[*BCM*] MassBike To Blame For Biker Awareness

[turtle]

Robert Arnold <rsarnold at gmail.com>,
	Boston Critical Mass <list at bostoncriticalmass.org> wrote:
> 
> >Similarly, I like the idea of making ALL traffic laws apply to ALL types
> >of vehicles equally.  Then the safety issues of individual vehicle
> >designs can be dealt with seperately (but they should all include
> >things like lights, brakes, and good visibility).  Equality breeds
> >respect, in my experience.
> 
> There are different laws for different
> classes of motorized vehicles, 

Not really.  As it is now, the basic traffic laws in Massachusetts apply
to all vehicles on the roads.  Occasionally you may find an exclusion
for large trucks (on small bridges, for instance), or a variety of
vehicles on expressways, but that's about it.  Licensing and equipment
laws are clearly different, but I'm talking about traffic laws only
here.  Currently bikes, cars, SUVs, buses, trucks, horse drawn
carriages, motorcycles, etc, all have to follow the same traffic rules
(except bicyclists, who can legally pass on the right).

So, technically, we, as bicyclists already have equality.  So why does
it still suck?  The problems I see are that many people (including
cops) don't know this!  Also, there are still overly rigid definitions
of various vehicles that make the laws confusing.  (My husband's
recumbent tricycle is not included in any vehicle laws in this state -
it's not a car, it's not a bike, it's not a motorcycle, etc.)  A simple
rewording of the traffic law to include ALL vehicles intended for
transportation on the roadway would be helpful in clarifying things,
and would make discrimination based on number of wheels, vehicle size,
source of power, shape, type of operator, or creativity less likely.

-Turtle