BECAUSE SHARING THE ROAD ISN'T AN OPTION
Over the past ten years we have seen not only an increase of both vehicles and bike riders on the road, but unfortunately we have also seen an increase in bicyclist deaths. Unfortuanetly, if you couple that with the advent of technology i.e cell phones; which has produced a tenfold increase of vehicle accidents as it pertains to text related accidents since 2010 and it's almost guarranteed there will be an increase in cyclist deaths.
2 bicyclists are struck and killed by a vehicle every day!
As cyclist one of the many problems we have seen over the years is the lack of knowledge when it comes to the laws of the road. As a matter of fact, if you are a cyclist and you ride at least 60 days a year on the road then statistically chances are very high, you have encountered at least once a year a close call via a vehicle "buzzing" you within a one or two feet radius and at least one road rage incident with a driver screaming at you to get off the road as they "buzz" you.
This has got to stop!
That's why we are proposing legislation here in MO. that would require a driver that strikes a cyclist to pay a minimum of $2,000 for injury and a a maximum of $10,000 fine in the event of a death as well as spend up to 5 years in prison for the infraction.
This worked for highway construction workers, significantly reducing annual deaths and drivers paying more attention to construction zones, why not with cyclist?
The fact is, there are more bicyclist killed by vehicles every single year than highway construction workers via vehicles. It's time for better laws that help protect cyclist on the road!
