CCBA Legislative Priorities 2010
GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE THE SAFETY OF PEDESTRIANS, CYCLISTS AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: This legislation would establish a competitive grant program for municipalities interested in creating infrastructure for cycling, walking and initiatives that incorporate health and fitness into the daily lives of its citizens. Municipalities would apply to the State administered program via their regional or municipal planning organizations. The purpose of the legislation is to provide resources for more infrastructure investments for non-motorized transportation. The grant program would use existing funding resources within the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and would not require new revenue.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INFRACTION OF RECKLESS DRIVING AND PROTECTING VULNERABLE USERS FROM RECKLESS DRIVING: This legislation would create enhanced penalties if a driver injures or kills a vulnerable user of a public way while operating a vehicle recklessly. The goal of the legislation is to increase awareness of the presence of vulnerable users on the State’s public ways.
A vulnerable user is defined as a pedestrian, police officer outside of his or her car, highway worker, a person riding or driving an animal or a person operating a bicycle, roller skates, skateboard, inline skates or a farm vehicle without an enclosed shell. Operating a vehicle recklessly is defined in 14-222a of Connecticut ’s statutes. (See below)
14-222 (a) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any public highway of the state, or any road of any specially chartered municipal association or of any district organized under the provisions of chapter 105, a purpose of which is the construction and maintenance of roads and sidewalks, or in any parking area for ten cars or more or upon any private road on which a speed limit has been established in accordance with the provisions of section 14-218a or upon any school property recklessly, having regard to the width, traffic and use of such highway, road, school property or parking area, the intersection of streets and the weather conditions. The operation of a motor vehicle upon any such highway, road or parking area for ten cars or more at such a rate of speed as to endanger the life of any person other than the operator of such motor vehicle, or the operation, downgrade, upon any highway, of any motor vehicle with a commercial registration with the clutch or gears disengaged, or the operation knowingly of a motor vehicle with defective mechanism, shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this section. The operation of a motor vehicle upon any such highway, road or parking area for ten cars or more at a rate of speed greater than eighty-five miles per hour shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this section