Don't know if you care what I wrote to three of the House members that sit on the Trans Highway Committee, but I will share with you all anyway.
Re: HB1157
House of Representative members: Sharon Wylie, Ed Orcutt, and Liz Pike,
I currently live in your Vancouver district or have lived in your district and still own a house there. I am writing you regarding ”lane sharing for safety act” currently on your table for review. This bill has passed the Senate and is now up to you to approve so the House can vote on it and then send on to the Governor. HB1157.
I am writing because I am a motorcyclist and a strong supporter of this bill. Although it isn't perfect in that it didn't follow the guidelines established in California (CA had higher speed limits), I believe it is in the right direction to improve safety for motorcyclist and the flow of traffic. Most likely having it's most influence in the Seattle area, it will also improve things in Vancouver. Rejecting this bill is like sending someone to their death, simple as that. Motorcyclist get killed everyday, some times on their own accord, sometimes by automobiles, and sometimes due to drink. I'm only addressing those that get killed by automobiles here, as in those killed by being rear ended. If those riders had had the option of placing themselves between cars, their lives could have been saved. Not really hard to accept, when you look at it that way. This is factual, and has been shown in studies out of the USC, Berkeley as noted in the Bill. The benefit to other drivers is that it also helps the movement of traffic, so people get home quicker. Whether that is 2 seconds, 2 minutes or 20 minutes isn't as important as the possibility of saving a life, but does add a positive to the issue.
If you don't ride a motorcyclist, you are at a disadvantage, and may look at this issue from a automobile driver's point of view only, which would be one of lacking experience and assuming the worst that you can imagine. Since I have had experience in lane sharing and ride a motorcycle, I can assure you that it isn't that scary and certainly do not feel at risk of dying, but quite the opposite. A point that most do not cover is the attention one must have while lane sharing. You cannot think of anything other than the act of splitting lanes, movement of cars immediately in front of you, 2, 3, 4 cars in front of you and cars in the lanes next to you. While lane sharing you can't count on cars using their blinkers so you have to rely on your ability to read car movement like in tire movements, what that car did when it was 4-5 cars in front of you, then being prepared for surprises. Riding between cars allow the motorcyclist to see more of what is happening up front and can make adjustments. Having to ride behind a SUV, that limits your visibility to the back end of the SUV, puts a rider at a disadvantage. Riding a motorcycle is nothing like driving a car when in traffic and those prepared to lane share are most likely the highest qualified drivers on the highway at that time, due to their attention to what is going on around them, and preparedness to avoid accidents. I know I am, much more so than when I drive a car, and my car driving is vastly improved since I started riding a motorcycle 21 years ago.
Please review HB1157 positively and send to the floor so we can advance safety on our highways.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Hattan
