Help us pass the SAFE PASSING LAW!
Summer is here, and those of us walking or wheeling – riding bikes or scooters or other wheeled conveyances are at the mercy of drivers who are inattentive, distracted, or aggressive.
Right now, NJ is one of only 8 states without a law telling drivers how to pass us SAFELY. NJ does have a law about how to pass a horse and rider safely, but none for the rest of us.
Copy and paste the messages below into your email, personalize with your town and your name, and send to New Jersey Senator Stephen M. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin to urge them to move the NJ Safe Passing Law to Governor Phil Murphy’s desk for signature as we enter the height of the summer season and the increased risks to vulnerable road users.
The state Assembly Law and Public Safety committee ultimately passed the law by a 6-1 vote. It’ll now proceed to the Assembly Speaker for further consideration.
NJBWC will now be leading a campaign to move the bill through the Assembly and onto the floor of the State Legislature.
COPY AND PASTE AND EMAIL:
Senator Stephen M. Sweeney: SenSweeney@njleg.org
Dear Senator Sweeney,
RE: SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE, Nos. 2208, 1460, and 1463
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
ADOPTED MAY 20, 2021
As a resident of [town], I write to urge you to post the NJ SAFE PASSING bill for a full vote ASAP.
We’re now in the 100 deadliest days of the year for walkers, wheelers and bicyclists. This law will save lives and prevent serious injuries.
Please help move the bill to the Governor’s desk for signature as we enter the height of the summer season and the increased risks to the thousands of adults and children who will be out walking, running, riding their bicycles, wheeling on scooters and skateboards and sharing NJ roads with drivers of cars and trucks.
This law will make clear to drivers and non-driver users alike the safest way to pass—and share—NJ’s roads. The law will help drivers learn to safely pass us, our families and friends who are out on our busy roads to get to work or school, to shop or dine and to improve their health.
We need your support in making this the year NJ begins to better protect all road users with clear, enforceable guidelines about when—and how—to pass the most vulnerable on our roads by slowing down, moving over if possible and, if not, passing no less than four feet from walkers, wheelers and bicyclists.
[Name, email, town]
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin: asmcoughlin@njleg.org
Dear Speaker Coughlin,
RE: ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, Nos. 5570, 5571, and 5656
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
ADOPTED JUNE 2, 2021
As a resident of [town], I write to urge you to post the NJ SAFE PASSING bill for a full vote ASAP.
We’re now in the 100 deadliest days of the year for walkers, wheelers and bicyclists. This law will save lives and prevent serious injuries.
Please help move the bill to the Governor’s desk for signature as we enter the height of the summer season and the increased risks to the thousands of adults and children who will be out walking, running, riding their bicycles, wheeling on scooters and skateboards and sharing NJ roads with drivers of cars and trucks.
This law will make clear to drivers and non-driver users alike the safest way to pass—and share—NJ’s roads. The law will help drivers learn to safely pass us, our families and friends who are out on our busy roads to get to work or school, to shop or dine and to improve their health.
We need your support in making this the year NJ begins to better protect all road users with clear, enforceable guidelines about when—and how—to pass the most vulnerable on our roads by slowing down, moving over if possible and, if not, passing no less than four feet from walkers, wheelers and bicyclists.
[Name, email, town]
