03/09/10

BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ Senators voted 20-14 to require bikes on
Idaho's roads be outfitted with at least one brake.

The bill was in a package of bicycle safety and responsibility
measures from Boise Democratic Sen. Elliot Werk.

Werk said Tuesday he wants to make certain that so-called
``fixies'' _ those hip, single-speed bicycles styled after
messenger bikes in big cities _ be outfitted with stopping devices.
Many aren't now.

Werk says, ``There's no coaster brake. There's no brake on the
bike whatsoever.''

Foes seemed piqued by the notion of government stepping further
into the freewheeling realm of two-wheeled transportation.

Sen. Jeff Siddoway, a Terreton Republican, argued government
shouldn't be trying to tell people everything.

The bill, which also forbids bicyclists and human-powered
vehicles from entering roads in such a way that it causes an
``immediate hazard,'' now goes to the House.


(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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