Giving your kid a ride on a bike? That's a $90 fine

[The Straight Story]

76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2011 Regular Session


House Bill 2228

Sponsored by Representative GREENLICK (Presession filed.)


SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

Prohibits person from carrying child under six years of age on
bicycle or in bicycle trailer. Punishes by maximum fine of $90.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to bicycle passengers; creating new provisions; and
amending ORS 814.460.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 814.460 is amended to read:
814.460. (1) A person commits the offense of unlawful
passengers on a bicycle if the person operates a bicycle and
carries { + :
(a) + } More persons on the bicycle than the number for which
it is designed or safely equipped { + ; or
(b) A child under six years of age on the bicycle or in a
bicycle trailer + }.
(2) The offense described in this section, unlawful passengers
on a bicycle, is a Class D traffic violation.
SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 814.460 by section 1 of
this 2011 Act apply to offenses that occur on or after the
effective date of this 2011 Act. + }
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http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measures/hb2200.dir/hb2228.intro.html

[TwilightGardener]

1. Apparently the Oregon Legislative Assembly has a lot of time on its hands, and not much

else to worry about.

[rpannier]

10. Obviously unemployment, poverty, serious illness and the heartbreak of psoriasis have been

wiped out in Oregon.

[pa28]

14. Not sure I agree with the concept behind this bill.

However, I'd put away the broad brush. Local background is a factor and we're talking about one legislative sponsor rather than "the Oregon Legislative Assembly".

Believe me, our legislature has plenty of things to worry about and I doubt this issue is a burning priority.

[petronius]

20. That's a fair point. As a Californian, I've seen more than one national news story

with the headline "CA attempts to..." when it was really one lone goofball with an axe to grind, so I feel your pain.

[progressivebydesign]

2. I never liked to see tiny kids in bike trailers...

I know the bike people are going to flame all over me, but I hate seeing tiny kids on those. First, they are down by the road, breathing in the exhaust and dirt kicked up on the street. And a child under a certain age... can you REALLY be sure that they are not going to decide to climb out? Toddlers can be hard to wrangle even if you have them by the hand.

I'm not sure what the statistics are for injuries with those things... but I would never put my kid in one. Do the toddlers ask to be dragged around Mommy and Daddy's bike???

[HuckleB]

8. Uh, they're not going to be able to unclick all those straps.

If climbing out of a bike trailer were an issue, that kid's likely climbing all over the car, after getting out of his/her car seat, too.

[MissB]

29. Our burley trailer had a five point harness plus a lap belt.

Dh tipped it once, and despite the trailer dragging along for twenty feet on it's side, the boys were unscathed.

Dh and his friend have taken our boys on a two or three week bike trip each summer, first with the trailer, then with a tandem and trailer and finally with two tandems. The boys were five and four when they started their bike trips.

Last year, we took our tandems and the boys to Europe for three weeks. They had a blast. We weren't always able to stick to the side roads either, and our experiences have been good.

The legislation is ridiculous, especially coming from a Portland area legislator.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Guess it's a good thing I didn't grow up in Oregon...

My parents would have gone broke... x(

[HuckleB]

9. .

:shrug:

[Rhiannon12866]

16. I was nutty on my bicycle, used to ride with my brother on my handlebars...

I can remember taking a sharp corner and he'd go flying off into the bushes... :evilgrin:

[HuckleB]

17. Uh, yeah, sounds similar to my youth.

And that's more likely to occur in Oregon than in most other states in this day and age. This is one of the most bicycle friendly states in the US.

:hi:

[Rhiannon12866]

19. I can't believe some of the things I did, and we certainly didn't have helmets!

But it was a lot of fun, and I would do that on purpose to my brother... :evilgrin:

I've always thought that Oregon would be a great place to live, and bicycle-friendly proves it. I can't say that NY is particularly bicycle-friendly, but I do see kids doing some of the same things that we did, but the skateboarders are worse, see them in traffic, and I've had them grab onto my moving car... :scared: :hi:

[blueamy66]

25. thx for the laugh

the memories....

[bluedigger]

4. Well, it's obvious...

the Oregon legislature has been bought out by the tricycle lobby. It was just a matter of time.

[petronius]

5. I'm disgusted whenever I see a child not securely wrapped in 18 inches

of kevlar bubble-wrap, breathing purified air through a spaceship-caliber breathing apparatus. Don't people care about their childrens survival anymore? :shrug:

[Kievan Rus]

6. The nanny state marches on

[Nailzberg]

7. What a load of crap.

I just can find nothing pleasant to say about this one.

