Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Delaware Gov Signs Bill to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians

11:27 AM EDT on August 13, 2010

MarkellSign.jpgDelaware governor Jack Markell signs the state's vulnerable users law yesterday. Photo: WHYY

Yesterday brought a big victory for street safety and traffic justice in Delaware, as Governor Jack Markell signed SB 269, the state's vulnerable users law. Jeff Peel, writing on the League of American Bicyclists blog, explains:

The bill, modeled after an Oregon law, enhances the penalty for drivers convicted of careless or inattentive drivers who cause serious physical injury to cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The new law includes sentencing guidelines such as:

  • completion of a traffic safety course
  • perform up to 100 hours of community service related to driver improvement and providing public education on traffic safety
  • fines up to $550
  • suspension of driving privileges

At the same time, a similar law in New York will become law after today, unless Governor David Paterson decides to veto it. Last year, the Texas legislature also passed a vulnerable users law, only to see Governor Rick Perry veto it

The value of these laws, which seem to be spreading across the country, is that they offer prosecutors a charge with some teeth that doesn't rise to the level of a vehicular manslaughter charge. If police and prosecutors are unwilling to throw the full force of the law against a dangerous driver, vulnerable users laws ensure there's still an option with more serious consequences than a speeding ticket. And the laws strengthen the recognition that drivers have a moral obligation to look out for pedestrians and cyclists.

More from around the network: Everything old is new again, as Cyclelicious finds Mark Twain calling for bike-sharing in 1895 (in Portland, naturally). BikeDenver rebrands bike activism by introducing Kidical Mass. And BikePortland points out that downtown is still dominated by surface parking lots. 

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Hush That Fuss

New BRT in Denver, the case for reimagining parking lots, and more in today's headlines.

March 29, 2024

Why We Care About Some Transportation Tragedies More Than Others

Why do we respond to major transportation disasters with so much urgency — and why don't we count our collective car crash epidemic among them?

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Take Thursday’s Headlines Home, Country Roads

Heat Map reports on why rural Americans are resisting electric vehicles, and why it might not matter much for the climate.

March 28, 2024
See all posts