Sen. Bye dramatized the need for a vulnerable users bill by wearing a helmet until the bill was taken up by the Judiciary Committee.
Today — the last possible day for bills to be acted upon in the CT General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee — the Vulnerable User Bill to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users was voted out by an overwhelming majority. Faced with a crushing agenda of over 50 bills to act upon before the end of the day, bill champion Senator Beth Bye wore a bike helmet during the meeting and said she would not remove it until the bill was taken up. According to attendees, it was the first bill taken up during the afternoon session.
Kudos to Senator Bye, Committee Chair Sen. Eric Coleman, and all the key supporters of the bill including Rep. Debralee Hovey and Rep. Pat Dillon in the Judiciary Committee.
The next step for the bill is debate and a floor vote in the Senate, the chamber where it failed to pass last year.
Photo: Screenshot from CT-N.
Good news. We have vulnerable road user bills in RI too though so far they have not gotten out of committee.