When I first came to Kentucky I brought with me an old 60’s or 70’s popcorn cookbook.
We had been in Nicholasville less than a week when my sons bike was vandalised by the next door neighbor’s older son.
My little guy was trying to figure out what to do with his bike which had been deprived of both training wheels and pedals by the vandal.
I was unpacking my cookbooks when I came across the popcorn cookbook and I asked him if he would like to pick a recipe for us to make together.
He looked through it and decided upon Peanut butter and Jelly popcorn.
It was a pretty straightforward recipe and I asked him if he was sure that that is what he wanted.
He was very emphatic that he wanted PB&J popcorn.
The recipe called for a quart of popped corn. In a saucepan melt 3 Tbsp of butter and add half a cup of peanut butter. Stir until melted.
Drizzle Peanut Butter sauce over the popcorn and mix until evenly coated.
Take half a cup of your favorite jelly or jam and in a saucepan melt it over low heat with 3 Tbsp of butter.
Drizzle Jelly sauce over popcorn.
This became our favorite recipe for a quick and healthy snack.
You can put it in zip lock bags and eat it at a rest point when on a long bike ride.
We never did find the parts of the bike that went missing. After a while the bike disappeared entirely. It was under a grand and not enough to warrant interest from the police in issuing a citation. My son was gifted a new bicycle that christmas and he rode that bike for a brief time. The roads we lived on, though residential, were filled with fast moving vehicles and it wasn’t uncommon for residents to speed through the neighborhood. Good old boys just having some fun.
When a cyclist is on the highway are they any more vulnerable than any other person on the highway?
Before we can answer that question we first need to explain what a highway is. The definition for Highway is listed in KRS 189.010 (3).
“Highway” means any public road, street, avenue, alley or boulevard, bridge, viaduct, or trestle and the approaches to them and includes private residential roads and parking lots…
We have a highway and within the highway is a Roadway or synonymously a Lane; and KRS has a specific statute for those lanes. KRS 189.340 (6) (a)
A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from that lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;
If everyone is following the law and more importantly the spirit of the law; the spirit of the law being safety, then there isn’t any harm to any road user and no need for extra measures of protection.
Unfortunately not everyone feels duty bound to operate their vehicle with due care.
A lot of people are under the misguided notion that speed grants extra privileges.
KRS 189.390 is very clear that there isn’t a right of speed on Kentucky’s Highways.
An operator of a vehicle upon a highway shall not drive at a greater speed than is reasonable and prudent, having regard for the traffic and for the condition and use of the highway.
Traffic: The movement of vehicles or people along roads, or the movement of aircraft, trains, or ships along a route. Via: Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
What is the purpose of a safe passing law?
The purpose of a safe passing law is to give the police a statute with which to cite the offending person. It also provides lawyers and insurance adjusters something tangible when trying to ascertain fault and how much liability goes where and with whom.
Did this explanation bring up a mental image of buzzards picking over roadkill?
That would be because this law is what I term an “after the fact law”. There isn’t any visual guideline to show a person operating a motor vehicle just how much space is three feet. Often times that three feet puts the cyclist’s head right under the motorists tire. Should the cyclist fall over, their head would be squashed. Bicycle helmet included.
[Dr] June McCarroll, a physician in Indio, California who started experimenting with painting lines on roads in 1917 after she was run off a highway by a truck driver. In November 1924, after years of lobbying by Dr. McCarroll and her allies, California officially adopted a policy of painting lines on its highways. A portion of Interstate 10 near Indio has been named the Dr. June McCarroll Memorial Freeway in her honor.
Painted lines give drivers a visual marker with which to judge distance.
It is safer to have a stated change lanes to pass law than it is to have a minimum three feet law. In Kentucky there are drivers who will fail to understand KRS 189 and give only the minimum passing distance. And in a state which educates teen drivers that it is OK to driver 10 mph over the posted speed limit; see Transportation.ky.gov/Drivers Licensing Documents Page 5. giving a cyclist the minimum distance when passing at 10 mph over posted speed limit; is a recipe for disaster.
