OUR VIEW: Fuller's bill may protect vulnerable cyclists
A tip of the bicycle helmet to state Sen. Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, whose sponsorship of a cycling-safety bill signed into law almost four years ago, when she was in the Assembly, is bearing some fruit.
The Alameda County city of Pleasanton has become the first city in the nation to implement, on both an experimental and now a widespread basis, a new radar-type device designed to make street crossings safer for cyclists. The city began testing the "Intersector" -- a microwave motion and presence sensor -- in a limited run last year. The device can differentiate between vehicles and bicyclists and can either extend or trigger a traffic signal if it detects the presence of a cyclist.
Test results have been good, so Pleasanton will expand the system to 10 additional intersections. Already at least 20 jurisdictions have called to learn more about the system.
Fuller's bill, AB 1581, called for improved safety and compliance rules for cyclists at traffic lights, requiring new traffic signals or replacing existing ones with devices able to detect bicyclists. The bill also calls for similar traffic safety improvements for motorcycles.
Given Bakersfield's polluted skies, bicycle-friendly weather and busy bike trails, such safety enhancements would seem worthy of exploration here. We urge city officials to look into it.
