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Changes to Uniform Vehicle Code Approved During January 6, 2001 National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances Mtg
(Words within [ ] were added)

1. § 12-705—Additional lights or reflectors authorized (approved 12-0)

"[A bicycle or its rider may be equipped with lights or reflectors in addition to those required by the foregoing sections.] These lights and/or reflectors may be LED or regular, steady or flashing, as long as they comply with the requirements or limitations of the department [These lights may emit a steady or flashing light.]"

Rationale: There is no need to mention reflectors at all in the second sentence, or to try and specify that these lights should be "LED or regular" since the intent of this section is primarily to authorize the use of the flashing, blinking, or twinkling bike lights that have become increasingly popular over the past decade.

2.  § 11-1211—Bicycle racing (Proposed changes were tabled)

(a) By agreement with the approving authority, participants in an approved bicycle highway racing event may be exempted from compliance with any traffic laws otherwise applicable thereto, provided that traffic control is adequate to assure the safety of all highway users.

(b) Bicycle racing on a highway shall not be unlawful when a racing event has been approved by state or local authorities on any highway under their respective jurisdictions. Approval of bicycle highway racing events shall be granted only under conditions which assure reasonable safety for all race participants, spectators and other highway users, and which prevent unreasonable interference with traffic flow that would seriously inconvenience
other highway users.

Rationale: This last sentence of subsection (b) succinctly captures the necessary concern for balancing the needs of traffic safety and the (sometimes-competing) interests of the parties.

3. §11-606—Method of giving hand-and-arm signals (approved 12-0)

All hand-and-arm signals shall be given from the left side of the vehicle in the following manner and such signals shall indicate as follows:

1. Left turn—Hand and arm extended horizontally.

2. Right turn—Hand and arm extended upward. [Bicyclists may signal with right arm extended.]

3. Stop or decrease speed—Hand and arm extended downward.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a person operating a bicycle may give a right turn signal by extending the right hand and arm horizontally and to the right side of the bicycle. 

Rationale: It is clearer to mention the right arm possibility for bicyclists in "2." rather than later, in a final paragraph. Adding that language " eliminates the need for the final paragraph, beginning with 'Notwithstanding . . .' which can now be deleted.

4. §11-1203—Riding on bicycles (approved 12-0)

No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed or equipped, except that an adult rider may carry a child securely attached to the bicycle in a seat or trailer designed for carrying children.

Rationale: This substitution of a seat or trailer for the current "back pack or sling" reflects current practice and safety consideration.  

6.  § 11-303 Overtaking a vehicle on the left (approved 6-4)
 
    New text [...] to be added:
  (a)  The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left of the vehicle being overtaken and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle. [A sufficient  clearance interval shall be maintained by the overtaking vehicle at all times so that no change in the direction or speed of the overtaken vehicle is required.]

7.  Bicycle Helmet Requirement (No section specified) 
(Passed 10-2 over objections of LAB and OBF representatives)

"A person under the age of 18 shall not operate a bicycle or ride upon a
bicycle as a passenger, upon a street, sidewalk, or bikeway, unless that
person is wearing a bicycle helmet that meets the Consumer Products
Safety Commission (CPSC) Safety Standard for Bicycle Helmets (16 CFR
Part 1203). This bicycle helmet requirement also applies to a person
who ride upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat that is attached to
a bicycle or in a trailer towed by the bicycle.

Any helmet sold or offered for sale for use by operators and passengers
of bicycles shall meet the standards of, and be conspicuously labeled in
accordance with, the CPSC Bicycle Safety Standard (16 CFR part 1203)."

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