Bicycle law needed

By Staff Reports

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Last year, South Carolina had the seventh-highest bicyclist fatality rate in the nation. A bill now making its way through the Legislature could help reduce the death toll.

The bill, which already has cleared the House and soon will make its way to the Senate floor, would require motorists to keep a "safe operating distance" from bicyclists. Under this measure, if a motorist strikes a bicyclist, the legal assumption would be that the motorist was not keeping a safe distance and therefore was breaking the law.

While that might sound obvious, nothing on the books now provides a clear legal means of prosecuting motorists who hit bicyclists. It is a gray area.

Certainly, if a motorist were intoxicated when he hit a bicyclist, that would be illegal, but only because of existing DUI laws. No law specifically addresses the way in which cyclists and motorists must share the road.

In addition to providing such guidelines, it is hoped the new law will reduce some of the animosity motorists exhibit toward cyclists. In recent days, lawmakers have heard shocking testimony about how some motorists harass people on bikes.

Some motorists drive up behind cyclists and blow their horns. Some shout obscenities at cyclists. One cyclist told of being shot with a pellet gun.

This behavior is both reprehensible and dangerous. A possible amendment to the bill would make harassment of bicyclists a misdemeanor, which we think would be a sensible addition.

One of the reasons this bill has gained so much support is because of the work of two professional lobbyists retained by cycling supporters to push for a bicycle safety bill. Hundreds of cyclists also have lobbied their senators and representatives.

The sport of cycling has a huge following in this state. Bicycling is an excellent pastime and a great way to exercise. And, with gas prices nearing $4 a gallon, it is likely to become a more popular form of transportation as well.

South Carolina needs to lay down the rules of the road that will enable motorists and bicyclists to coexist safely and, we hope, with less rancor on the part of people in cars. And if motorists can't abide by the rules, this law will make it easier to prosecute them.

This legislation is long overdue, and we hope senators will give it their full support.