We all know (or should know) what the law is for motorists who come upon a stopped school bus with red lights flashing and stop arm extended. But what about bicyclists?
BikePortland.org, a blog from the host city of last fall’s NAPT Summit, discusses the dilemma bikers might face in a similar situation. Authors Karen Lally and Kurt Jansen of the non-profit Animated Traffic Law Center in Eugene, Ore., note that bicyclists can ride on the sidewalk in some areas, but not downtown “unless avoiding a traffic hazard; and sorry, a stopped school bus isn’t considered a traffic hazard.”
Lalley and Jansen also note that bicyclists could continue riding along as the law is intended to keep the students safe from being hit by automobiles. Still, “the letter of the law may be important here because as a living, breathing distraction in the landscape, you are probably being observed by some of the kids on the bus. These are the future cyclists of America and you, standing by, are serving as a role model.”
At this writing, it was unknown how big of a problem bicyclists running school bus reds might be other if states have laws that specifically discuss bikes, school buses and which has the right of way.
Editor’s note: Thank you to the Eugene Safe Routes to School program for bringing this blog item to our attention.
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National Geographic is one of many outlets that is asking if natural gas is really all it’s cracked up to be after a recent study by Cornell University indicated the alternative fuel could be worse for the environment than coal during the harvesting, or fracking, stage. Obviously the natural gas industry refutes the study, but here’s a good blog from Michael A. Levi, the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, that breaks down four issues with the research.
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Talk about trafficking. A mother is in serious hot water after she allegedly put 10 baggies of marijuana in her 5-year-old daughter’s book bag to take on the school bus.
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And this just in: Navistar headquarters burned last night. Well, not really.
MySurburbanLife.com reported that the parent company of IC Bus was scheduled to set a controlled landscape fire to burn non-native vegetation around its new Lisle, Ill., offices.
