Phone calls, emails lead to new laws for road safety

High five your neighbor. We did it! Thanks to your support (and a few signatures from Gov. Pat Quinn), sharing the road in Illinois should become a little easier.

Earlier this week, Quinn signed the Must Stop for Pedestrians bill into effect – legislation that Active Trans has been working to get passed for more than two years. The new law, which takes effect immediately, clarifies that drivers’ must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Until now, the law was vague and required drivers only to yield and stop “when necessary.” Illinois joins a dozen other states, including Massachusetts and California, in clarifying its crosswalk law.

Active Trans, along with you, Ill. Sen. Heather Steans, Ill. State Rep. Luis Arroyo, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, Access Living, AARP and the Metropolitan Planning Council have been fighting every step of the way for this critical piece of pedestrian safety legislation. Your phone calls, emails and letters truly carried the day – from the senate floor to the governor’s desk.

Here are a few other pieces of legislation we are celebrating

• Gov. Quinn signed into law an anti-harassment measure that establishes penalties for motorists driving recklessly and unnecessarily close to, toward or near a bicyclist, pedestrian or equestrian. Depending on the result of the harassment, it’s either a Class A misdemeanor or Class 4 felony. Active Trans and the League of Illinois Bicyclists worked to make this measure a priority in Springfield.
• Now in effect, a red light camera law will reform the red light camera systems in the Chicago and St. Louis metropolitan areas. Red light cameras are a traffic safety measure that have been shown to reduce the number of crashes in our communities. A person is injured in a red-light-running crash every two seconds in the United States. These crashes result in more than 800 deaths per year. Thank you to all the Active Trans members who advocated for this important new law.

So what's next?

These laws are crucial, but they are just the beginning. You can help by letting your mayor, elected officials and police departments know about the new laws. You can also help by telling your friends – the ones that drive, the ones that bike and the ones that walk.

The more people that know the law, the safer our streets will be. And if you see someone breaking the new laws, contact your local law enforcement. We are all advocates in our community. Thanks for being the strength behind our movement.