Action Alert - Speak Up to Get Vulnerable User Bill Passed This Year!

Please email or call your legislators to support SB 191, the Vulnerable User bill!
See customizable message below

The Vulnerable User bill has been a top priority on our legislative agenda.  This bill has come before the legislature several times in recent years, but for various reasons has never made it over the finish line. This year could be different--but only if we all  speak up!

Since our last newsletter, SB 191, the 2013 version of the Vulnerable User Bill, has made it out of committee and was put on the Senate Calendar.  Then on April 18 it was referred by the Senate to the Committee on Insurance and Real Estate.

                   Read the Bill                       Read the Plain Language Summary

This bill is not as strong as we would like it to be, but progress is made in increments.  We need to speak up now to keep this bill moving and approved during the 2013 legislative session.  Scroll down for a sample message and FAQs.
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Please email or call your legislators to support the Vulnerable User bill!
See customizable message below
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• Who are my legislators?  Click here to FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR.  If your legislator on the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, it's really important that they hear from you.  Click here to see who's on the Insurance and Real Estate Committee.
• Where do I find their phone number or email address?  
  Go to FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR.  Enter your street address and town.  Scroll down on the results page to see the names of your State Senator and State Representative.  Click on the email icon to get their email address (some legislators use online forms instead).  Click on the web icon to get to their web page, which shows their phone and office address.
• What do I say?  See below for a message to personalize. 
  
• I'm a little nervous about calling.  Should I be?  
  No!  You'll most likely get an aide who will make a note about your support for the bill and relay it to the legislator. 
  
• If I call or email, is it really going to make a difference?  
  Yes!  Our legislators are not mind readers.  They need to hear from their constituents.  Even a few calls and emails lets them know what people are interested in.  Silence, on the other hand, su

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Customizable Message in Support of Vulnerable User Bill

Dear [Your State Senator and Representative--FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR]

As a constituent, cyclist and a proponent of bikeable, walkable communities, I am writing in support of Senate Bill 191, “An Act Concerning the Penalty for Causing Harm to a Vulnerable User of a Public Way.” I urge you to support SB 191 too. 

SB 191 is an important step toward raising awareness of vulnerable road users and holding reckless drivers accountable for crashes that involve the serious injury or death of a vulnerable road user. SB 191 would:

• Define a “vulnerable user” of the state’s roads as a pedestrian, highway worker, person riding or driving an animal, person riding a bicycle, person using a skateboard, roller skates or inline skates, person operating or riding on an agricultural tractor or person using a wheelchair or motorized chair; and
  
• Provide that a person who fails to exercise reasonable care while driving, and injures or kills a vulnerable user, shall be fined up to $1,000.
  

I also support provisions, which were deleted from the original proposed bill, to require a person committing an infraction under SB 191 to attend driver retraining and perform community service. Vulnerable user laws in states such as Oregon, Washington, and Delaware include these requirements to ensure that drivers are held accountable and operate their vehicles safely in the future.

I hope you will support this important bill this year.

Sincerely,


Your Name
Your Address

[please copy bikewalkct@bikewalkct.org]