In July a Legislative Task Force finalized the 2010 plan to get a safety bill passed. The bill is intended to make biking safer, and to hold motorists more accountable in the event of a crash with a cyclist.

A similar bill was sponsored by Sen. John Broden and Rep. Ryan Dvorak and came within a breath of being passed by the 2009 Indiana General Assembly. The 2010 bill builds on that success.

Provisions of the new bill:

1. Bicycle Lane is defined (current Indiana law does not mention bike lanes)
2. Motorists and Bicyclists ‘rules of the road’ are laid out for bike lanes
• Motorists may not block the lane and must yield to bicycles
• When on a roadway, cyclists must use the lane except when it is unsafe or when positioning themselves for a turn
3. Bicyclists are allowed to proceed through a red light if their bike will not trip the traffic control sensor after a reasonable wait
4. Penalties for persons injuring a bicyclist are clearly spelled out
5. Motorist must allow a minimum of three feet when passing a cyclist. And they may pass a cyclist in a no-passing zone, if it is safe to do so
6. Right turns may be signaled by extending the right arm
7. Tail light and side reflectors are required at night. Headlights and tail lights may be either steady or flashing
8. A cyclist has all the rights of pedestrians, but must yield to pedestrians
9. A bell is no longer required, and a whistle is now allowed
10. A few minor provisions that are mainly ‘clean up’ of outmoded language
• Definition of a bicycle is improved
• Cyclists may stand and pedal
• Child carriers are clearly legal if they are firmly attached
• A braked wheel is no longer required to ‘skid’
• Outmoded terms (roller skates, coaster, street car ) are modernized