Much is said and discussed about the rights of bicyclists. Oklahoma, like most states, based its traffic laws upon Universal Vehicle Code, which itself is based upon the very first traffic laws enacted in New York at the end of the 19th Century. Those first laws were drafted before there were motorized vehicles. The only road users were animal drawn carts and bicyclists. At that time the conflict between bicyclists and drivers was launched.
Introducing the Oklahoma SafeCyclist Field Instructor Class!
Written by Pete Kramer
Monday, August 09, 2010
In August eighteen enthusiastic bicyclists became Oklahoma SafeCyclist Field Instructors. They will bring bicycling education back to Oklahoma's elementary school children.
They are Dennis Clark, Fred Richard, Ren Barger, Justin Fortney, Jessica Brent, Matt Jacobs, Grant Volle, Richard Geary, Trevor Sean Harrison, Keith Franklin, Mike Harman, John Joyce, Jerel Cowan, Adam Strickler, Jeremy Brown, Tami and Lyndon Jennings, and Jan Fees.
Tulsa Area Safe Routes to School is a model of effective education, partnership and leveraging limited resources to get children excited about biking. They produced a short video highlighting key aspects and testimonials from the program.
Please support these great Oklahoma bicycling advocacy efforts. Let’s continue to work together to make these type of programs a reality across the State of Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition Board of Directors and membership once again share sadness and grief with families who have lost loved ones in the act of enjoying a sport we all share simply because someone was careless. The recent deaths of bicyclists in Stillwater, Woodward, and Oklahoma City adds to the horrors of Sand Springs, Enid, and Shawnee.
Throughout the winter and spring of 2010, OBC President Kevin Mussett undertook a series of conversations with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to address the issue of rumble strips and their placement along the edges of Oklahoma highways. Despite apparent agreement to conform with Federal Highway Administration standards and AASHTO guidelines, new rumbles were added to several state highways completely ignoring good engineering principles and creating at best challenging bicycling environments, and at worse severe hazards to cyclists.
Below is a letter sent on June 7, 2010 to Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, along the Secretary of Transportation, and representatives from the regions of the state where the substandard rumble strips were placed.
