Thursday Evening Commute - Designated

Good evening

• We were discussing gun control recently and a friend of mine mentioned gun insurance. The idea is that gun owners would pay insurance and that would pay for any damage that guns did, there would even be a fund for people who were shot, but the gun used wasn't identified. That isn't what I want to discuss, but I thought "what if there were a tax on car insurance that would be used to pay the medical expense of bicyclists and pedestrians (and, I suppose, property owners) who were injured in a hit-and-run situations - where no driver, and thus no car insurance, can be identified? Why should health insurance, home owner's insurance, etc... have to subsidize that?" Anyway, don't know if there is any place that does that, but it seems fair.
• Hyattsville got an update on its bicycle and pedestrian improvement plan. Bike lane implementation could start this spring.  
• From a DC DMV e-Newsletter last month: 
  • "On November 4th, the time changed and with it, the rising and setting of the sun. While it's light out at 7am, it's dark at 5pm, a time when children are playing outside, bicyclists are in their designated lane, and pedestrians are crossing streets. And, oftentimes, they are hard to see. Be alert. Be safe. Be focused. With vehicles, cycles, and people sharing the same pathways, it is important for everyone to obey the road rules" 
  • I'm glad that they asked drivers to be on the lookout for cyclists, but they could also be in lanes not designated specifically for cyclists. Nitpick.
• Contribute to WABA's Women and Bicycles program. 

Comments

[T]

Wouldn't the comparative point be bicycles to guns? I suspect the gun owners would point they're not required to carry insurance, usually not to obtain licensure except for certain instances, and they pay taxes on the actual gun, parts, equipment, etc. I'm sure folks won't like the comparative points, but it's closer to us than to car drivers whom are required to carry insurance, required to register their vehicles, required to obtain licensure, etc.

[washcycle]

Well, the real idea that struck me was that a fund would pay for people who were injured/killed when the responsible party was unknown. So the comparison is for shoot-and-run and hit-and-run behavior. I wouldn't mind if a small fee was attached to bike sales to cover the expenses of hit-and-run bicycle crashes - as they are very rare.

[UrbanEngineer]

Not really a surprise that the DMV wrote their newsletter up like that.

To quote a family member of mine "There is simply no excuse for venturing out of a bike lane that a tank could comfortably fit in".

Would be nice if the DMV didn't play up such nonsense.

[Kolohe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninsured_motorist_clause

Most auto insurance policies already have an uninsured/hit&run coverage which I think still applies even if you not in a car yourself (but of course only if you yourself have car insurance)

[washcycle]

"(but of course only if you yourself have car insurance"

Well, that's kind of the rub isn't it?

[Kolohe]

The set of completely car free people that get hit by hit and run drivers who are never caught is kinda an exclusive club, methinks. Though I wonder if it is also possible to make a claim against your personal property and/or homeowners insurance.

or one could take the health care example and mandate that everyone possess personal liability insurance. (I don't advocate this)

and actually, since everyone is now - or shortly will be - *required* to have health insurance, it seems even more so that this post's proposal is a solution in search of a problem. If you get injured, get medical care, and let your insurance company battle out final payment with other insurance companies, or simply eat it, whatever is most cost effective for them.

[washcycle]

Kolohe, the problem isn't that people aren't insured. The problem is that the wrong people pay for the insurance. Using health, property or personal liability insurance pushes the cost of car ownership onto everyone else. Using health insurance to cover this raises everyone's health insurance costs even if they don't drive.

Imagine if only one person drove, but everyone was required to have insurance in case they crashed into them. That would not be fair, and people would protest. The only difference between that and the current situation is that more people drive than just one.

[SJE]

I think we should use the analogy to guns in another way. Gun advocates speak of gun ownership, use and carrying as a fundamental right. I'd characterize bikes in the same way. Now, we need a powerful "National Riders Association"

[Jim Titus]

@Washcycle. The problem goes beyond the cyclist victim of hit-and-run. Most drivers carry enough liability insurance to pay for damages to somebody else's car, but not to another human being. (And health insurance does not cover lost income, pain and suffering).

People have to insure themselves against judement proof tortfeasors (as well as hit-and-run criminals).

Rather than a tax on all drivers, I would prefer to see the fines from traffic enforcement cameras pay for a fund to compensate the victims of bad driving.

[SJE]

That, Jim, is an EXCELLENT idea.

[Westnorth]

Nearly 300 people are injured every day by hit and runs in the USA. It's not exactly uncommon...

Which is why other countries have socialized car insurance, as well as health insurance. In New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation set up for workers' comp claims also handles auto insurance -- and is paid from fuel taxes and registration fees, which have the added benefit of raising the price of (and thus deterring) driving.

[Westnorth]

Oh, and closer to home, in Quebec, driver and car registration fees include an annual premium for universal, province-run auto injury insurance. Drivers of larger vehicles and drivers with demerit points pay more each year.