[Holeshot]

Geez.. with all the political BS I cannot BELIEVE that nobody has posted anything about this yet!

HB 3159 Allowing motorcycles between lanes during congestion.

This is a great thing and a great opportunity is before us to make something possitive happen in this state regarding motorcycles.

As a former CA resident I think this is LONG overdue. Of coures everyone else I know in CA and just about ever CA ex-pat I've met thinks it's a great idea.

So if you think you might want to expoit the safety of not having to be parked like a sitting duck in heavy traffic it's time to fire up your word processor in support of this legislation.

If you do NOT know who your WA reps are, this is a quick and easy way to find out. Takes bout 1 second (depending on how fast you type).

Do it. If we don't let them know how important this is to use (and the state, workers getting to work faster means more tax money from more people getting more work done, right? ).

Find Out Who Represents You

Just so you know that time is of the essance, this is what I heard from one of my reps:

******************************
Mr. Holeshot:

I checked with the Transportation Committee staff and discovered that this bill has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. There was a huge crush of transportation legislation introduced this year and, unfortunately, during a short-session there is often not enough time for all of the bills to be
heard.

There is a slim chance that HB 3159 will still be added to the
agenda, and I am forwarding your e-mail to Representative Murray, Chair of the House Transportation Committee, to let him know of your interest.

However, in reality, it is probably too late for any action this year.

...

******************************

BTW.. use your real name... (mine has been changed to protect the guilty)

[Holeshot]

BUMP.

Holy crap! We have a (perhaps fleeting) chance to do something positive for MC riders (if one state passes a possitive law perhaps others will follow) and nothing?? Nada? Not even a *humph*

Bizzare.

I guess I should have included some hooters or other naughty bits in the post.. or maybe some Presidential campaign crap... ah well.. looks like I'll be mounting another one-man crusade....

[Keith_929]

I wrote up this really eloquent statement requesting support from one of the Spokane reps and lost it from the clipboard before saving it. Since I sent the email using the web interface for the Washington Gov website, I don't have a copy of it. I guess I'll have to try and recreate it.

Do you have a statement already developed that people could cut and paste into an email to send to their reps?

If not, I will try and write something up tomorrow morning.

I agree this is a good thing for the state. Unfortunately, it really only benefits the West side since we don't tend to get stop and go traffic very often on I-90 through town. It would help if Idaho would do this since I tend to get stuck in jams accross the border because of wrecks.

Keith

[Holeshot]

Originally Posted by Keith_929

I wrote up this really eloquent statement requesting support from one of the Spokane reps and lost it from the clipboard before saving it. Since I sent the email using the web interface for the Washington Gov website, I don't have a copy of it. I guess I'll have to try and recreate it.

Do you have a statement already developed that people could cut and paste into an email to send to their reps?

If not, I will try and write something up tomorrow morning.

I agree this is a good thing for the state. Unfortunately, it really only benefits the West side since we don't tend to get stop and go traffic very often on I-90 through town. It would help if Idaho would do this since I tend to get stuck in jams accross the border because of wrecks.

Keith

My letter was pretty quick and cheesy.. I did the same thing and shot the message off to them from the website interface. It works.. one of them responsed.

NOTE: I saw this at the bottom of the message response so it seems they actually do check to see who's district you are in based on the address you provide.

>From: holeshot@youcanbiteme.com
>Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2004 1:21 PM
>To: Rockefeller, Rep. Phil
...snip...
>NOTE: Mr. Holeshot has requested a response to this message.
>
>NOTE: We are 99% sure that this constituent is in your district

[Holeshot]

Originally Posted by Keith_929

I agree this is a good thing for the state. Unfortunately, it really only benefits the West side since we don't tend to get stop and go traffic very often on I-90 through town. It would help if Idaho would do this since I tend to get stuck in jams accross the border because of wrecks.

Keith

We don't get much in the ways of taffic jams on our side of the pond (west of Seattle) either but from time to time I have to go into the city and man.. that can really blow.. or when a ferry docs and 250 cars are dumped into our little down-town area it would be nice to hammer through them without having so much.

I sure do miss the gratutious lane-splitting in CA..

[fumbducker]

[quote=
I sure do miss the gratutious lane-splitting in CA.. [/QUOTE]


move back to California


J

[Holeshot]

[quote=fumbducker]

Originally Posted by
I sure do miss the gratutious lane-splitting in CA.. :rant:[/QUOTE

move back to California

J

What, and pay state income tax, not be able to carry a concealed weapon and jeapardize my health (my chronic athsma as not bothered me in the 3 years since I've left). Naw.. I'd rather write some letters and make some phone calls to my state reps. But thanks for the idea!

[~dd~]

It would be a great thing for the State to finally recognize motorcycles, however, from a safety standpoint I think it's a little late for this law. I grew up in Washington and the one thing that stands out in my mind when it comes to traffic is people in cars do not pay attention to motorcycles. In California, cagers are used to the possibility of a motorcycle passing by their door in bumper to bumper traffic. In Washington, that's not the case. I am by no means knocking the proposal, I think it's great! One point I hate to make is that I'd imagine the number of accidents involving motorcycles will increase (again if the bill passes) until Washington drivers get used to the idea, which would in turn affect insurance rates (?). I'd vote in favor of it, but to be honest I'd never split lanes in that state. I like my body in one piece.

[deez]

Sent a letter to all 3 of my reps.

Senator ROSEMARY McAULIFFE
mcauliff_ro@leg.wa.gov

AL O'BRIEN
obrien_al@leg.wa.gov

JEANNE EDWARDS
edwards_je@leg.wa.go

[deez]

Dear Booth23-
Thank you for your message regarding House Bill 3159, which would allow
motorcycles to drive between lanes during congested traffic times.
Traffic
congestion is a serious issue for our state and I always welcome ideas
to
reduce congestion and make our roads safer.

HB 3159 did not pass the Legislature this year and will need to be
reintroduced next year as a new bill. Because there was no public
hearing
on the bill, I didn't have the opportunity to hear the pros and cons of
this
proposal. I would be interested to know if there are safety issues to
consider and whether there are studies from other states that allow
motorcycles to drive between lanes, such as California.

Thank you for your input on this issue. I think this proposal is worth
considering and I will keep my eye out for similar legislation in the
2005
Session.

Sincerely,
Rosemary McAuliffe
State Senator
1st Legislative District

[xscape2me]

Does anyone know if anything ever came of this? Was it passed or what?

[Holeshot]

Bastards keep putting it off!! WTF are we sending them there to do!?!?!???