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 losthis life last fall when a bicycle courier mowed him down in a crosswalkon Commonwealth Avenue. Now the city has some tough new rules regulatingcouriers on public roads. For them to take effect though, the legislaturemust 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 whengoing to work for a different messenger service. For the first time, theywould have to be insured. And penalties for failure to comply would beincreased.
Obviously bicyclists are jeopardized by thoughtless drivers, and thatshouldn't happen. But a reckless bicycle courier can be a comparable dangerto a pedestrian. The new Boston courier ordinance should help. Tell yourlegislator you want state approval of it before the session ends laterthis month.
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