[HuckleB]

11. This is going nowhere.

Oregon House bills would prohibit wearing headphones, carrying kids under six while biking - Updated
http://bikeportland.org/2011/01/12/oregon-house-bills-would-prohibit-wearing-headphones-carrying-kids-under-six-while-biking-45860

Rep. Greenlick says safety concerns prompted child biking bill
http://bikeportland.org/2011/01/12/rep-greenlick-says-safety-concerns-prompted-child-biking-bill-45890

Greenlick child biking bill reaction roundup
http://bikeportland.org/2011/01/13/greenlick-child-biking-bill-reaction-roundup-45910

Mia Birk asks Greenlick to withdraw bill, says he "misinterpreted" bike injury study
http://bikeportland.org/2011/01/13/mia-birk-asks-greenlick-to-withdraw-bill-says-he-misinterpreted-bike-injury-study-45940

Breaking: Rep Jules Bailey works to amend Greenlick bill - Updated
http://bikeportland.org/2011/01/13/breaking-greenlick-bill-to-be-amended-changed-to-study-only-45977

Yes, it must have been a slow news day in Oregon, because things moved fast on a bill that had little chance from the get go.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. I sort of like the bill banning headphones

it might be useful to be able to hear what's around you when you pedal.

And, yeah, I'm guilty of riding while listening to the radio (and, no doubt, a bunch of other infractions)

:hi:

[HuckleB]

27. Oh, I am all for that, and I'd ban use of cell phones, as well.

:toast:

[napi21]

12. I never rode a bike so I don't know for sure, but it seems to me

that having a young child sitting in fron of you on a bike would be safer than letting them ride alone on their own bike, especially if you are riding along a highway of heavily trafficed road. I wonder what incident prompted THIS little gem in OR?

[HuckleB]

13. No incident.

The rep. is a "public health" professor, which means he wants us all to wear bear suits and remain still in a closet, so nothing ever happens to us.

He claims that he pushed this bill after a recent study that showed 30 percent of serious cyclists have a "traumatic injury" every year. However, the definition of traumatic injury was any injury, a scrape, a bruise, a cut, what have you, which means the study was worthless, and, of course, as you can see, it had nothing to do with children.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Common Sense Party]

18. Please choose a less offensive adjective.

On behalf of my son and millions of developmentally challenged people everywhere, I ask you to search your vocabulary for some other word that isn't so demeaning.

[hayu_lol]

21. There are so few things left that we can CHOOSE to do...

by ourselves, with our family members, our kids and so on. Most of the baby trailer rigs are brightly colored, most have warning flags that drivers can see, and the young child seats behind the operator appear to be as safe as possible.

I've been tough on the usual cyclists because of the large number of them who constantly break traffic laws. But this is beyond the pale for pure nonsense.

Given this mindset(author of the bill), we never would have moved out of the Bay Area to settle the country.

Bikes for kids are primarily fun as well as prime transportation for the younger set. Taking that away is just plain nuts.

In much of Oregon, makes more sense to take horses away from kids. Sheesh.

[ejpoeta]

22. i have thought about one of those trailers, but i live in the country

and hesitate to even walk down the road for fear of being hit by the careening drivers. I don't think it would be a safe option for me. But to tell people they can't? I have seen people in town with them in the summer. People who probably don't have a car. Here's the thing that gets me. We complain about people not being active..... this is why!! I am not supposed to let my kids do anything!! they might get hurt!! So people have their kids sit in front of the tv because at least they are safe now.

Sure, when I was younger I didn't have a helmet.... I would ride my bike all over the place. And I mean... I crossed a very busy interstate highway. Things I would never let my kids do today. But the point is, we, as others have stated, want to wrap the kids up in bubble wrap and keep them safe. But we can't do that! Life has risks. The thought of my kids being hurt or worse scares the crap out of me. But it is unreasonable for me to not let them go out and make mistakes.

[blueamy66]

24. I still have a scar on my ankle.

My Mom told my Dad to put shoes on my feet before he road me around....that didn't happen.

It's just a great memory (my Dad's gone now) and a part of my childhood.

Let's put the kids in bubbles!!!!

[TwilightGardener]

26. Yeah...my brother and I used to play "CHiPs". We thought it was way cool

that Ponch and the other guy always rode their motorcycles side by side, so we tried that--speeding off down the street to catch bad guys. Found out that you really have to be on the same page as to when to make turns, or you will be constantly crashing in to each other. Yeah, helmets would have been a good idea, but we were free to be stupid and feel pain.

[blueamy66]

28. Heck, this was way before CHIPS...I'm talking 1970

but as I said...I still have the scar and the story and the memories.

Kids these days are missing out big time.

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. If you're riding a wheelie, it's not a bicycle.

Just sayin'.

[unkachuck]

31. "Prohibits person from carrying child under six years of age on bicycle or in bicycle trailer."

....how many children under six are injured or killed each year on a bicycle or in a bicycle trailers?

....how many are injured or killed riding in a car? On a bus? On an airplane? In a stroller? With a handgun? How big of a problem is this in Oregon?