FABB Blog

 

Cycling and Pedestrian Awareness Week.

September 13-20, 2009 is Virginia's first Cycling and Pedestrian Awareness Week. It is being funded by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Drive Smart Virginia is promoting the event along with Bike Walk Virginia.

FABB agreed to promote the event and signed up as a co-sponsor. After receiving promotional materials from the group, we're having second thoughts about our sponsorship. The main graphic depicts behavior that is not only contrary to Virginia code, but goes against common sense. As you can see above, it shows a car, runner, bicyclist, and truck all headed in the same direction using the same line of travel.

The runner should be running against traffic (46.2-928. Pedestrians not to use roadway except when necessary; keeping to left.) The bicyclist, who seems to be riding (a very small bike) to the left of the dashed white line, should be riding as far right as practicable (46.2-905. Any person operating a bicycle... on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway...)

It's not a good sign when an organization that is "dedicated entirely to making Virginia's roadways the safest in the nation" produces such a graphic.

Labels: drive smart virginia

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:06 PM permalink