Our car culture has created a social, cultural, and legal norm for people to kill, without penalty, on our public right of ways. It’s the “Oops I didn’t see them syndrome” and it is bullshit.
The driver of an automobile is bound to anticipate the presence of pedestrians upon the streets of a city or upon rural highways, as well as to exercise reasonable care that he does not injure them after he is aware of their presence. O’Dowd v. Newnham 13 Ga. App. 220, 80 S. E. 36.
A safe passing law is a band aid on a gaping wound.
A safe passing law is an after the fact law.
Do we need it?
Yes.
We need it because it is a start. Not the best example of a start, especially when other states are making better statutes from which we can draw from. But it is a start none the less.
We also need it because the infrastructure here is substandard.
Misguided advocates are pushing for bike lanes (think paint) on highways with 45 to 55 mph.
Gallons of paint will never replace the infrastructure we so desperately need. Nor will it replace urban designed spaces which give precedence to walking, public transport, and biking.
We are terribly entangled in car culture which is choking the very humanity out of us.
If you are wondering what we can do to make it better.
We can form a statewide advocacy group and lobby for better laws. Laws which require city planners to take into consideration all users of our public highways. Laws which specify dense urban planning as opposed to sprawling communities which are harder and more expensive to maintain. We need laws which require a one year mandatory probationary period for new drivers, mandatory retesting every four years, and an education program enacted in our schools. Driving school should have a required bike law and safety instructional forum.
We need a multi pronged approach to cycling and more importantly pedestrian safety.
Tiered licensing which ensures that teenagers are truly ready for a license to operate a vehicle. An exception for farmers children to operate farm equipment in the natural course of their duties. But not to operate non farm equipment on public highways.
Lower speed limits as a means of changing the culture of speed along with enforcement of speeding during times where operating a vehicle at speeds under the limit but higher than is safe for road conditions. Mandatory slow down laws when pedestrians or cyclists are present. Policies which make separate infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians a mandatory part of all construction. Policies which ensure that for every 100 people there are adequate shopping districts within walking distance. Wider and better sidewalks. Enforcement of stop lines. Elimination of right on red. Timing streetlights to favor pedestrians and cyclists. Narrower streets and wider bike lanes and sidewalks.
Vulnerable road user laws which enact stiff penalties for harming any road user with their vehicle.
When we pass another vehicle we are required to pass in the lane adjacent to the vehicle being passed. We are required by law to pass left of the center of the highway. To pass with enough clearance to avoid a collision or to cause the vehicle from being passed to have to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision. These are the laws. These are for safety. These ensure the courteous use of public roads and when those laws are broken the best possible outcome would be a citation. The worst would be a collision and people hurt. All too often these brazen flaunting of laws are unobserved and the confidence of the abuser is increased. The police can’t be everywhere but we can create legislation enacting a police task force which takes these complaints and investigates them and if found guilty penalties applied.
Remember the opening question?
“When a cyclist is on the highway are they any more vulnerable than any other person on the highway?”
The answer which you may have realized by now is No. We are all vulnerable on the highway. While there is a hierarchy of how much vulnerability each user has, we are each of us putting our lives at risk by walking out our front door.
We need more, we need better, and we need it now!
So let’s start with three feet and then demand more.
This is my attempt to clear things up and encourage you to call the legislative message line: 1-800-372-7181 and tell them to vote yes on SB 80.
KRS 189.300 requires “all” vehicles to operate on the right “whenever possible”. It isn’t always possible to operate on the right due to the ever changing nature of highways. This is acknowledged in the statute by the words “whenever possible”. Which simply means it isn’t a requirement when changes exist to the highway which prevents operation on the right. Or simply stated, you are allowed to pass another vehicle.
But!
You have to make sure that the left side of the highway is clear of all other traffic before passing.
Let’s think about that for a minute.
If this is a two way highway we are on how much of the highway is on the left?
It could be safely assumed that half the highway is on the right and the other half is on the left.
But!
We don’t have to assume. When we read KRS 189.310 we see that indeed on a two lane road. Half the highway is yours and the other half belongs to oncoming traffic.
Vehicles proceeding from opposite directions shall pass each other from the right, each giving to the other one-half (1/2) of the highway as nearly as possible.
