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Netherlands Proposes Legislation To Ban Use Of Phones On Bicycles (npr.org)
The Dutch government is considering a proposal to ban the use of smartphones and other "mobile electronic devices" on bicycles. From a report: Infrastructure Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen published the draft legislation on Thursday, NL Times reports. If approved, it could go into effect in the summer of 2019. It is already illegal to use a phone while driving a motor vehicle in the Netherlands, the news site says. Offenders face a fine of more than $250. Biking is a widespread form of transportation in the Netherlands, and extending the telephone ban to bikes has been discussed for several years. In 2015, then-Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen concluded that it would be impossible to enforce a ban on phone use on bikes, according to a 2016 story from Dutch News. But the following year, the government began reconsidering its position.
That use them for GPS/Speedometer/Odometer or the control system for any kind of E-Bike.
Next thing you know, Netherlands will ban talking on a phone while moving. Perhaps a technical solution can be found, like tethering phones to walls in houses; for convenience, small kiosks (with walls for privacy) can be put in various public places so you can use a phone when not at home. It'll be the next big thing!
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
If the Netherlands is anything like the rest of the countries on the planet I've seent, the problem isn't the lack of telling people to stay off their phone. The problem is that people tend to not pay any attention to the law, and common sense seems to be subjective.
Its very hard to police this on a mass scale as it just appears half of the people are talking to themselves. The pretense to pulling people over so far, isn't "They looked crazy to me judge, it looked like they were talking to themselves."
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What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? - Ursula K. Leguin
Québec just did this some 4-5 months ago.
I ride a lot. I find that many drivers dont understand the actual traffic laws as they pertain to bikes on the road. Granted there are differences between jurisdictions.
GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
It isn’t nannyland when your behavior has the risk of injuring an uninvolved party. Almost certainly the actual regulation wont be as vague as the article, but the determination of overkill depends on what they actual mean by “use”.
GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
FYI, large parts of the Netherlands are already 2 feet + under sea level.
I almost never see cyclists, even the ones in their little outfits acting like they are Serious Cyclists, slow down let alone completely stop at stop signs. But that's the law, guys.
Do you have a speaker or open back headphones?
The bike has the right of way at all times.
I’m pretty sure it’s already illegal to talk on your phone while bicycling in Switzerland. Laws that apply to motorists apply to bicyclists, and you can lose your drivers license for actions on a bicycle, so I would expect that phone use - illegal in a car - is also illegal on a bike.
You have clearly never been in the Netherlands.
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No they haven't.
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Not were I live, but most jurisdictions dont have the same laws. Where i am at, stop signs are yeild signs and stop lights are stop signs for cyclists. Its written into state law. Its called an Idaho Stop, see here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...
GENERATION 27: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
Stopping with a bicycle at a stop sign is probably in 90% of all cases pretty retarded. If there is no police around, obviously I don't stop, in the sense of the word "stop".
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
The proposed ban only bans holding electronics in your hand while riding your bike. You can still use a headset, odometer, GPS, etc, just not in your hand while riding. You are allowed to use them when standing still. The same is already true for cars.
There are lots of kids texting while riding their bike on the public road, leading to an increase in accidents. Things like this are a common occurrence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I live in the Netherlands and don't have a car and I avoid public transport, so I bike a lot. And in fact many many people here bike a lot. The pet peeve is against bike racers acting rather uncivil in traffic, not mere bike riders. The adherence to traffic rules (they're not laws) is pretty good actually, though a little more freewheeling than what you'd do in a car, except in places like Amsterdam which is a permanent jam regardless of transport mode. Still a tad many people ride without lights in the dark though.
Personally I do break traffic rules if and when that's the safer course of action. Say, bike on pavement for 50 meters if that saves crossing a busy strreet twice. But when I do that I slow to walking pace, making sure not to inconvenience traffic on foot, that sort of thing. The youtube footage showing groups of cyclists misbehaving at high speed right through all other traffic in eg. New York, you really don't see that here. There's really no need, with plenty of dedicated lanes for bikes in most places. Also recall that the Netherlands is small a small place full of old towns and cities not designed for cars. It really makes much more sense to bike than to hop in a car here.
I do.
It is not retarded because it shows to other cyclists that some people actually follow the traffic code. This puts peer pressure on those who don't.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
"Idaho stop" sounds like something nasty happening on a dark highway. "I got pulled over, and that bastard cop gave me an Idaho stop! I couldn't sit properly for a week..."
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
In the Netherlands, people on bikes drive on the sidewalk (not allowed), fail to indicate direction change (not allowed), drive without lights after sundown (not allowed), drive intoxicated (not allowed) and drive on the wrong side of the road regularly (not allowed).
Neither of these common offenses is ever punished. The phone ban won't be either.
Only car drivers are ever punished and then only for offenses that can be easily policed with cameras.
They do legally as a base case in the Netherlands. If you hit a cyclist the car is automatically at fault. You'll need to go through the courts to prove otherwise. If the cyclist / pedestrian is under 14 you can't prove otherwise, you're just at fault.
Actual text of the proposal is at https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/b...
ARTIKEL I
Het Reglement verkeersregels en verkeerstekens 1990 wordt als volgt gewijzigd:
Artikel 61a komt te luiden:
Het is degene die een voertuig bestuurt verboden tijdens het rijden een mobiel
elektronisch apparaat dat gebruikt kan worden voor communicatie of
informatieverwerking vast te houden. Onder een mobiel elektronisch apparaat wordt in
elk geval verstaan een mobiele telefoon, een tabletcomputer of een mediaspeler.
ARTIKEL II
Dit besluit treedt in werking met ingang van 1 juli 2019.
Lasten en bevelen dat dit besluit met de daarbij behorende nota van toelichting in het
Staatsblad zal worden geplaatst.
I.e.: they ban the handholding of an electronic device that can be used for communication or data processing. They mean as such at least a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a media player.
But what about a boombox? Electronic in nature, can receive radio. And does not have to be powered on.
Could be illegal due to this proposed law...
I don't run the stop sign, but i don't stop in the sense that the bike is at rest and one foot is on the ground.
I often stop in an "artistic way", the bike is at rest but I keep sitting/standing on the pedals.
Yeah, but 90% of the time, I slow only down like a pedestrian and continue if there is no need to stop.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
I suppose that technically makes it illegal for people with pacemakers to ride a bike.
Coastal defence in The Netherlands is regulated by law. It is maintained at mean sealevel+36ft, whatever the rise. We're also nannies about getting shit done.
"Apparently you're not allowed to use any "electronic device" while on a bike. Wording it like that is said to "future-proof" the law."
I have an electronic shifter and a wireless control unit.
The law sucks.
"Apparently you're not allowed to use any "electronic device" while on a bike. Wording it like that is said to "future-proof" the law."
I have an electronic shifter and a wireless control unit.
The law sucks.
Are you /using/ it, or is the bike /using/ it?
Why UNIX?
this is not true. You're not automatically at fault. However, in a car you will be held responsible, since the cyclist is weaker than the car. In a collision between a car and a bicycle it's the car that makes it dangerous.
No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
--Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
You're not automatically at fault. However, in a car you will be held responsible
An English language distinction, not a legal distinction.
roughly translates to: it is forbidden for everyone operating a vehicle to use or hold in your hand a mobile electronic device that can be used for communication or informationprocessing. A mobile electronic device does at least encompass a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a mediaplayer.
Using your electronic shifter is not covered under this law. The wireless control unit might be, if you hold that in your hand.