Now this is some good legislation, I almost fell out of my chair when I came across this story. The Illinois Senate recently voted 43-12 in favor of House Bill 2860 which would allow motorcycle riders to progress through an intersection if the light remains red and fails to turn green within a “reasonable period of time.”
We’ve all been there and I was actually just ranting about this yesterday to my coworkers after I sat at an intersection for two light cycles and watched all the other traffic go until a car finally came up behind me to trigger the light.
While the bill got the majority of the vote by far, it still has to go to the House for approval. Apparently Illinois has enough senators on two-wheels that have encountered this situation and feel the desire to do something about it; commendable if nothing else. “I ride a motorcycle, so I have been there before,” state Senator Gary Forby, D-Benton, told Pantagraph.com.
Illinois State Police are not too happy about the possibility of this being approved, claiming it will put riders in unnecessary danger. But state Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, argues that motorcycle enthusiasts can handle the responsibility.
“We’re not texting because we have both our hands on the handlebars,” Trotter said to Pantagraph.com. “We know what’s going on all the time. We know what you all are doing in your cars. You are listening to kids, eating potato chips, talking on the cell phone and doing all the craziness.”
While I would love to see this bill get passed, I think the big gray area surrounding a “reasonable period of time” is what is going to hinder this. What is to stop someone from going through a light as soon as they approach it and it doesn’t turn? What exactly is a “reasonable amount of time”? 1 minute? 5 minutes? 1 light cycle? 2 light cycles? I see this becoming problematic, especially for the officer who has to decide whether someone broke the law or not. But hey if nothing else, at least lawmakers are addressing the problem.
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