Q: As nearly as possible? What does that mean?
A: Not all vehicles are created equal. Some have big butts. Just kidding. Some vehicles are larger than others and when a really large vehicle is going down a two lane road they need to…Wait for it!
Operate as close as practicable to the right hand boundary of the highway!
Q: The statute says slow moving vehicles! So really fast vehicles don’t have to follow that rule?
A: Wrong!
You have to give nearly half the highway to oncoming traffic and if you are moving quickly and are large then you too have to get over as close as practicable.
Odds are very likely though that you won’t be moving that fast if you’re operating a large vehicle. The more junk you have in your trunk the slower you tend to be.
Q: So are big trucks and farm equipment required to operate on the shoulder? I mean what is this whole boundary thing? You sound like my ex.
A: We have two places to look to. One is KRS 189.340
(3) The operator of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right only under conditions permitting such movements in safety. Such movement shall not be made by driving off the roadwayunless passing vehicle comes to a complete stop and such movement may be made safely.
The other place we need to look at is the definitions for the chapter. KRS 189.010
(10) “Roadway” means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel,exclusive of the berm or shoulder. If a highway includes two (2) or more separate roadways, the term “roadway” as used herein shall refer to any roadway separately but not to all such roadways collectively.
So a really large and slow moving vehicle is not supposed to travel off the roadway.
Q: But it says “roadway” and not “highway”. Doesn’t the word highway include the shoulder?
A: I feel like I’m talking to the Jessamine County attorney and his ever faithful sidekick Eric Wright. To answer your question we once again turn towards the definitions.
(3) “Highway” means any public road, street, avenue, alley or boulevard, bridge, viaduct, or trestle and the approaches to them and includes private residential roads and parking lots covered by an agreement under KRS 61.362, off-street parking facilities offered for public use, whether publicly or privately owned, except for-hire parking facilities listed in KRS 189.700.
The definition of a highway is A main road or thoroughfare, such as a street, boulevard, or parkway, available to the public for use for travel or transportation. And as we already learned it is exclusive of the berm or shoulder.
The traveled portion of the road is also referred to as a lane of traffic and KRS 189.300 clearly states
The overtaking vehicle shall return to the proper traffic lane as soon as practicable and, if the passing vehicle enters the oncoming traffic lane, before coming within two hundred (200) feet of any approaching vehicle.
Roadway and traffic lane are synonymous.
The final piece of the puzzle is the phrase
allowing more swiftly moving vehicles reasonably free passage to the left.
Q: What is considered reasonably free passage to the left?
A: The left side of the highway.
Q: But what if it is a multi lane road?
A: Then it would be the left lane.
Q: Why can’t we all share a lane?
A: Because sharing a lane is expressly illegal! Both KRS 189.310 and KRS 189.340 make it very clear that on a two lane road half the highway is yours and on a multi lane road
KRS 189.340 (6)(a) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from that lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;
Omigosh! That was so hard to understand.
Correction: That was/is so hard for Eric Wright and the rest of the Jessamine County Attorney’s office to understand.
The updated proposed legislation specifically names bicycles and clarifies already existing language.
They have taken the existing statutes and made the language so simple that even the Jessamine County Attorney can understand it.
(3) The operator of a bicycle shall travel as closely as practicable to the right hand side of the traveled portion of a highway unless there is appropriate signage or markings to indicate otherwise. The operator of the bicycle shall not be expected or required to:
(a) Travel on the shoulder of the highway;
(b) Operate over or through hazards at the edge of a highway, including but not limited to fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, animals, or surface hazards; or
(c) Operate without a reasonable safety margin on the right-hand side of the highway.
Remember that the original statute stated “Whenever Possible” but didn’t actually specify what hazards can be expected other than to mention other vehicles. So this clarification is essential for the deeply prejudiced.
All efforts have been made to dispel any myths about where bicycles “should” be.
Q: Does this mean I have to make a left turn from the right side of the road?
A: (Face Palm) No! Nothing has changed about how you operate on the road. You are operating a vehicle per KRS 189.010.
See KRS 189.330 for rules on turning and intersections.
