House File 214 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 214
BY GERHOLD
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to bicyclists’ right-of-way at certain
2 crosswalks, and making penalties applicable.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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 H.F. 214
1 Section 1. Section 321.327, subsection 1, Code 2023, is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 1. Where traffic-control signals are not in place
4 or in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the
5 right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield,
6 to a pedestrian or a person riding a bicycle crossing the
7 roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked
8 crosswalk at an intersection, except as otherwise provided in
9 this chapter.
10 EXPLANATION
11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
13 Under current law, a person riding a bicycle (bicyclist)
14 on a highway is subject to the provisions of Code chapter 321
15 (motor vehicles and law of the road) and has all the rights and
16 duties applicable to a driver, except those provisions which
17 by their nature have no application and those provisions for
18 which specific exceptions have been set forth regarding police
19 bicycles (Code section 321.234). In addition, current law
20 penalizes certain actions against bicyclists, such as steering
21 a vehicle unreasonably close to the bicyclist or projecting an
22 object at the bicyclist (Code section 321.281).
23 This bill requires a driver to yield the right-of-way to a
24 bicyclist crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk,
25 or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, in
26 the same manner required when yielding to pedestrians where
27 traffic-control signals are not in place or in operation.
28 A violation of the bill is a simple misdemeanor punishable by
29 a $135 scheduled fine. By operation of law, if the violation
30 causes a serious injury, a court could impose an additional
31 fine of $500 or suspend the person’s driver’s license for not
32 more than 90 days, or both. If the violation causes a death, a
33 court could impose an additional fine of $1,000 or suspend the
34 person’s driver’s license for not more than 180 days, or both
35 (Code section 321.482A).
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