Gas Bikes OK in OK...Except on Turnpikes

[BikeBillboards]

1) Gas bikes are the legal equivalent of bicycles. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=437603"]47 O.S. § 12-701[/URL]

2) Bicyclists and gas bikers are drivers of vehicles that operate in traffic on public roadways. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=82364"]47 O.S. § 11-1202[/URL]

3) Motorists must allow three feet when passing gas bikes. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=447064"]47 O.S. § 11-1208[/URL]

4) Lane-splitting prohibited. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=82351"]47 O.S. § 11-1103[/URL]

5) Government may not arbitrarily prohibit gas bikes from any roadway. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=82291"]47 O.S. § 11-313[/URL]

6) Gas bikes prohibited on turnpikes. [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=82372"]47 O.S. § 11-1401[/URL]

7) [URL="http://www.oscn.net/applications/OCISWeb/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=81890"]Definitions of Bicycles, Electrified Bicycles, and Motorized Bicycles[/URL]

As of 1 April 2009, there are no insurance, training, or registration requirements for bicyclists or gas bikers. But, there is a grassroots effort to include three bike-related questions on the drivers' exam, to test for knowledge of [URL="http://www.dps.state.ok.us/dls/pub/ODM.pdf"]ODM[/URL] § 11-2. Contact Karen Gentry: [email]kgentry@dps.state.ok.us[/email]

In the 2009 52nd Oklahoma State Legislative Session, HB1795 would allow bicyclists, motorcyclists, and gas bikers to blow red lights, under legally allowable conditions. If passed, the law will be effective 1 November 2009.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

1) Gas bikes are the legal equivalent of bicycles. 47 O.S. § 12-701

AWESOME!!

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

3) Motorists must allow three feet when passing gas bikes. 47 O.S. § 11-1208

DOUBLE AWESOME!!!!

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

5) Government may not arbitrarily prohibit gas bikes from any roadway. 47 O.S. § 11-313

That's how it should be, yup. I'd think MBs should be prohibited from highways since cars are gonna be traveling 2 or 3 times faster than your MB, but that's what local laws are for. Maybe your highways people only go 35 mph.

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

As of 1 April 2009, there are no insurance, training, or registration requirements for bicyclists or gas bikers. But, there is a grassroots effort to include three bike-related questions on the drivers' exam, to test for knowledge of ODM § 11-2. Contact Karen Gentry: kgentry@dps.state.ok.us

Nothing wrong with that.

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

In the 2009 52nd Oklahoma State Legislative Session, HB1795 would allow bicyclists, motorcyclists, and gas bikers to blow red lights, under legally allowable conditions. If passed, the law will be effective 1 November 2009.

Uhh... I vote for OK to be the new "model MB state" instead of AZ. This is no brainer stuff, and OK is the only state that seems to be staying up with the times.

Seriously, tho... I wish our country would just collectively and instantaneously just turn 4-way stop signs into 4-way yield signs. Rolling thru a stop sign isn't a crime if no one else is near you.

[BikeBillboards]

You wrote:

"I'd think MBs should be prohibited from highways since cars are gonna be traveling 2 or 3 times faster than your MB, but that's what local laws are for. Maybe your highways people only go 35 mph."

In connection with a criminal traffic case of a person on a bicycle impersonating Santa on the Broken Arrow Expressway, SH64/51, a major urban controlled-access roadway, Tulsa Municipal Count held that minimum speed laws are not applicable to bicycles, because bicycles operated as human-powered vehicles can not move at the minimum post speed limit.

Maybe it would apply to gas bikes that can't move at the posted minimum?

[sparky]

Bicycles, motorized or not, have no business on interstates, freeways, turnpikes, or whatever you call 'em. PERIOD.

I'd also lean toward bicyclists not being allowed on highways either, since that's the way it is here... but I still see people pedaling on the highways here, too. When it comes to the roads that bikers are allowed to travel on, highways (50 mph and under) are iffy to me.

[BikeBillboards]

Good point. But, if the government bans bicycles and gas-bikes from the interstates, freeways, and turnpikes, why not ban automobiles too? According to AAA, automobiles kill over 42,000 Americans on the public roadways, EVERY year, year-in, year-out.

Imagine a fully-loaded 747 crashing and killing everyone on board, every two days. Why do you tolerate the fact that automobiles have ALREADY killed MORE Americans than the Civil War, WWII, Vietnam, COMBINED?