(6) The operator of a vehicle intending to turn shall do so as follows:
(a) Right turns – both the approach for a right turn and a right turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway;
(b) Left turns – the operator of a vehicle intending to turn left shall approach the turn in the extreme left-hand lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the direction of travel of such vehicle. Whenever practicable, the left turn shall be made to the left of the center of the intersection and so as to leave the intersection or other location in the extreme right-hand lane lawfully available to traffic moving in the same direction as such vehicle on the roadway being entered.
Now please stop being silly and follow the Rules of the Road!
part of me feels like I’ve been tricked by the people I put my trust into.
Yes, I’m a capable adult and make my own decisions. But how many of us are really making choices as opposed to reacting to all the shit that life’s throws at us?
When I chose to ride a bicycle as my only means of transportation, it was a conscious decision based on the then available options I was faced with. Three months of thinking planning and deciding.
It was my choice. I went into it fully prepared. Or so I thought. The point though is this, no one was rushing me into making a decision based on very little data. I had thoroughly studied and understood the rights and responsibilities of cycling. I was enamoured with the joy of cycling. I wanted everyone to share in my knowledge and joy.
When I got my first ticket, I was alarmed. Not because of the ticket itself but because of the implications behind it. To ticket a cyclist who isn’t breaking the law is a ticket based on personal prejudice and is a form of coercive power over an individual.
I put my trust in the cycling community. I thought they had the knowledge and know how to successfully defend the rights of a cyclist.
What I didn’t know was that the community I lived in is steeped in bias, prejudice, and good old fashioned “if it’s different, kill it” mentality.
I have been accused of being crazy. I am not. I have been to therapy for recovery from an abusive relationship and a psychiatric evaluation to regain custody of my kids from my abuser. Though he himself never had to undergo any type of evaluation being rich, white, and male. The therapist said that I had a good head on my shoulders and that I would be an amazing success if given the chance.
Chance, all I needed was a chance. One which was not provided to me and I’m sure a lot of other people have the same problem.
With growing horror I watched the basic tenants of my case get skewed and cannibalised by the cycling community. The local cycling community didn’t want me as they felt I tarnished their lofty ideals at cycling in the bluegrass. Namely brewery rides where copious amounts of beer and bourbon would be consumed. Tres chic and I didn’t belong.
The one community that had the appearance of accepting me was the cyclists are drivers group. I felt like a small child being held in loving arms after a particularly nasty tumble which results in skinned knees.
Every self sufficient and life confirming move I had made up to this point was squashed like a bug. Not only did the local cycling community ostracize me, they then turned on me and accused me of trying to pull a stunt. I was now one of those vehicular cyclists out to prove a point. I wasn’t, I wanted people to know that cycling was safe and fun, even in a small minded small town.
My story was lost amid the dirty fingers of everyone who wanted to stick their finger into the pie.
I thought, at first that these were people who were genuinely concerned and wanted to help.
When I realized that the attorney who took on my case as a favor to a friend, was not only not skilled at this type of law but was also a part of the group that didn’t like me. I was scared and reached out for help. I chose the LexRides group because I thought they would better understand what I was doing as a poor single mom. Nope, they sure didn’t. You know all those jokes about inbreeding in Kentucky? Well, it’s not too far off base.
If you cycle in Kentucky, then you know someone who is influential in the cycling community.
So the group I reached out to for help greeted me with cold disdain and derision. They even went so far as to contrive a false complaint of forum rule breaking to kick me out of the group.
One of their members was so horrified at the way they treated me that they sent me a private message and told me about how they had been plotting on how to kick me out without making themselves look bad. So no matter what I did, it would be wrong per their newly established rules and I would be out.
All of my story was hashed and rehashed until the reality was skewed till even I forgot the point of why this started.
Oh yea! I’m poor and can’t afford to operate a car.
But new rumors were started. Secretly I’m rich and this was really all a ploy to get people to give me money. I would never but I wish there was some truth. Being poor sucks.
So many people reading my story, rehashing my story, using my story for their own personal gain.
What did I get from it?
