From Bike Santa Fe:
Hello Santa Fe cyclist community!
Bike Santa Fe has joined with Bike ABQ and Velo Cruces in supporting a particular bill at the state legislative session: SB 73, the Require Bicycle Stops for Safety bill. You can find details, including the text and future status, here. Commonly referred to as the “Idaho stop” law, this legislation to make it legal for cyclists to treat stop signs as yields and traffic lights as stop signs would significantly improve cyclist safety, as data from other states has shown. We need your help in supporting this bill!
The first step is getting it through committees, and the bill is scheduled to be heard at the Senate Tax, Business, and Transportation committee and then will need to be heard at the Judiciary Committee. A vital action you can take is to contact the members of these committees and ask them to support the bill. The committee links have the list of members with their contact info once you click on them; feel free to call or email or both but make sure to send separate emails to each legislator. Also please note: Senators Hamblen, Wirth, O’Malley, Duhigg, and Maestas already support the bill so contacting them with a ‘Thank You’ is appreciated. All other members of the committee need urging to vote yes on this bill in committee. Senator Jaramillo represents part of Santa Fe county, so be sure to say you live in the county. The rest should still hear from you, as you live in this state!
Below are some key talking points. Please personalize your message with your own experiences and opinion as a cyclist in New Mexico.
Make sure to name the bill: SB 73, Require Bicycle Stops for Safety
Similar legislation has been passed in eleven states, where cyclist injuries dropped significantly
Allowing cyclists to yield at intersections gets them out of potentially dangerous situations
Enabling cyclists to cross before a green light gets them out of cars’ blind spots, which is a major cause of cyclist injuries and deaths
The law still requires cyclists to yield to those with right-of-way before proceeding
This law is good for both cyclists and cars, reducing accidents for everyone
Thank them for current or future support!
Thank you for helping us make New Mexico safer!
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