If safety is the concern, simply reserve the interstates, freeways, and turnpikes for pedestrians, but, only on Sundays, after church.

Sparky, just because you are a gas-biker, why be on the high horse to TOLERATE the loss of YOUR constitutional right of travel? Better to call for the loss of someone else's right of travel, right?

[Phatman motors]

I've made several 60 mile round-trips...rollin

,thu 4 towns and cities while meeting local,county and okla. highway patrols(whoom you do NOT mess with here!!)...they look, double-take ,SMILE and wave....OKLa. IS a very progressive state....phatt,S.W.OKLAHOMA,U.S.A.....
P.S.
But IT could be because: i'm fat,have very long hair,a long white beard,age 60
...and my grandaughter says i look just like the travelocity GNOME...go figure

[Tinker1980]

Sweet... someone else from Tulsa! Have to agree, that local police do not seem to be concerned about my clattering little two stroke. It's great that Oklahoma is being ahead-thinking and progressive on *something*!

I vaguely remember the santa incident on the BA... Or I remember seeing it mentioned.

I've stayed off the local highways with my Gizmo, it just seems like a good idea. I'd get flattened on I44 or I244, would be scary on 75, and there is no possible way I'd have any chance of continuing life on the BA/51 between 75 and Memorial. I live on the west side of town, roads are a little rough here, but I ride everywhere.

-Mark

[sparky]

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

Good point. But, if the government bans bicycles and gas-bikes from the interstates, freeways, and turnpikes, why not ban automobiles too? According to AAA, automobiles kill over 42,000 Americans on the public roadways, EVERY year, year-in, year-out.

The government has ALREADY banned all pedestrians from the Interstate. I know that for sure. I know that in MS, pedestrians are banned from the highways... so I'd assume other states are similar. Of course, if there is a private biking lane on the highway, that's inherently safe. The only "Interstate" I know of that allows bicycles is the Superhighway that joins us with Canada and El Mexico... and it's not even a done deal yet.

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

Imagine a fully-loaded 747 crashing and killing everyone on board, every two days. Why do you tolerate the fact that automobiles have ALREADY killed MORE Americans than the Civil War, WWII, Vietnam, COMBINED?

I "tolerate" it, because that's the only way we have to travel independently. Sure, I'd love it if we still used trains as much as we did in the past... but transportation has evolved like everything else. There are risks that come with it, and the risks are far greater for un-caged pedestrians who are traveling at a 1/4th the speed of people in 3,000+ lbs metal vehicles. That's why things are already the way they are.

Speeding isn't necessarily unsafe. But when you're speeding around "obstacles" that aren't traveling as fast as you, things start getting unsafe. Everybody should be allowed to travel 90 mph on the Interstates... if that were the case, and everybody stayed at that speed... there would be a lot less accidents. There would still be accidents, but the few they'd have would be very, very serious. If a biker gets hit on the Interstate at speeds that are posted right now even, that too would be a very, very, VERY serious accident. Now go back and read your Santa Claus story. It'd nearly always be an automatic death, and that's not something anybody wants to risk.

Originally Posted by BikeBillboards

If safety is the concern, simply reserve the interstates, freeways, and turnpikes for pedestrians, but, only on Sundays, after church.

What?!? I'm not sure what points your trying to make with any of this. I'm just telling you that things are the way they are for a reason... and I for one, like them that way. The only time [motorized] bicyclists should be able to travel on a road with a speed limit of 55+ mph is when there is a dedicated lane (meaning a real partition between them and the other drivers, not just a solid, white line) for said pedestrians. That is all.

[BikeBillboards]

Sparky, Oklahoma law allows bicyclists, motorists, gas-bikes, and pedestrians to all SHARE the same roadways, except where specifically prohibited, the turnpikes.

For example, if there are no sidewalks, pedestrians can walk AGAINST traffic ON the roadway.

There must be some great genius who figured out that mixing the various modes of travel is no more dangerous than the 42,000 Americans dying every year because of automobiles.

I simply CAN'T accept one fully loaded 747 crashing and killing everyone on board, every two days, which is the equivalent of 42,000 Americans dying EVERY year, year-in, year-out, because of automobiles.

[danlandberg]

Automobiles don't kill people! It' just the weapon the operator Missuses!!!