Nothing. No! Worse than nothing! I had my life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness stolen from me. I spent all the money raised on the second attorney and equipment to prove my case.
All the tickets were dismissed and the three that the first attorney screwed up were expunged and the fines waived.
I only had to agree to not cycle on u.s. 27 for two years.
U.s. 27 runs through the heart of town. Which means no banking, no shopping, and no doctors visits.
I had to leave to live.
I had a home. I worked really hard to get that home and the Nicholasville police department and the people of Nicholasville stole that from me.
I’m homeless and moving by bicycle to a place that will hopefully work out. Though I’m scared. Broke and scared is what the cycling community left me with.
That was a neat trick to pull on someone who trusted and admired you.
P.s. Thank you to those people who saw me as a person riding a bike.
a lot of people move by bicycle. They get together with their cycling friends and move all manner of furniture. Grand pianos, refrigerators, couches you name it. Not too many move from state to state by bicycle.
That is exactly what I and my two teenagers will be doing in less than a week. We are hoping to buy a kid trailer for the purpose of hauling only our most cherished and needed items.
I bought a three person tent and the bike will be getting long road trip worthy this week.
My daughter was nervous about the trip until I explained that we can go as slow as we like and rest as often as we need.
Please stay tuned as we post pics and talk about our favorite and least favorite parts about the trip.
I’m going to be late for my doctor’s appointment messing around with this nonsense, but this was too good to pass up, y’all.
It’s another one of those “Feminace Rips Apart Some BS Pro-Life Screed”, but this has a special twist – I’m “supporting” local talent. Yes, cats and kittens, a friend shared a screed, and I read it and recognized the names as being two of THE WORST of our protesters.
It’s a how-to guide about responding to the myriad objections people give when these fuckers start harassing them, and since I’m not allowed to engage while in the vest and on the sidewalk, I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me by. Oh no.
First, just read this shit. It’s short, don’t worry. Don’t read while driving, or drinking anything or eating anything less you choke or spill or crash. Got it? Good.
Over the last two years plus of talking with cyclists, developers, city organizers, and elected officials, I have noticed a great push by consultants to develop “bike lanes,” as a “fix all” solution to add biking infrastructure to already existing travel arteries. Charlotte, NC has been under a massive suburban sprawl since the seventies and eighties, and now the pendulum has started to swing back to revitalization of urban areas, and the city center/midtown. Of course great projects are always costly for taxpayers, and the footprint of construction is bothersome for long periods of time, but typically the end result is something very special. Take the example of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway.
The LSCG is an amazing stretch of pedestrian-biking multi path that stretches from Park Rd. Shopping Center to 7th Street, where it almost connects to another greenway connecting neighborhoods like NoDa (shouldn’t it be called MiDa there…
Thank you for taking to the time to put this video together. I believe there are a lot of parents out there who would like to see their children acquire the skills to safely navigate our increasingly congested roads.
I became an LCI #4599 this past year and I am hoping to get people involved in cycling education for children. I believe that children who are responsible bicycle riders will become responsible drivers. With 2.5K teenagers (ages 16-19) killed per year due to poor driving skills, something has to be done to help these kids understand how important it is to operate safely. The bicycle is the perfect tool for establishing good driving habits well before they are ready for a license.
The above video was recently uploaded to Vimeo. The shot above shows Theresa James, then 10-1/4, leading two other students (off-screen uphill) in a bike education class as she heads south on N. Elizabeth Ave., Ferguson, Missouri, preparing for a left-turn onto Hudson Road.
I taped this originally using a Panasonic PV-43 VHS camcorder weighing 2 lbs. during the on-road part of a comprehensive class I taught in September-October 2000. This was after classroom sessions which included discussion of crash statistics, bike mechanics and adjustment, and video and PowerPoint presentations, followed by bike handling and crash avoidance practice in a large parking lot. Four students enrolled initially. Theresa, 13-year-old Annie, and Sarah, 15, were the three oldest of four sisters from the James family in Ferguson, joined by Verna, an adult living in St. Louis.
Sarah dropped out during the parking lot practice. She had been persuaded to enroll by…
Cherokee Schill | Insurance Agent & AI Ethics Researcher 