The state legislator wants all bicycles, if riding on a lettered county road, which is the American equivalent of a B road, to fly an orange fluorescent flag at least 15-foot-high.
“My constituents, who drive these roads daily, feel this is a good idea. It protects automobile drivers, as well as bicyclists. I believe in freedom and this bill in no way restricts your freedom to ride on the roads. It simply requires you to have a flag, just like 4-Wheelers are required to have,” said Houghton.
We should point out that flying such a flag in windy conditions would be troublesome to say the least. Plus 15 feet is less than the clearance for bridges and underpasses and if you would by some miracle avoid these obstacles you might be electrocuted by utility lines, which happen to be even lower.
“The bill is couched in language of safety and reasonableness, but in reality it will not help the safety situation for bicyclists or drivers, will be impossible to enforce and comply with, and is intended as another backhanded way to keep cyclists off the road,” says the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, which is one of the organizations protesting against this bill.
It just so happens that Jay Houghton is on Twitter and as he claims on his profile: “He is working for the people of Missouri”. Feel free to give him some feedback…
