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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on October 20, 2015 at 4:18am

95 perfect :-)  Actually that program is similar to the Traffic Safety School that is available to drivers getting a first traffic ticket.  It does not get them out of paying, but does keep them from having a ticket on their driving record.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on October 20, 2015 at 4:31am

Good catch! :-) I hope the Traffic Safety School class does a decent job of educating motorists laws related to cyclists (but worry that it doesn't). 

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on October 20, 2015 at 4:53am

It's a way to get you to pay more money to the state/county instead of the insurance company.

The training is a 'test' you pay about $100 take on your own computer that uses a delay mechanism to ensure you spend at least four hours answering the same kind of questions you find in a written exam. Wrong answers tell you what the right answer was and you move to the next question. Your 'first ticket' lasts six months, so if you get a second ticket more than six months later you can take the class again to avoid notifying your insurer.

At least the state doesn't take your driver's license anymore. Photo ID is needed way too much these days for that practice to survive.

You don't need a driver's license or insurance to ride a bike. Has anyone gotten a state ID and used that when stopped?

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Permalink Reply by Steve G on October 20, 2015 at 5:04am

@Tricolor, are you talking about moving violations for motorists? The article says that for cyclists taking the test the cost is reduced to zero. 

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on October 20, 2015 at 9:31am

This subtopic is about the Traffic Safety School for drivers, so yes. Cycling traffic school may be free now but never miss an opportunity to make money out of people you can find a way to legally blame for something.

What bothers me is applying cycling violations to your driver's license. You don't need a license to bike and hitting your insurer (which bikers aren't required to have) or registration (which bikes also aren't required to have) is only a burden to some of the people ticketed, so it's not being equally applied.

It'd be like getting having a jaywalking charge result in higher auto insurance if you also happened to own a car.

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Permalink Reply by Beans on October 20, 2015 at 4:25am

Typo: drivers eductation

I sure didn't like the tone of that article.

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Permalink Reply by Steve G on October 20, 2015 at 4:35am

"95 perfect of them did." heh. 

It's certainly not about keeping cyclists safe, it's more likely to be about those high-income towns placating angry residents.

This is also about weekend bike club pacelines, and while not wanting to defend angry drivers, it is true that the pacelines sometimes go through stop signs as a unit, rather than as individual vehicles. I haven't much to say about that, except that the physics of bike riding are so different from cars and trucks that there should be an update of laws that take that into account. 

So +1! The Idaho Stop would be a logical improvement to the law. 

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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on October 20, 2015 at 11:49am

(Easter egg typo:) correction - The Pumpkin patch typo: How about, at least I hope it's a typo, $120 in fines plus court costs up to $350. YOW !

I hope all those NIMBY people are comfy in their SUV's while catching up with the Kardashian's on their devices.

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