Bicycle safety is on the agenda at the Rhode Island state house as three bike-related bills are before the legislature. Bike Newport joined other advocates in March to provide testimony in support of enhancing road safety for all road users.
House Bill H7672: Special Stops Required
Sponsored by Representatives Boylan, Read, Felix, Fogarty, Hull, Kislak, Casimiro, Spears, DeSimone, Dawson
Requires the placement of a stop sign at any intersection of a roadway and bike path.
Why It’s Important: In Rhode Island, our shared-use paths were primarily built along rail corridors, and the surrounding roadway systems were designed to cede the right of way to passing trains. When those rails were converted to trails, cyclists and pedestrians using the paths were not given the same right of way, resulting in intersections that have limited visibility for path users and vehicular traffic to observe one another. An updated version of this bill is expected to address the variety of path-road intersections in order to provide for appropriate treatments at all crossings – ensuring that pedestrians and bicycles on Rhode Island’s popular shared use paths have safe crossings.
Bill H7670: Operation of Bicycles – Stop as Yield
Sponsored by Representative Kislak
Requires cyclists to slow down and yield to traffic but not come to a complete stop, aiming to enhance safety and efficiency.
Why It’s Important: This law provides for cyclists to slow down and yield to traffic/pedestrians at stop signs, but not necessarily come to a complete stop if the intersection is clear. Colloquially known as “the Idaho Stop,” this law was first adopted in Idaho in 1982 and has been successfully implemented in 11 states as well as Washington, DC. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) supports this practice in a white paper that documents traffic safety improvements. The law allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as “yield” signs rather than coming to a full stop. Cyclists must still yield to pedestrians and other vehicles, ensuring the intersection is clear before passing through. The law and aims to reduce cyclist injuries and crashes at intersections by reducing exposure in dangerous areas.
Bill H7789: E-Bike Age Restriction and Class 4 E-Bikes Amendments
Sponsored by Representatives Boylan, Furtado, Potter, Serpa, Speakman, Kazarian, Caldwell, Tanzi, and Handy
This bill would make changes to the laws pertaining to electric bicycles.
Why It’s Important: We recognize and support legislators’ efforts to address e-bike safety.
One part of this bill addresses the need for a clearly stated law addressing the age restriction that you must be 16 years or older to operate an e-bike. This existing law is confusingly attached to a vehicle registration law. Making it a free-standing law will make it easier to know, teach, and enforce this important safety restriction. Bike Newport is working with Aquidneck Island BPACs, schools, and police departments to improve knowledge of this law and to ensure that any child under the age of 16 who depends on an e-bike to get to school will be able to get a replacement bicycle at Bike Newport until they are old enough to ride the e-bike. Bike Newport also provides free e-bike classes to anyone over the age of 16.
Additionally, this bill proposes changes to e-bike classification, introducing “Class 4 E-bikes” as a category that can travel faster than 28 miles per hour with electronic assist. Bike Newport submits that these vehicles are not e-bikes and should be addressed and regulated with other vehicles. We are engaging with local and national partners to refine a recommendation for definitions that provide clarity and appropriate regulations.
Having three public safety bills before the state legislature in this legislative season is very confirming that our community prioritizes multi-modal options, healthy active transportation, and reducing carbon emisisons – as well as how to make our roads safer to do so – for ALL road users. We are encouraged by the calls for change coming from constituents and lawmakers alike.
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Bike Newport