it's a common reaction for a bicyclist to
throw water at an aggressive driver, his group did not do so. He said after the incident, he
contacted Syverson's insurance company repeatedly over the next few months, but didn't get anywhere
until he hired a lawyer. A few days later, she had a $3,000 check waiting for him, and he used it to
buy a new bike. ... "That incident was a long time ago, and it has no relevancy to the bill,"
Syverson said Tuesday. "I'm not a vindictive person."

He said the incident didn't even cross his mind when he introduced the bill... "I think the safety
of our bicycle friends is more important than an incident that happened years ago," he said. ...

Syverson said he's gotten e-mails protesting his proposed bill from the Netherlands, Maine,
Michigan, California, Washington and Missouri. He said due to the heavy opposition to the
registration fee, he will suggest an amendment deleting that part of the bill.

--Karen M. only five states??

 

We had a similar incident with an elected official trying to run cyclists off the road:
http://www.danenet.org/bcp/scary_f.html (near Madison, WI)

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Karen
M.) wrote:

> > http://www.bismarcktribune.com/30dayarchives/articles/n020503b.html...
> Senator urging bike registration had run-in with bicyclists
>
/snip/

> Sadosky and two friends were riding their bikes southbound when Syverson approached them from
> behind in a pickup. The bicyclists said Syverson began honking on his horn continuously, even
> though they were riding single file along the side of the road and there was no oncoming traffic.
>
> Sadosky told the sheriff's deputy that Syverson then pulled in front of him and abruptly turned in
> front of his bike and hit the brakes. Sadosky said he tried to stop but ran into Syverson's rear
> bumper and into the tailgate, totaling his bike.
>
/snip/

 

> We can be a serious voting block, I believe, because the emotional bond of a shared experience is
> so strong.

I look forward to the time where we can wield world-historical power.

-Luigi running back to read some Hegel