We have reported frequently in the past 18 months of the fallout from the decision of the Polzo vs. Essex County case. Namely that bicyclists do not have special protections in shoulders that are not designated as bike lanes and even resulted in a ticket for a cyclist who was struck from behind in Chatham.
But that is not the only problem with Title 39 and the Department of Transportation has long been aware that the state's bike and pedestrian laws need to be updated, and commissioned the Voorhees Transportation Center to publish a document with recommendations for changes. This document which is now 11 years old is still relevant even though the law has been tweaked here and there (e.g. raising the helmet requirement age). It certainly falls within the realm of complete streets policies to fix these outdated laws, recently Philadelphia updated their antiquated bicycle regulations and passed the changes under a "complete streets ordinance".
The document starts off with some legalese but if you skim through it you will find some interesting tidbits, such as that bicycles are not considered vehicles in New Jersey. And that municipalities can waiver the requirement for children to wear helmets in non-motorized areas (as many shore towns with boardwalks do).
Reform of Title 39 is needed and advocates need to find champions in the state legislature who are willing to submit a bill for consideration.
2 comments:
8Thank you for such information and i hope in future you will update us.
I hear lots of about Polzo vs. Essex County case and today I read it about it in detail. It is very helpful for me and other persons as well but laws are always made for the general public. I hope many people learn many things from this case and it will be full of incident for all of us.
traffic lawyer
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