WCVB, Boston (ABC Affiliate),
This Editorial aired July 6, 1998
Boston Mayor Tom Menino has now signed the city's bicycle courier ordinance. At his side was School Committee member William Spring, who nearly lost his life last fall when a bicycle courier mowed him down in a crosswalk on Commonwealth Avenue. Now the city has some tough new rules regulating couriers on public roads. For them to take effect though, the legislature must approve.
Under the rules, bicycle couriers would have to be clearly identified. They would have to be licensed and would have to renew their licenses when going to work for a different messenger service. For the first time, they would have to be insured. And penalties for failure to comply would be increased.
Obviously bicyclists are jeopardized by thoughtless drivers, and that shouldn't happen. But a reckless bicycle courier can be a comparable danger to a pedestrian. The new Boston courier ordinance should help. Tell your legislator you want state approval of it before the session ends later this month.
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