First, "Jaggers' Law" has a Bill Number--it is SB 1989 for this year, authored by Sen. Corn and Rep. Covey.  It represents ABATE's renewed attempt at getting legislation enacted to increase penalties for negligent, irresponsible motorists who injure and kill those they share the road with.  This type of legislation is also referred to as Right Of Way Legislation, Failure To Yield Legislation, or Careless Driving Legislation.  Several states, such as North Carolina and Arkansas, have passed this type of law, and a number of states, including Oklahoma, Virginia, Colorado, California, and West Virginia, are attempting to get this legislation passed this year.  Our proposed legislation is referred to as "Jaggers' Law" in honor of David Jaggers, former Sgt-at-Arms of the Downed Bikers Association of Oklahoma, who was killed by an irresponsible driver (piloting an SUV, 90 in a 60, high on cocaine, darting in and out of traffic, clipped David's rear-end) in October, 2003.  This type of legislation is in keeping with the AMA's Justice For All Campaign, which was launched after former Congressman Bill Janklow of California blew through a stop sign while speeding and killed motorcyclist Randy Scott, then got off with a slap on the wrist.  The Oklahoma proposal would attach a mandatory extra $500 fine and  one-year driver's license suspension if negligence is proven.  An example of someone this law would've applied to would be former OK Congressman Wes Watkins, who tail-ended a family at an intersection and sent their car into the path of a truck, killing the parents and leaving two little girls orphaned--negligent driving was proven in that case.  We call our proposal "Jaggers' Law" to put a personal focus on the legislation and remind folks that those killed and injured are human beings with families, and not just statistics--this is done in other states as well, as with "Clutch's Law" proposed in Missouri.  This is the third year we're attempting to get Jaggers' Law passed, and we obviously hope this year the third time will be the charm and the bill will get approved.  Too many Oklahomans are getting hurt and killed by irresponsible motorists (like in the 20-25% of wrecks in the OKC Metro that are hit-and-run).  You can get more information on this type of legislation by checking out www.ama-cycle.org and going to the Justice For All link, and taking a look at www.bikers4row.org  

 

Regarding "Dead Red" legislation:  this type of legislation would allow a motorcyclist at an intersection, after stopping and determining the intersection to be clear and that it's safe to proceed, to head through an intersection against the Red Light if the motorcycle doesn't trigger the light to turn green.  Currently, this is illegal in Oklahoma, and a motorcyclist can get ticketed for a Moving Violation if caught.  The problem is, (and a lot of folks don't know this) traffic lights are triggered to change not by the pressure of the vehicle but by magnetism, and a lot of bikes just don't have sufficient metal on the underside (like sport bikes with their fiberglass body panels and fairings) to change the light to green.  So, motorcycles have to either take a different route (which can be problematic if you're not familiar with the area--how do you know the other intersections aren't "Dead-Red" as well??), or wait at the intersection for an automobile to arrive, causing the bike to have to pull forward partially into the intersection for the car to position over the plate, or to wait for long periods if during a time of light traffic, like early on a Sunday or late at night.  The alternative is for the motorcyclist to run the light, putting the rider's safety at risk.  States like Arkansas and Tennessee have passed this legislation already, and Oklahoma, South Carolina and others are making the attempt this year.  At present, we don't have a bill number assigned for this legislation, which will be authored by Sen. Laughlin, but a number will be assigned in time for the 2006 Oklahoma Legislative Session's start.  This is our first attempt at getting this law passed, and we're hoping a sufficient number of legislators will see the need to approve this law from a Public Safety standpoint.