January 2010 Legislative Report

February 3rd 2010 - Myrtle Beach Helmet Ordinance Lawsuits will be heard. The lawsuits against Myrtle Beach over the local helmet law are going to be heard by the S.C. Supreme Court. The court released its February schedule today, and the lawsuits against the city and its helmet ordinance are on the docket for 10 and 10:30 a.m. Feb. 3. The lawsuit filed by Business Owners Organized to Support Tourism and Bart Viers, and the one filed by a group of motorcyclists who were ticketed during a protest ride on the day the city's helmet law went into effect, will both be heard. Because the court has already received - and presumably read - extensive briefs from all sides explaining their arguments, the hearings are short.

"A lot of appellate decisions are based on briefs, but oral arguments are a tradition," said attorney Thad Viers, who's representing his brother, Bart Viers, and BOOST. "We will probably make a small presentation, and the justices will ask us some questions. I don't know if they already know which way they think they are going to go, or if they are going to go into this with an open mind."

The plaintiffs are suing the city to stop it from enforcing the motorcycle helmet law it imposed last year as part of a package of ordinances designed to deflect the May motorcycle rallies from the city

Cameras Vs. Shortened Yellow Lights.

Let's look at some numbers: according to the NHTSA there were 34,017 fatal crashes in 2008, with 11,179 of them resulting in death- and more than 800,000 injuries - attributed to speeding. Most of those fatalities occurred somewhere other than the Interstate, where the speed limit was under 55 miles per hour. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 260,000 "vehicle incidents" from people running red lights, resulting in almost 900 deaths. That's 11,179 deaths vs. 900 deaths. In 2006, when traffic fatalities were higher, speeding was deemed the number one cause of death for people ages four to 34. 

Yet the IIHS reports that as of December, 2009 only 52 communities use speed cameras. The number of communities that use red light cameras: 442. Almost nine times as many cities employ red light cameras for the stated goal of increasing safety even though speeding appears to be far more deadly.

The problematic issue with red light cameras brings up the same word that describes the problem with speed cameras: "trap." In the case of Texas, short yellow light times have been found to make it more likely someone will enter the intersection after the red begins to glow - and therefore make it easier to issue ticket. = Revenue Generator.  In one case the length of a yellow light in El Paso was shortened by just a four-tenths of a second and citations jumped by 132%. In another case, a yellow light at a 45-mph intersection in Houston that lasted 3.6 seconds rang up 341% more tickets than the yellow lights at other, similar 45-mph intersections.

Opponents of the red light cameras point to the fact that the duration of yellow lights in these scenarios is often less than the minimum durations proposed by national and state traffic engineering bodies. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has a formula for determining how long a yellow light should stay illuminated, but intersections boasting red light cameras rarely follow those informal guidelines.

Law Watch

All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Act

H 3101 General Bill, By Kirsh - Similar(H 3109)
 A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 26
 TO TITLE 50 SO AS TO ENACT THE "ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE SAFETY ACT" TO PROVIDE FOR
 THE REGULATION OF THE OPERATION OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES BY PERSONS UNDER THE
 AGE OF SIXTEEN, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION OF THE SALE OF ALL-TERRAIN
 VEHICLES FOR THE USE OF PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF SIXTEEN, TO PROVIDE SAFETY
 STANDARDS FOR OPERATION OF ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR
 VIOLATION OF THE CHAPTER.

12/09/08  House  Prefiled
12/09/08  House  Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs
01/13/09  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-49
01/13/09  House  Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-49

Must wear eye protection and DOT Helmet.
Unlawful to operate or sell OHV to anyone under 8 years of age.
Unlawful for anyone 12 and under to operate a vehicle over 70cc.
Unlawful for anyone 16 and under to operate a vehicle over 90cc

S 0775 General Bill, By Grooms and Knotts - Similar(H 3347)
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-130, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO CLASSIFIED DRIVER'S
 LICENSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AN OPERATOR OF A MOTORCYCLE THREE-WHEEL
 VEHICLE IS ONLY REQUIRED TO HAVE A BASIC DRIVER'S LICENSE OR A MOTORCYCLE
 LICENSE, RATHER THAN A MOTORCYCLE LICENSE WITH A SPECIAL ENDORSEMENT.

04/30/09  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-11
04/30/09  Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-11
05/07/09  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Transportation SJ-15
05/08/09  Scrivener's error corrected
05/12/09  Senate Committee Amendment Adopted SJ-23
05/12/09  Senate Read second time SJ-23
05/13/09  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-21
05/14/09  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-16
05/14/09  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-16

Re-writing the bill that caused many to have to take a special license and class to operate a 3 wheeled motorcycle. Only required to have a basic drivers license.

H4189 - Texting, reading, printed materials etc
1st offence misdemeanor - not more that 60 days $2,500 fine license suspended for 1 year, 8 hrs defensive drivers class
2nd offence misdemeanor - not more that 180 days $5000 fine license suspended for 2 year, 8 hrs defensive drivers class
3rd offence misdemeanor - not more that 3 years $10,000 fine license revoked permanently.
* If bodily injury - felony - 5 yr not more that 15

* Lobby Day is January 11 From 1pm to 4pm. Statehouse in Columbia

* Reminder that the State Legislative Meeing for February is on the calendar and hope to ride the bikes, If not we will take an automobile. February 6th From 1pm to 4pm. Legislative Meetings Legislative meetings are held the first Saturday of February, April, June, August, October, and December at Natures Deli. Natures Deli is located at 1616 Taylor St, Columbia, SC. Call 803-748-9344 for directions to Natures Deli. All members are encouraged to attend.

 Keep the rubber side down
CrankN