See and Be Seen

Students can get discounts on bike lights and free clothing reflectors Wednesday the 16th from 10am to 1pm in Red Square as part of WWU's "See and Be Seen" safety campaign, and I urge all who can to take advantage.  This is prompted by my bus ride home this evening.  I rode the #27 about 5-6pm, and at several stops along Northwest Drive, people getting on or off the bus commented on their own poor visibility - including me.  We were all wearing black jackets and jeans, and were barely visible on the unlighted roadside.  I'll be getting out my geeky reflective jogger-vest tonight.

Earlier in the day on the way in to town, I saw a young man, possibly on the way to the community college, riding against traffic in the bike lane on West Bakerview Way, which is illegal.  I've seen a lot of this lately; maybe new students, or newcomers to Bellingham, are still making the transition from riding for play to commuting in traffic.

Most smaller communities in Washington base their bicycle laws on the state's.  You can look it up under Revised Code of Washington 46.61.750-790.  Basically, bicyclists are required to ride as far as safely possible on the right side of the road; if there is a separate bike lane or path they must use that instead of the sidewalk, and they must yield to pedestrians.  It is legal to ride on a sidewalk, pedestrian path or crosswalk if there is no designated bike lane, except in Bellingham where a city ordinance bans cyclists from sidewalks in the downtown business core (there are "no bikes" symbols painted on the street corners).

Many parts of the state's bicycle law seem ambiguous and conditional to me, but I think that's meant to allow cyclists to use their judgment about their abilities and what is safe under particular circumstances, for instance whether to make left turns from the car lane, or use pedestrian crossings.  Also, the street system and lane markings are inconsistent and still evolving, some intersections are asymmetrical, and bike lanes, pavement markings, and even pavement sometimes disappear abruptly, making it impossible to write a law for every circumstance.

Over the summer the senate passed SB-5362, the "Vulnerable User Bill" which increased penalties for car drivers found at fault in seriously injuring or killing a pedestrian or bicyclist.  Not much comfort to the victim, but it might have some preventive power.  The state also has RCW 46.61.667-668, banning hand-held cell phones and texting while driving.